Nocturnal leg cramps -- suggestions?

[Anonymous]

I had leg cramps during perimenopause. Two or three nights a week, I'd wake up with a cramp in one calf, that I'd need to walk off before I could go back to sleep. After a bad one my calf would feel both tight and bruised the next day.

Then I started stretching on the stairs every day, taking magnesium, and being more careful to hydrate. Plus my period stopped for good, and the leg cramps went back to about once a month for at least a year.

The past few weeks, I've had leg cramps almost every time I wake up -- which is usually 2 - 4 times a night. They impact both legs, and sometimes they lead to ankle cramps and food cramps. It is super annoying. I had run out of magnesium and bought a different brand, so i thought maybe it was that, but switching back didn't help. increasing the dose didn't either.

I also have what I think is meralgia paresthetica, on one side, and I've had some intermittent swelling on one ankle. Plus my knees are creaky. So, basically from the hips down I am a disaster zone.

Any suggestions on how to solve this problem? Is there some kind of doctor that would help? Is this a PT thing where I need to learn to stretch better? A different nutritional supplement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had leg cramps during perimenopause. Two or three nights a week, I'd wake up with a cramp in one calf, that I'd need to walk off before I could go back to sleep. After a bad one my calf would feel both tight and bruised the next day.

Then I started stretching on the stairs every day, taking magnesium, and being more careful to hydrate. Plus my period stopped for good, and the leg cramps went back to about once a month for at least a year.

The past few weeks, I've had leg cramps almost every time I wake up -- which is usually 2 - 4 times a night. They impact both legs, and sometimes they lead to ankle cramps and food cramps. It is super annoying. I had run out of magnesium and bought a different brand, so i thought maybe it was that, but switching back didn't help. increasing the dose didn't either.

I also have what I think is meralgia paresthetica, on one side, and I've had some intermittent swelling on one ankle. Plus my knees are creaky. So, basically from the hips down I am a disaster zone.

Any suggestions on how to solve this problem? Is there some kind of doctor that would help? Is this a PT thing where I need to learn to stretch better? A different nutritional supplement?

Get a checkup, and ask for kidney, thyroid and diabetes tests.

[Anonymous]

eat a banana a day

[Anonymous]

HRT and potassium

[Anonymous]

Try PM&R doc.

[Anonymous]

Spouse gets leg cramps when they don't drink enough water. Life changing

[Anonymous]

Water and bananas

[Anonymous]

I know it sounds crazy, but I used to get terrible middle of the night leg cramps as a competitive gymnast. My dad started taking some medication (I forget for what) and he would get leg cramps also. His doctor told him that he should quickly eat mustard and it tricks the brain into releasing the muscle. He tried it and it worked, so I tried it and it works. We both kept little packets of mustard next our bed for years. I don't get them very often anymore. I do and have always hated mustard, but it does work.

[Anonymous]

Iron helps me. Try slow fe.
Potatoes are a better source of potassium than bananas, or Morton no salt (actually potassium).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:eat a banana a day

+1 This is the only thing that has worked for me. Potassium, magnesium, CoQ10 supplements don't.

[Anonymous]

My father used to get these and after exhaustive research by my mother, he started having a banana with peanut butter every day. Banana for the potassium and I can't remember what about the peanut butter helped but it worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know it sounds crazy, but I used to get terrible middle of the night leg cramps as a competitive gymnast. My dad started taking some medication (I forget for what) and he would get leg cramps also. His doctor told him that he should quickly eat mustard and it tricks the brain into releasing the muscle. He tried it and it worked, so I tried it and it works. We both kept little packets of mustard next our bed for years. I don't get them very often anymore. I do and have always hated mustard, but it does work.

Tonic water or lemon juice works also. It turns off a leg cramp.

To prevent them in the first place, electrolytes/potassium.

[Anonymous]

I get them, especially foot twisting cramps down the front of my leg. Dry needling relieved them. Try Dr Masri in Ballston area,

[Anonymous]

pull your toe up towards you to halt the cramp.

no new advice on prevention though.

[Anonymous]

I had a bad charlie horse and it was a dvt