Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I experience what I call nocturnal foot/leg cramps about six nights a week. This pain usually happens while I am completely at rest and sleeping but I have experienced this while fully awake and active (ex: riding a bike).

This pain is excrutiationg and wakes me out of a sound sleep. It starts on the top of my foot and shoots up the side of my leg. There is no touching the effected area (unless you wish to be smacked) the only thing that relieves the pain is a shot of trace minerals and applying the pressure of my weight on that specific side. The pain usually subsides within 15-20 minutes so I head back to bed. An hour or so later I get the same damn pain in the opposite foot/leg and repeat the screaming, ranting, raving and carrying on until it subsides.

I have been to every type of doctor possible from western medicine to accupunture. I've had the bones in my feet looked at, I've had the blood flow and oxygen levels checked. No one can seem to find the source of my situation. I'm a pretty active person and thankfully, in good health other than this problem.

I'm trying to find out if there is anyone else out there that experiences this type of pain and if so, what do you do to prevent it from happening?

This is probably the first thing you tried, but do you take a potassium supplement? I get leg and foot cramps in my sleep sometimes and usually if I take potassium for a few days it will stop.

Yikes. Doesn't sound exactly like what I've experienced, but for both restless leg syndrome and severe leg cramps stemming from my lower back (not sciatic), overdosing on magnesium has helped a ton. I really like the raspberry magnesium fizzy drink called Magnesium Calm.
I also once went through the process of trying each individual homeopathic in a leg cramp formula (since the whole formula isn't vegan) and found that the Magnesia Phosphorica one helped me. Borion makes vegan liquid formulas your local hippie spot may be able to order, but I know that'd be an expensive pain to try to find one that works for you (thankfully I worked at a co-op where I got samples). I might also note I'm a skeptic with homeopathics, but this definitely helped me.

Thanks so much for the suggestions - I really do appreciate them.

I should have mentioned that I regularly supplement my diet four times each day... helpful that my husband is a nutritional trainer in the natural health industry (lucky me!). I do take additional potassium and I also drink a wonderful bedtime cocktail of Magnesium Serene, which has 800 MG of magnesium per serving. I've tried the homeopathic formulas for quite some time but really didn't help so I gave up.

*sigh* actually just had a bit of a pain with the left foot while popping muffins in the oven. It's going to be one of those nights I guess...

Open to any and all suggestions, so please keep em coming!

I remember in past threads people saying for them it was just a sign of being dehydrated. So might as well try more water

I drink over 160 oz every single day. Maybe that's too much.

Are you on any type of hormone therapy/replacement or birth control pill? Both can cause the legs cramps... I used to get them when they put me on hormone therapy after my hysterectomy. Soon as i quit the replacement crepe they went away.

Yep - on birth control for far too long... also have Hashimotos so I take thyroid meds as well. I may try coming off the BC. Thanks for the idea :)

This will sound crazy but...there is an old home remedy that some people swear by, and that's to put a bar of soap in the sheets at the foot of your bed. I don't know why this would work, and I've never tried it myself. But some people say it works, and it's low risk to try it. See: http://www.ehow.com/about_5556893_soap- ... ramps.html

It DOES sound crazy but I'm going to to try this tonight! It couldn't hurt - thank you so much for this idea. I'll keep you posted!

I was going to suggest magnesium but you're already taking it, I hope you figure it out!

Leg cramps suck !

They are also a symptom of Hashimotos and I get them more when my thyroid hormone level is out. Have you had your thyroid hormone levels tested recently ? TSH, Free T3 and Free T4?

Excercise helps limit my night time cramps, especially streteching/yoga before bed.

Sweet dreams !

My nan was prescribed something called Cramp-ex but a different doc just told her to have a glass of Tonic Water before bed and ger cramps have comletely gone. She would get it in her back, waist, hands and hips too, so it's been amazing that it's worked. I do the same (when I can get over the taste) and have found that it works...it's worth a go seeing as it won't break the bank!

Jo

I want to know if the bar of soap works.

me too. i don't get them often, but when i do i hit the floor cursing like a sailor!

Has your doctor recommended potassium/magnesium supplements? They can be pretty bad for your kidneys if you don't actually need them.

I'd try more potassium-rich foods instead.

My husband thinks I've lost my mind... I have two bars in the sheets that frame my feet. Seriously, the soap DOES work!! I've used it for over a week and removed it from the bed once and WHAMMO - cramps came back. The soap stays!

THANK YOU!!!

I have not had my levels checked lately but plan to this week as my meds are up for refill. I do take two different strengths every other day. You're right, my levels are probably off.

I am very active and have a routine that I follow (Bikram, cardio, dog walks, etc.) Unfortunately, excercise and stretching has not made much of a difference for me :( Oddly enough, the bars of soap are!

My Mom gets these and her doctor told her to supplement vitamin E. she swears by it and rarely gets cramps anymore. I am not sure her exact symptoms and I would be careful with vit e because it is fat soluble and if you overdose there are other symptoms.

I was going to ask if you wore heels a lot during the day and if you have had your arches checked (flat feet?)?
But it seems like the soap is working!

coconut water! Its been a life saver for a lot of my pregnant and marathon patients. It has such high amounts of potassium and magnesium that it'll keep the cramps from happening. Give it a try, its cheap and worth the shot. Take one bottle a day for a week and see how you feel

Sounds like Restless Leg Syndrome. The cause of which has yet to be discovered but no amount of electrolytes, like potassium and magnesium, are going to cure it if it is. For roughly 25 years I got by on 4-5 hours of broken sleep, seeing all sorts of Drs. until it finally got so bad I was sent to see a neurologist at a sleep clinic. We experimented with all the drugs known at that time for treating this condition, but the side effects were often worse than the condition. Then it was discovered that a very low dose of a specific antidepressant could calm the spasms enough to allow the RLS sufferer to sleep. I take it now and the dosage is so low I don't feel as though I'm taking anything, but it sufficiently calms my legs, feet, and sometimes arms, to allow me to sleep and my husband to wake up without bruises. I think I saw an ad once for a new med specifically for RLS, but why mess with success in my case. You should get your Dr. to check this out.

That said muscle cramping in the feet and calves is most often the result of low electrolytes. Sports drinks are formulated to combat this very thing, which occurs in athletes as a result of sweating them out.

Last night I had the worst leg (upper thigh) cramp of my life. I had a really bad calf cramp once, probably 5 years ago. This one is going down in history too. I knew my leg was cramping, so I decided to get out of bed and put pressure on it, BAD MOVE, it got worse, so I laid down, it got even worse, so I stood up, oh my god I'm dying aren't I? So I laid down, I moved around and it subsided. I then got up to go to the bathroom and it was ok although sore.

I think mine was exercise induced though, lots of thigh work in the past few days.

BANANAS

I used to get charlie horses every night, to the point where I was afraid to go to sleep. Sometimes I got them when I was awake and moving around. Bananas help. The soap thing is hilarious!