Muscle cramping

[Lakota_winyan]

I don't know if u tried this already but after any exercising is to stretch once more...and it seems to help..also the water somebody also suggested pickle juice..but hey if you are looking for something guess you will have to try them all right? Hope you find something that will help u..LOL minus the witch dr..hahaha

[rezgranny]

Muscle Cramps

I suffer from the same thing! It usually happens in my feet if they get cold, but I have been cramping in the calves also lately. And yes a severe attack in the middle of the night is murder, not to mention it hurting for a day or two after. I was in to see a nurse practitioner the other day, and she suggested stretching out my legs before bedtime. Haven't had time to put this suggestion to work, too tired at bedtime, so I haven't given it a try yet. I'll let you know if it works.

[azshinob]

Muscle Cramps

My mother had leg cramps at night, walking. Her doc had put her on quanine she got some relief from the pain but not a cure. I took her to a specialist who said she would have to have an angiogram to see if her arteries were restricted.Well she had the angiogram & the doc decided the lower arteries were restricted. She would have to have an arterial transplant, She never made it off the table. The doc said that her arteries would collapse after every attempt to clamp them. I tell you this so you may be well informed on leg cramps and some of the causes of.

[Ginger]

Does anyone know of any good medicine (whether traditional, modern, or whatever) for muscle cramping while sleeping? My leg muscles and back muscles cramp a lot when I sleep and it's so painful, I wake up screaming and my family thinks someone's murdering me. Anyway, they're so painful that my muscles then hurt for the next couple days...driving me nuts. I heard potassium (i.e. bananas) are good for it but I don't eat bananas in my sleep!

you might have a calcium deficiency
take more calcium, when i was pregnant with my boys i had cramps so bad I thought Iwas going to die si my Dr. told me to take mor calcium & the cramps went away, also if you blankes are too tight around your feet it's will make your feet & toes to bend whic causes muscle strain

[ogapahndn]

Cramps at night suck! Be sure to stretch well after you work out to get rid of the lactic acid build-up in your muscles. Also drink lots of water. Especially during powwow season to replenish all the fluids you lose. You may also want to try some gatorade or similar product to put back lost electrolytes. I eat a banana before I go to bed every night to keep my legs from aching. Potassium is great for muscle aches! Good luck!

[Zorro]

Pathwalker's info is very good, calcium deficiency is the biggest culprit of that kind of cramps. And milk is not the place to get it (there is actually very little natural calcium in milk, it's added artificially - the result of a dairy industry ad campaign in the 60s to convince mothers to buy more milk. They did a good job with their brainwashing.). Even multivitamins aren't that great, as they also contain a lot of iron, which inhibits the body's ability to absorb calcium. The best source of calcium that your body can use well is leafy dark green vegetables, like spinach.

If these things don't help (sounds like your chiropracter is on the right track), you should probably get a physical, as nerve damage (anything from an injury to degenerative nerve diseases like MS) could also cause cramping. But diet changes and the rest would be the place to start, the most likely cause.

[Zorro]

Also, depending on your age and if you are taking birth control (pill, shot, etc.), that could contribute to a calcium deficiency. If you are in your mid-30s or older, especially if you are taking birth control, you should be taking at least 1000mg a day of calcium.

[between2worlds]

Straight from Marathoner Hal Higdon AND "Runners World Magazine"...8 ounces of Tonic Water before bedtime. I tried it and it works! I recommend it to everyone. Tonic Water contains quinine. Doesn't taste real good, but highly effective.

Actually it tastes awful! But the thread has brought back some good memories.

My Grams always had her 8 oz. every night for leg cramps. Canadian Dry company used to bottle it under the name Quinine Water. The "in-town" doctor told her that it probably wasn't good for her and she should take some kind of medication. Of course he didn't want her using cream in her coffee or real butter on her bread. Grams always maintained all those chemicals the docs wanted her to use as food or medicine were poison. She'd stick with her real dairy products and her quinine water thank-you-very-much.

She outlived that doctor, by the way, passing at the young age of 103 in 1986.

~b2w

[indian-heart-beat]

1000 mg Calcium,
700 mg Magnesium,
about 100 g protein a day
drink a lot, but
no coffee, no coke, no diet coke, no fast food, no sugar, no alk.

Good luck!

[mblazonyee]

If you eat bananas your overall potassium level will increase, day or night, I have known it to cure some people of calf cramping. Another possibility is that your electrolyte balance is off. Generally each person needs a relative amount of sugar or salt in their body that helps regulate their fluid system. They can be pretty painful, have you tried stretching them regularly?

Matt