Leg cramps??

[AngGee]

Wow, last night my left shin had cramps in it almost ALL.NIGHT.LONG. This morning when I woke up my leg is soooo sore, like I worked out or something.
Any idea what causes leg cramps or what I can do to try to avoid them tonight?

NO FUN

[Deleted]

Drink water and eat bananas for potassium. You may be dehydrated and that can cause cramping.

[glw]

If it continues to be a problem, look into magnesium supplements. The RDA of magnesium is 320 mg/day for women and most people don't get enough from their diet.

[AngGee]

Hmmmm.... this is interesting. I try to keep hydrated throughout the day and will most def try more bananas. I usually eat them with a piece of toast for breakfast but guess I need more in my diet. Also, I already take Magneisium supplements twice a day. (wonder if something is going wonky with that?)

But I was thinking it was the shoes I wore yesterday which were small heels and as my granddaughter said, they look like OLD granma shoes! ha ha I wore them for over 14 hours and did a LOT of walking with school supply shopping after work with the grands. Think that could be it? Or should I check into my magneisum level? I have a doc appt in October but if this doesn't stop I will have to go in WAY before then.

[Deleted]

The calcium in milk will help ease the cramps right away, but ditto on adding potassium to your diet.

[phoenixrising]

Drinking tonic water can also ease cramps immediately. I have a friend who sometimes gets leg cramps at night, and she keeps a bottle of tonic water at her bedside at all time.

As for the cause, it could be dehydration or some sort of electrolyte imbalance. It's normal to get cramps on occasion, but if they persist, you should mention them to your doctor.

[kkloth]

Whoa! I totally had leg cramps last night, too. Weird!!

[AngGee]

Wonder if it could have anything to do with the heat too? Guess I'm grasping here but the only other time I've ever had leg cramps was when I was pregnant and that is DEFINATELY not the case now.

But man is that ever painful.

[misshark122]

Aug 14, 2012 9:20:09 GMT -5 @virginiablue said:

Drink water and eat bananas for potassium. You may be dehydrated and that can cause cramping.

I was going to say this same thing.

[hz80408]

Was it like a "charlie horse" intense pain that woke you up?

[xokell2]

One fact I remember from nursing school 10 years ago was that in order to get the daily recommended potassium intake from eating a banana it would have to be 5 feet tall. lol

[mrssavy42112]

I get Charlie horses during the night also. For me, it’s when I don’t take my daily potassium supplement. When I do, I’m perfectly fine. If I don’t, I can wake up 2-3x during the night in pain. That stuff hurts like crazy. I also feel sore the next day & walk with the feeling that any wrong move could bring it back. My dad gets them the night after doing a lot of vigorous work at his job. Try the suggestions of adding more potassium in the form of bananas first & then see if that’s enough for you (it wasn’t for me).

[AngGee]

Yes it was definately a charlie horse. And like mrssavy said, today I'm walking carefully as it feels like it could come back with avengence at any moment!!
But actually it is getting better as the day wears on. Just hope no more show up tonight.

[AngGee]

So I drank TONS of water yesterday, was SO scared to have another night like the night before. But luckily, nothing, NO charlie horses, no cramps, no soreness, NOTHING.
Going to drink tons more water today.
Whew, thanks ladies for the advice.

Oh almost forgot to say, today when I put on my nude pumps I could almost feel the soreness again. I'm really thinking it was those new "granma" shoes as my granddaughter called them. LOL

[SportsFanMilly16]

Put a bar of soap between your top sheet and your mattress pad down by the end of the bed. It can be any kind of bar soap except Ivory. Don't know why it works but it does!

[AngGee]

Now that you say this I remember my MIL, years ago, telling me this worked for her. Luckily I have not had this happen again but sure will try this if it does!
Thanks.

[pooh8402]

eat more potassium! when I get cramps like that, I know I'm low on potassium and my sodium/potassium balance is messed up. I also try to drink at least 2 liters of water a day. many fruits and vegetables are high in potassium--bananas (however, you have to eat 2 of these to get the same amount of potassium as the raisins and potatoes), baked potatoes, prunes, raisins, cooked spinach, canned tomatoes... are especially high.