leg cramps???

O.K ladies I need some help.  Lately I have been suffering from AWFUL leg cramps...and when I say AWFUL I really do mean painful !!!

It's usually in my right let.  These cramps start around my ankle and wrap around into my calf muscle and then continue up into my inner thigh.  Sometimes they goes on for 15-20 minutes with little relief from the pain.  The next day my leg is so sore I have a hard time walking.  Rarely do I get these at night when I'm sleeping.  I also get bad cramps in my toes on that leg.  My big toe actually stand up....it looks silly...but it hurts like the devil !!! 

What do you know about these cramps.  I'm nearly three years out.  I'll confess that I went without health insurance for nearly one year due to my husbands loss of his job.  Now he has a wonderful new job and we have benefits once again.  So I'll be going to the Dr. soon and will have blood work done...I'm sure something has to be wrong....potasium maybe....but I also know that you shouldn't just randomly take a potasium supplement because potasium is the nutrient that regulates your heart rythms and I don't want to mess with that...LOL!!

Could also be a sign of dehydration......make certain fluids are at right levele.

Could also me a sign of low magnesium....be sure to discuss with your doc.

 

Good luck

My mom has suffered from disabling leg cramps like these for years - it's no fun.  You DO need to see a doctor and have your blood work done.

In the meantime, try eating 1/2 a banana daily (great food source of potassium).  See if that helps.  If it helps, but not enough, up it to a full banana (just be careful, as they're high in carbs).

Also make sure you're getting at least 64 oz of NON-CAFFEINATED liquid per day.  If part of what you're drinking is caffeinated, you have to drink that much extra to make up for it.  Dehydration can play a big role in it.

My mom's doctor recommended drinking tonic water (which has quinine in it) as another remedy and it works.  I think you can get quinine pills at the pharmacy (may need a prescription, but I don't think so) if you can't stand the taste or bubbles of the tonic water.  Just make sure you're getting real "tonic water" (it will list quinine on the ingredients) and not club soda.

Finally - if it's always in roughly the same spot, and if that spot is at all warm, red, tender, inflamed, get to a doctor ASAP, as it could be a sign of a blood clot or some other circulatory problem. 

Good luck! Keep us posted!
Karen

Old homeopathic remedy is yellow mustard for leg cramps.   Yep, just squirt some in your mouth while you are in cramp and should begin to diminish in a few mins (turmeric aids circulatory system).    On a more serious note, you really should get a doppler test on that leg to make sure there isn't anything going on.    My Mom had a "trigger toe" when she had a BC between her calf and ankle bone.  You could see an area was red and it was hot to the touch and yowsa, she'd go through the roof if you hit the right spot.   Low b-vites also cause nerve/cramping/tingling and loss of sensation but that's not usually super painful; more like a constant hum/ache of the leg.   Hope you get to the bottom of it soon; no fun.

Do you have a bunion? Or heel pain? I only ask because I used to get the standing-up-toe thing before my bunion was removed, and I was recently diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and a heel spur, and the pain from those was traveling up my leg and affecting my calf, my knee, and my hip, too. Definitely see a podiatrist, I say.

Oh and if you go the tonic water route, PLEASE get diet tonic! Regular tonic has a ton of sugar!

What everyone else has put are great suggestions.  You may want t make sure that your vitamin D level is not low with your blood work.  One of the side effects of this being low is leg cramps, jumpy legs etc. 

I get leg cramps like this and my doctor wants me to do a sleep study to watch them... only problem they don't really happen when I sleep which is leading him to believe that it is a neuro issue and other than taking drugs like what they give for RLS there isn't a whole lot to do for them. 

But I would have the doc do blood work and take it from there.  But my always came back normal and btw I have tried all the old wives tales for leg cramps they don't work lol...

Yup what everyone else said

A)  Water/hydration
B)  Potassium, magnesium, Vit b's, Vit D

Are the biggest culprits. 

Let us know what happens!

Pam gave you the possibilities, just so you know, if you are not drinking enough fluids, it depletes your body of nutrients like postassium and magnesium. . .  I have been suffering with the same thing, but I did note at the time that my fluid intake was down some because I had been running around a lot and not consciously drinking enough.  The NUT at Barix confirmed what Pam said and if you google potassium and magnesium, you will find a wealth of foods to eat to get it naturally, I believe spinach is one good source that you can mix in with an omlet or make the crustless pizza, which uses spinach as the crust. . .  and get your bloodwork done.