Poll: Cramps and spasms

Same here Tori, the arch of my foot hurts horribly.  Possibly the worse pain I've ever felt in my life.

You could mix the tonic water with sugar free syrup or toroni (sp) syrup. that way it tastes like soda.

VERY often.  I do feel better when I take my potassium supplement and magnesium also.  Being honest here for me it's also an indication that my water intake really sucked for that day (I'm NOT good with water intake).

They hurt really bad, I have to get up and walk for 10 minutes or so before I can get the cramping to stop.

 I get them too but only when I tense up like when I'm having you know what and the big moment comes...... Usually in my feet only which is weird .... I don't get them any other way ......Never happen before WLS........

I'm plagued with cramps in my feet, calves, thighs, and toes! It's something that runs on the maternal side of my family tree, Mom, Grandma all suffered from lower extremity charlie horses and cramps.

Most experts don't truly know, nor can they pinpoint what causes cramping, some suggest electrolyte imbalances (manpgnesium,potassium, salts), some say extreme use or overuse, some say say muscle use without accompanying stretching, some say wearing different style shoes/heels that put different stressors on different muscle groups.

Everyone has posted great remedies they have found to be effective for them. I usually can isolate what causes mine, but once they start (usually in the late evening or smack dab in the middle of the night), there's little I can do bit ride them out, walking up and down the hallway, trying to massage them, taking some liquid potassium, eating something salty, drinking some PowerAid Zero, and sometimes just crying in agony until they stop.

I hate that they run in my family, I hate that there is no one thing that alleviates the issues, and I hate that I'm feeling my toes starting to get all twisted (pre-cramp) just as I'm typing this.

BTW, most beans (Lima, white, pinto, etc), have more potassium than a banana. Beet greens are awesome potassium deliverers without the accompanying caloric load, just sayin!

I had a lot of muscle cramps pre-op.'

I have fewer muscle cramps post-op, but I do have more focal cramps in my toes than I used to get. Before it was the muscles along the lower back rim of my ribcage that would sieze up (due to my "beast bosom"). But then I've been using muscle relaxants since my back surgery last year. Perhaps I have less issues because I have greater access to muscle relaxants. I used to do a banana a day in year 2 but started having RH issues with them at teh end of year 2 so I gave them up.

I get them all the time in my calves and sometimes in my feet.  I talk to my endocrinologist all the time about it and sometimes to my PCP = neither can figure it out.  My Endo who does all my labs has checked for every possible thing and nothing comes up. All my electrolytes are fine.  She has even put me on potassium to see if it would help but it doesn't.  I have tried adding salt to see if it would help me retain some of the fluids I am drinking and not get so dehydrated.  That didnt' work either.  I had an IV with magnesium while in the hospital and that didnt' help either.

I will be lying her and be fine and then all of a sudden I flex my foot and I get  the worst cramp/spasm that I have to fly off the bed.  Other times is comes out of no where, I could be in a sound sleep.  It makes no sense.  My B vitamins are fine, she even tested B2 and B3.

I also get a monthly IV for my immune system and the cramps don't get better after that so all those fluids dont' help, so dehydration can't be it.  I do drink and drink but it isn't enough but cant' drink anymore  I just have so much diarhea I cant' keep up