Nocturnal Leg Cramps - Help!

@ashby1947 I just answered a different question about leg cramps, I will have to direct that person to here.
As I told him, leg cramps are most frequently from not drinking enough liquid. I had some severe ones from an illness and nothing seemed to help at all, but I did keep a bottle of tonic water with quinine in it in my bathroom. I am not sure if it helped or not, the cramps would generally go away after about 10 - 20 minutes. Maybe they would have anyway. I have heard of people drinking pickle juice for them, there is an OTC medication for them also. That definitely did not help. There is also an Amish remedy that you can purchase on Amazon -- just search Amish leg cramps. It supposedly does help many people but it did not help me.
The first thing I would do is to drink more water. If they still continue think about any other possible unrelated symptoms you may have. If you do have anything else that seems amiss then definitely check with your doctor. Even if it is just leg cramps you may want to check with your doctor anyway.
JK

@ashby1947 Welcome to connect where we help with our experiences, I have had cramps with the ankles ,legs and believe it or not what helps me is drinking a couple of swollows of dill pickle juice and I rub wintergreen alcohol on the legs. Its the green alcohol. The pickle juice has to be the dill juice Bread and butter wont help at all

Hi @lcallandrn and welcome to Connect.
Do you have any other symptoms, be they odd or seem unrelated? Cramps can be indicative of other things so I would definitely mention it to my doctor if I was you. Also, it is very typical to get leg cramps if you are not drinking enough water. I can tell days when I have not had enough water/liquid. I tend to get terrible cramps in my feet. It's always a red flag to me because I am supposed to drink a certain amount of water a day to offset a medication I have to take. Even though leg cramps may seem minor if there is anything else at all going on please do check with your doctor.
JK

@lcallandrn Another person also just posted a question about leg cramps. You may want to join the discussion there. So far I am the only respondent there also but eventually there will be more, I am sure of that.

https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/nocturnal-leg-cramps-help/?pg=1#comment-339577
JK

I am guilty of bring a soda drinker. I can go weeks without drinking water. When I do drink water, I get severe leg cramps that can happen day or night. The last one involved my whole leg to the toes. What can cause this?

Hi @lcallandrn, as @contentandwell mentioned, I moved your message to this existing discussion about leg cramps that was also started today by @ashby1947 and @lioness. I thought it best to bring you all together in one place. You might also be interested to read the ideas shared in this previous discussion in the Sleep Health group.

> Groups > Sleep Health > Restless Leg Syndrome
— https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/restless-leg-syndrome-2a74e5/

I get restless legs more than outright cramps. Like @contentandwell this is often due to not drinking enough water in my case. I also find 2 seemingly opposing things are contributors: 1) not moving enough like a day that I work at my desk and don't get out to walk or workout OR 2) I workout hard and don't stretch. In both cases, I find that stretching my legs, especially my calves just before bed helps prevent the problem.

Here's what Mayo Clinic has to say about leg cramps https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/muscle-cramp/symptoms-causes/syc-20350820

@lcallandrn do you exercise a lot or do physical labor? Or do activities that force you to stay in one position for extended periods of time, like a desk job?

Asby 1947, hi
Usually leg cramps come because of dehydration be sure to get 64 oz. Watera day. Also over exercising, under exercising or just standing in place for long periods. Are you taking a diuretic? If so you may need a different one, that spares you potassium. Don't increase you potassium without having a chem profile - or you could have other problems and discuss with your primary.. I rarely have leg cramps but they do happen at night after being on my feet all day or driving for several hours. I
recommend you make a hot pack (wet wash cloth in zip lock bag, microwave for 20 seconds, wrap in light towel ) and apply to cramp area.
I think this applies to lactic acid in our muscles.Runners also get those cramps, that's why you see them stretching Always works for me.

@Asby1947 Besides drinking enough water I also make sure I get enough Potassium @ Magnesium As I stated above I use wintergreen alcohol to rub on my twitchy legs .

Hello Everyone! Thank you for all your comments. I discovered Theraworx, an OTC topical application. I have been using it every night and have had no more "OMG jump out of bed to get rid of cramps" episodes. I highly recommend it! Sue

@ashby1947

Hi,
I’m jumping in late on this topic but would like to add my thoughts before the Christmas Eve festivities get under way. I’ve had occasional restless legs and cramps over the years. I started taking Magnesium glycinate a couple of month ago (400 mg) for better sleep because it is reputed to have a calming effect.
I noticed that I have had hardly any leg cramps or restless legs.....maybe one in a month or month and a half. I take the Mg right before bedtime. It is one of the many forms of magnesium that it easily absorbed into the bloodstream.

I just want to emphasize that you should not opt for a cheap brand of any supplement. There are many types of calcium and magnesium, for example, and you should research which type would benefit you more Not all supplements are created equal. Research the labs that produce them and the country of origin. The Magnesium Glycinate I take has the the amino acid glycine which is supposed to have a calming effect. It happens to work for me.

Hydration , as several people mentioned, is another important factor for everyone no matter what ails ya. Try stretching your hamstrings before bedtime as that may help. If you find something that works, that’s terrific. Nocturnal cramps seem to happen more often among the older population. I just don’t hear of younger people mentioning it as a problem.

Anyway....they’re the most god awful annoying things to happen when you are trying to sleep and have to jump up out of bed and stumble around in the dark trying to walk it off or massage it and then sliding back into bed when you think it’s over and trying to find the perfect sleep position and not move because it will happen again...argh. There’s a vision I have of all these people doing the cramp dance during the night.

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate

FL Mary