How to eliminate nocturnal leg cramps

I have a bite of banana every morning (for potassium) and a 500mg magnesium capsule every night before bed. Try to get plenty of water around the clock so I don't end up dehydrated overnight.
Occasional calf stretches and massages.

For me, the two factors that I think are most related to my leg cramps at night are hydration and exercise. If I keep my water intake up through the day, and /or if I exercise that day, I tend to not get the cramps.

Is it an absolute, definitive coorelation? No. Sometimes, my theory doesn't hold up... but it does mostly.

/LarryG

I agree. Hydration was a big one for me. Also accepting that getting a lot of work done whilst sitting is not exercise (movement of the legs) was also a basic paradigm I had to change.
I knew I had inflammation and that is a contributor. That can be caused by over exercise, arthritis, sugar and injury. I have 3 of those and sugar was the only one I could fix.
I think they are the base causes. If you fix those you won’t need the remedies of massage, electrolytes etc
If you have vascular disease and/ or peripheral neuropathy you will still need to find some remedies beyond water and exercise - which I agree are the basics.

Thanks for the reminder. It’s easy to get lost in the complexities of cure when you are uncomfortable and forget to seek the cause.
Thx

I’ve shared this to others I had a massage therapist teach me when getting a cramp take the side of your hand or have someone else and karate chop across the middle of your foot it will knock it out! I’ve had it so bad and with a failed back surgery couldn’t bend so I took the back of my hill on the other foot and karate chop the other foot. It has worked about 25 years for me so if anyone tries it and gets relief please let me know so I can share with others

I have night time leg cramps too and they’re not from electrolytes but from my spine. I have mild bulging discs from T12-L5 and osteophyte formation at my nerve routes leading from my spine. Even though I stretch before bed, exercise 2x daily, walk 2 miles daily I cannot beat the leg cramps. I can feel the spasms begin in my back down to my legs before I need to jump out of bed. It absolutely sucks! I know with osteoarthritis, which I have I’m fighting a loosing battle but I continue. If I don’t stay active I hurt and when I’m active I eventually hurt too. It’s a up and down game. I’ve tried acupuncture, massage, TENS, etc. with no success. In my opinion there is no cure only temporary relief.

I am a big believer in Magnesium for leg and foot cramps that I use to get frequently but with regular use of Magnesium I have not had any leg or foot cramps. I do notice if I miss more than two or three days taking it the cramps come back.

I have peripheral neuropathy from chemo. I've noticed that sleeping on my back with a heating pad under my calves stops the cramping.

Hi Julese,
We have spoken before. I’m sorry to hear you have Axonal neuropathy.
Sadly that is also a contributing factor to my leg cramps.
The MVA I spoke of in my initial post (that provided the ankle injury that led to ankle surgery) also included a multi fractured pelvis and spinal injuries (including a bulging disk at L5).
I also juggle the pain following exercise vs the other symptoms without exercise.
I was doing OK until I got peripheral neuropathy through B6 toxicity (the B6 was in a magnesium supplement that was helping the leg cramps).
When I had to stop that (the B6/magnesium) the cramps came back with a vengeance (hence my post here).
Axonal neuropathy comes from the spine outwards whereas with peripheral neuropathy the damage is at the nerve endings.
I have both but my peripheral nerves may recover once I rid my body of the B6. The spine I can’t fix but I agree balancing exercise and protection is necessary and difficult.
I do ballet in the deep end of a warm swimming pool. Swimming is too vigorous.
I am currently taking low dose magnesium, drinking lots of water, not eating sugar in the afternoon, getting my calves massaged before bed and trying the karate chops across my feet (recommended by @sbtheplumber1 ).
I was putting Voltaren on my injured ankle - you might find putting that on your lower back helpful before bed?
I am just weaning off that as it does have side effects but so does lack of sleep and the anxiety of anticipation of the cramps coming!
Again - balance.
How much to do and what things to ingest?
Knowing both can help and both can make things worse.
I’ve found this group very helpful and I’ve just had a full week without cramps.
I’m taking that as I win.
I hope you get a run of good sleep. Everything feels better when you are rested.
Good luck.

I got consistent relief with magnesium (for 5 years!) when I found I had developed peripheral neuropathy from a small dose of B6 in the magnesium.
I started getting clumsy (dropping things) unsteady in my feet, brain fog, memory loss, tingling in my hands, loss of strength in my hands.
I was at a loss until I read about the surge in cases of B6 toxicity and all the symptoms matched mine.
I was only taking 25mg a day (recommended daily max was 100mg) but instead of the expected concentration of 40mcg/l of B6, I had a saturation of 1607! I stopped taking the supplement and you are right - the cramps came back immediately. I knew I couldn’t take them without further peripheral nerve damage. That’s when I asked here and started trying alternative options.
I have just reintroduced low dose magnesium (only magnesium- nothing else in it - to my routine and I’ve added that test (magnesium levels) to my monthly blood screen (monitoring detoxing from B6).
You can overdose magnesium too. It seems everything is a balance.
Everything was fine on the magnesium … until it wasn’t.

A few of us in this group have found heat helpful. I started with a warm bath before bed. I now put on the foot zone of the electric blanket before bed (turn off once I’m in) and it helps the vascular dilation and if vascular constriction is an issue then this certainly helps. Often there are multiple causes and more than one remedy required.
I am very sorry to hear you had to endure chemo - I do hope it was effective and you are recovering and now dealing with the aftermath of the treatment.
I really appreciate you taking the time to share what is working for you. It confirms the process of adding warmth is worth trying.