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Severe leg cramps: How do you relax severe leg cramps?

Posted by Dawn, Alumni Mentor @dawn_giacabazi, Jun 25, 2016

Please someone tell me the trick to relax severe leg cramps????
Lord, they are lasting 1-2 hours, debilitating pain. Can't walk them off. Starting behind the knees down to my toes. Some curl my toes some point them. Tried stretching, bio feedback relaxation. NO HELP!! HELP!

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Feb 17 7:40am
In reply to @searain "My cardiologist recommended a magnesium supplement. I’ve taken it now for a couple of years. Really..." + (show)
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My cardiologist recommended a magnesium supplement. I’ve taken it now for a couple of years. Really helps. I use magnesium glycinate. I just followed directions on bottle. Also, take at night.

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Welcome @searain, Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds like you have a great cardiologist. If you don't mind sharing, what brought you to Connect?

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marthas2026 | @marthas2026 | Feb 17 2:31pm
In reply to @johnbishop "Hello @marthas2026, Welcome to Connect. Sorry to hear you are struggling after your knee replacement. You..." + (show)
Profile picture for John, Volunteer Mentor @johnbishop

Hello @marthas2026, Welcome to Connect. Sorry to hear you are struggling after your knee replacement. You are not alone and you might want to join others in the following discussion to learn what they have shared.
-- Total Knee Replacement Pain Levels: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/total-knee-replacement-pain-levels/

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@johnbishop

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johntow | @johntow | Feb 17 7:21pm
In reply to @spreels2 "@johntow ...Thanks, I will do that again. The reason I was put on Gabapentin was to..." + (show)
Profile picture for spreels2 @spreels2

@johntow ...Thanks, I will do that again. The reason I was put on Gabapentin was to help alleviate withdrawal symptoms I had due to discontinuing Clonazapam, which had been prescribed for sleep. Now I am told that I will have to discontinue the Gabapentin as well. In the meantime, I have enjoyed having no problems with restless legs syndrome. I am able to enjoy going to bed, and not finding it to be a challenge.

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@spreels2
for a SAFE sleep aid, I found Flexeral or Cyclobenzaprine to make me quite sleepy, and I will sleep through the night without waking up, I may even sleep in later if not careful. Tylenol PM is just as unsafe to take long-term as Benadryl is, because it contains the same active ingredient.

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steveinarizona | @steveinarizona | Feb 18 6:19am
In reply to @marthas2026 "Hello. I am 69 years old and had total knee replacement 3 weeks ago (January 27th,..." + (show)
Profile picture for marthas2026 @marthas2026

Hello. I am 69 years old and had total knee replacement 3 weeks ago (January 27th, 2026.) I'm in physical therapy 2x per week and using a walker. Although I'm making progress, I feel I should be further along. My anxiety is through the roof, and pain is still a 7 -10 most days. Sleeping less than 4 hours in a 24 hour period. Is anyone out there experiencing the same? I'm alone for 12 hours per day as my husband works long hours. So it's a lot to take care of myself but doing the best I can. I'd like to chat to share my frustration with others in the same situation. Husband doesn't want to hear it. He says I'm lazy because I can't walk without the walker yet. I hope someone out there will respond to this post. Thank you, M

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@marthas2026

Recovery from a TKR is a bell curve. I had a great and successful RTKR (no pain). My surgeon's recovery protocol is to be a couch potato for the first week and to use the walker that week. The second week he had me start some household activities but he did not have me start PT until the third week.

You are only in that third week. Recovery from a TKR is unpredictable. I have seen many instances of a person having two knee replacements done separately: same surgeon, same implant, same method, etc. yet the recovery from each can be very different.

See if you can get your husband to sample the comments here and in the Reddit knee replacement subreddit to see the variability of recovery.

You are not lazy and you are not doing anything wrong. Keep up the PT...it is critically important.

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beedom | @beedom | Feb 18 9:04am
In reply to @laughlin1947 "For nighttime leg cramps, I vouch for taking two potassium gluconate (99 mg elemental potassium) tablets..." + (show)
Profile picture for laughlin1947 @laughlin1947

For nighttime leg cramps, I vouch for taking two potassium gluconate (99 mg elemental potassium) tablets before bedtime. I take them each night, and my bloodwork shows that my potassium level is right at mid-range. A friend who is a doctor recommended magnesium citrate and that might work for you too. Do not take magnesium with vitamin D3, it inactivates the D3.
Another thing to know is that some statins will cause nighttime cramping. The first statin I took, which I cannot remember name-wise, caused really severe cramps in the middle of the night, normally in the hamstrings.
I now take rosuvastatin (Crestor) that does NOT have the cramping side effect for me, but there are several statins that will cause severe cramping.

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@laughlin1947

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cutshaw01 | @cutshaw01 | Feb 18 1:14pm
In reply to @spreels2 "@johntow ...Thanks, I will do that again. The reason I was put on Gabapentin was to..." + (show)
Profile picture for spreels2 @spreels2

@johntow ...Thanks, I will do that again. The reason I was put on Gabapentin was to help alleviate withdrawal symptoms I had due to discontinuing Clonazapam, which had been prescribed for sleep. Now I am told that I will have to discontinue the Gabapentin as well. In the meantime, I have enjoyed having no problems with restless legs syndrome. I am able to enjoy going to bed, and not finding it to be a challenge.

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@spreels2 Hi, my doctor put me on ropinirole for RLS. 0.5mg and it works great. Good luck!
Richard

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spreels2 | @spreels2 | Feb 19 2:38pm
In reply to @cutshaw01 "@spreels2 Hi, my doctor put me on ropinirole for RLS. 0.5mg and it works great. Good..." + (show)
Profile picture for cutshaw01 @cutshaw01

@spreels2 Hi, my doctor put me on ropinirole for RLS. 0.5mg and it works great. Good luck!
Richard

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@cutshaw01 Thanks, Richard!!!! I looked it up after reading your post. It sounds like it will work for me and I can wean off of Gabapentin, and still have help with RLS.

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cutshaw01 | @cutshaw01 | Feb 19 11:00pm

It works great! Good luck..

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