Muscle cramping severe

So sorry you're dealing with cramps. I get serious leg cramps at night. The only thing that works is getting out of bed and applying Theraworx all over cramping area. It works very well for me. Good luck, and I hope this is a good day for you. Sue

My allergist suggested CoQ10 which has generally helped.

Doctors do not really know why these happen. I get them but completely irregularly and I dont think there is any sure fire fix. They come and go at night for me too. I have had horribles cramps then not another for a year. Makes no sense, but convinces me that no treatments really are anything but chance.

Does taking the supplements help? My muscle cramps in my hand come after playing golf or tennis so I think there must be a deficiency of something. I also get leg cramps at night but not all the time! It’s a mystery!

I have severe leg cramps too always worse at night sometimes I get them in both legs inside my thighs it hurts so bad I start sweating and feel like I’m going. to pass out . I also have reless leg syndrome and take medication for it , it runs in my family and they have leg cramps . I wonder if leg cramps are apart of reless leg syndrome ?

I had cramps in feet, calves, thighs, and even my torso...for years, starting in the 1990's.

Primary care physician at onset of torso cramps just asked-tsked and essentially chastised me for not drinking enough water. Told me to increase hydration and to sip tonic water nightly. My internal organs would be DROWNING if indeed it were possible to take in any more water, and I had (still do) GERD so wasn't interested in tonic water.

Fast forward a few years and leg pains and cramps along with horrid torso cramps (under right rib and just between the ribs in middle) gripped me, mostly at night but torso cramps also during day hours. She again insisted inadequate hydration was the cause. Told her she was WRONG, and that I was not ingesting tonic water and glad I didn't because quinine has been flagged by FDA. Dropped that primary care doctor. New one suggested checking in with my gastroenterologist for the torso cramps. Testing and ultrasounds showed minor cysts on liver and right kidney but otherwise all was "unremarkable" according to my GI doc of over 30 years...But torso cramps continued although less frequently but still quite painful (causing me to hunch over, rounded back, shallow breathing). Needless to say, restorative sleep was not possible.

The cramps in feet, calves, thighs continued aggressively up until about a year ago. Nothing that I can think of that would have affected that, but ever so grateful! Cramps would become tightened knots along with deep, agonizing, shooting pain, sometimes pulsating and feeling like knife-jabs while intensifying and making it impossible to move or breathe. I'd somehow inch my way off the mattress, legs first so that I'd try to stretch and bear weight down on the foot/leg in effort to somehow release the cramp grip. Didn't/doesn't always work. Would continue for what seemed an eternity, but guesstimate more like upwards of 5 minutes or so. Yes, I'd cry out in pain! And make horrid moaning sounds! My poor hubby would stand by helpless unable to do anything. I certainly did not welcome being touched, not even a well meant soothing hand on my arm or shoulder. After the cramp released its tight, deep grip, I'd be so exhausted. Totally drained of energy. I'd be afraid to move for fear for having the experience repeat itself. I would gladly have remained half-off/half-on the bed for the rest of the night, but EVER so SLOWLY, I'd inch my way back onto the mattress but once on top, would not move to find a favored position. No. I'd remain just where I'd manage to inch onto, hubby placing covers over me (definitely NEVER tucked under, always LOOSE), and he'd go to the guest room down the hall so that I could remain undisturbed, the entire bed being mine alone.

Next morning, the affected areas would be so sore.

And sometimes, DAYTIME cramps also take grip, while sitting with legs on ottoman, or upon attempting to rise from a sitting position. Or even while stretched out on the sofa. Rarely while standing. Damned cramps ruled my life. Up until about a year ago, as I said at onset of this post.

All along those prior years (and presently), magnesium malate tablets became part of my daily supplements. Also Centrum Women's vitamins, Alpha Lipoic Acid (for neuro issues), CoQ10 and low dose aspirin (as per cardiologist for heart health), D3, monthly B12 injection at new primary's office (injections prescribed by neuro-immunologist over 9 yrs ago due to brain lesions of unknown etiology and CNS issues) , and prescribed meds of cyclobenzeprine (fibromyalgia), Metoprolol Succinate Extended Release, Losartan (both for HBP).

I do have several autoimmune and neurological issues but that's just what I've learned to deal/cope with as being part of my life.
I am just SO GRATEFUL that the horrific almost-nightly and even daytime cramps are so rare now😊👍🏼. I'm set on taking care of myself as best I can because I do have way too much on my proverbial plate, including chronic pain and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. I self-advocate and do research on medical sites, not generalized ones. And every night I engage in gentle stretching exercises, especially the feet/legs. Religiously!

I have done research on the prescribed meds and have learned helpful insights. Will be seeing my cardiologist next month and definitely want to have a discussion about specific concerns regarding the metoprolol and the losartan. I'll see how that conversation goes...meantime, I'm grateful for the decreased cramps issues that were pure hell for so many years.

As for creams/OTC pills advertised as "reducing/eliminating" cramps: In my humble opinion, worthless overall. Might have a placebo effect on some cramp sufferers, but thus far I've found no research literature supporting their effectiveness.
Many are so intense in odor or burn (like Tiger Balm, or any in that category). Vick's is less odorous, doesn't burn, and actually is surprisingly effective, including with foot neuropathy pain.

I do commiserate with all of you who are plagued by cramps. May they decrease in frequency and intensity.💖

I am so sorry and can relate to severe muscle spasms in legs and feet! I take 2- 400 mg magnesium aspirate every night before bed and I also have a magnesium cream at bedside to massage into feet/legs in middle of the night. Thst works almost immediately Have you researched costochronditis for rib pain.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/costochondritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20371175

I also had bad muscle spasms at night until I started to take two 500mg of Magnesium Glycinate and upped my water intake. ( I took the Magnesium at night before bed time).
Putting a washcloth or small hand towel rung out in hot water, helped take the spasm away, or made them somewhat tolerable.

Are you by any chance on a statin drug? These can cause muscle cramping.

I have read that you must be careful about the ratio of the minerals you are taking (magnesium, potassium etc.) in order for them to be helpful instead of harmful. Maybe checking on this would help.

Thank you for your reply and empathy🌺.
I do want to say that taking magnesium (malate) is stated in my post. Have been taking it for over 10 yrs or so, originally "prescribed" to help with sleep issues and anxiety by a very knowledgeable rheumatologist who emphasized using drugs as little as possible. So that supplement is taken every evening after dinner along with the ALA, cyclobenzeprine (for fibromyalgia), losartan and metoprolol succinate ER and low-dose aspirin for cardiac issues. I can't say that the magnesium helps with the cramps since those were present (at a lesser degree for a while, then intensified) for several years even while taking the supplement. And then other chronic pain and medical issues cropped up that compounded sleep issue. It's the saying of "taking ones to forward and going two step backwards"... Nevertheless, I still take it since my system has assimilated it for so many years, and I don't want to discover what would happen without it. Extensive research has convinced me that it's best not to exclude it from my regimen. (The sagacious doctor who prescribed it has unfortunately retired, so I have lost an incredible source of knowledge.) And as I also stated in my post, I'm at a loss as to why the crushing cramps diminished within the last year or so, both in degree and frequency, but they have, for which I've been definitely grateful! Interestingly, the cramps that I've had in my left leg have originated in the ankle area that has been diagnosed by neurologist as Complex Regional Pain syndrome. Those start as a hot, sharp, burst of pain that electrifies outward and up the leg and into the thigh. Past cramps (prior to the ankle trauma) have not been hot, just damned painful.

Yesterday, while at supermarket I had a new pain experience that literally stopped me on the spot. (I deliberately plan for no more than total of 1 hr standing/walking to avoid increase of burning nerve pain in ankle/foot.) We had been in the store no more than 20 minutes when a nasty Pain Level 7 nerve pain suddenly emerged on the underside of left foot and made me buckle. That's the foot with CRPS and the 24/7 burning nerve pain. It felt almost like having a TENS machine set at a painfully high level. The pain made me nauseous, and I could not put weight on that foot. My husband and I waited a few minutes, with me bearing weight on RIGHT foot while nearly draped over the cart, until pain diminished. We were at the front of the store, near self-checkout, so we went to the nearest station with what was already in the cart, and left. The underside of left foot was sensitive and sore for balance of the day, nerve pain ebbing on and off. I applied a pain cream that my incredible podiatrist had compounded for me (filled and mailed via a pharmacy in another state). It is not a magnesium cream, rather it has several elements in it. Expensive, but generous size pump-container, and it dispenses the recommended dose per pumping action. Very effective. Originally prescribed by him for the mega-pain caused by three neuromas and hammer toe.

As for costochronditis: Yes, I've experienced that as well (about 4 times, first was in early '90s), but that pain is definitely distinct, not at all the cramping that I now experience as a horrid knot in a specific area WITHIN the abdominal space. Costochronditis and I are unfortunately well acquainted. The torso cramps are different and scarier, knotting deep in the abdomen. They are similar in nature to the coiled, vicious cramps that form and grip my feet up to thighs.

Every night, and several times throughout the day, I do exercises learned from my wonderful physical therapist, to release/relax tendons, muscles, joints in my lower tors. I strongly believe that they contribute to the less-intense, fewer in frequency, cramps in appendages (which yes, sometimes can and have happened during the day as well). Before retiring for the night, I lay on my back, tush wiggled up against the wall in the family room, and rest my legs straight up against the wall. Feels so good! I definitely recommend it.

I am grateful for periods of what some might label as "dull and boring" because for me that means no medical drama of any kind.😊

May you enjoy whichever holiday you participate in.🌺