How to eliminate nocturnal leg cramps

I have a few friends who absolutely avoid sugar because they tell me the inflammation is not worth the enjoyment of sweets. I hope you find that your recent improvement is indeed permanent.

@carbcounter letting doctors decide for you is positive but being self aware is too. What ever results from depleted CoQ10 is not as bad as clotted blood in your circulatory system. That would be my biggest concern.

I believe night cramps or leg cramps are caused by insufficient fluid in the vascular system. The fastest solution I know is to drink 1 to 2 ounces of 5% vinegar in an 8 ounce glass filled with water. Cramps will be gone in less than 2 minutes. If you simply guzzle 8 to 16 ounces of water it seems to take 5 to 10 minutes. My wife preferred for me to squeeze 3 large limes in place of the vinegar and add sweetener.
Background: the wives tale about waiting 30 minutes after eating to go swimming to prevent cramping. My thought was that food made the digestive tract go basic. Hence making the digestive tract go acidic will reverse the process and send fluid to the vascular system. I am not a doctor and don't claim this will work for everyone, but my wife and I have done it for years. More background is the use of pickle juice by high school football coaches when players start cramping during training in the heat of summer. If this doesn't work please see a doctor about vascular insufficiency. My personal ailment is hyperaldosteronism; I flush potassium, hence my cramps (and fluid issues) are caused by electrolyte issues.

@dalen yes, I do believe you have nailed this. I posted the question and I have been monitoring it for a year. I have low resting heart rate and normal (low) blood pressure. I have found dehydration is a cause as is vasodilation. Both cause insufficient fluid to achieve required pressure to deliver needed nutrients.
So muscle relaxants, that may stop muscle spasms may also cause vasodilation.
I took medication to slow my heart rate for an angiogram and danced around the room guzzling water most of the night due to extreme cramps.
Recently had quite a lot of blood taken for testing and had similar (not as severe) cramping. Magnesium helps but vasodilation and/or dehydration (insufficient fluid) over rides that benefit.

I have had on and off again leg cramps over the years, sometimes from different causes (RLS, sciatica, vascular). I have not tried magnesium but have heard before that it can help. Otherwise, my approach has been hydration, elevation, compression sleeves, avoiding alcohol too close to bedtime, stretching, and I take a prescription for nerve pain.

When it has come to sciatica being a contributing factor, proper support between my knees, under or around my spine, and under my head has helped a lot. Also if a neurological cause is suspected, stretching the hip muscle groups can help because sometimes the muscle that crosses the sciatic nerve is spasming. (For me, my sciatic pain is from my calves to my toes.)

For vascular causes, evaluating your exercise routines may help. I would do this in consultation with your doctor (especially if you have other conditions). Something like yoga can be gentle, but also very beneficial. Yoga has many different styles and levels - there are instructional videos on Youtube. For example, if you need an easier version, look up chair yoga.

Hope you feel much better soon!

Oh - I forgot this.

I also started incorporating medical massage this year to manage pain. I am so glad that I found something that helps that isn't medicine or a procedure. I received a referral, and my insurance is covering it! The massage therapist I go to is excellent at locating spasms in my muscles.

@derrsk11
thank you. All helpful advice that matches my own experience. A day with exercise vs sitting all day is much better. A day with no alcohol (although my consumption is very low) is better. A day with low sugar is better. A day with good hydration is better. A day with all of those things and small dose of magnesium, and I don’t get any cramps.
Mine are made worse by inflammation so the exercise part is a balance of movement without inflammation.
The awareness of vasodilation is, in hindsight, obvious and I can correlate cramps with these events.
Multifaceted and multi causal. Vascular issues and axonal and peripheral neuropathy (in my case). Each person will have their own triggers and fixes.
Thank you to all who have taken the time to share theirs on this forum. I have found them all very helpful and supportive.

I have found if my feet are warm no longer have leg cramps or foot cramps so I wear heavy socks to bed.

I just got my first bad and persistent right calf cramp this morning. I use pro-stretch devices to stretch my foot and calf muscles each day. I am 80 and have never had any problems with this before--I have had (not frequent) thigh-charley horses but not calf muscle cramps. The one change I have been doing is walking a lot (40 minutes at 15 degrees and 2.8 mph) on a treadmill lately as my major aerobic exercise. I am wondering if too much walking like this could be the reason for the sudden calf cramp? I have been doing massages, applying theraworks to the area, and I can walk but the tightness in the calf muscle persists & hasn't gone away like my thigh "charleyhorses."

Taking the meds pro football players use and combining them:
You can mix Diclofenac ( generic Voltaren )and plain Arnica gels into a base of a half jar of Topricin
and add 2-3 cc Anbesol ( 20% benzocaine )
This is a good topical arthritic joint pain relief cream and also helps night time foot neuropathy
Use the cream up onto the foot to get to the nerves , not just a toe

Do rule out a circulation disorder or a vitamin deficiency B12 etc or overdose B6 issue .

Topricin is just a nice base - some RA patients find it helpful for hand joint pain .