primitive afflicted with chronic leg cramps

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11471080

Oh my.

LibGranny (571 posts)    Sat Jan 26, 2013, 03:40 PM

Anyone suffer from chronic leg cramps (Charlie Horses)? I've had this problem for nearly 5 years and I've tried potassium supplements, calcium supplements, an OTC med called "Leg Cramps" (which worked for a while) and then talked to my doctor. He ordered a Doppler test on my legs (which revealed nothing) then said to continue with the Leg Cramps med as it contained quinine. I am about 10 lbs overweight and normally walk 3-5 miles a day (wearing good athletic shoes). I was awakened 2 days ago with the WORST leg cramp ever and my leg is still very sore and I'm at wits end.
 
I'd appreciate any advice from anyone who suffers the same problem!

Lionessa (3,894 posts)   Sat Jan 26, 2013, 04:02 PM

1. Walk bare foot. The good athletic shoes turn out not to be so good for everyone and are sometimes the cause of the problem. The heavily reinforced shoes apparently can force your feet into positions not normal for certain folks' feet to ankle ratio.
 
Additionally vitamin E is a big help with leg cramps.

http://www.ehow.com/info_8099931_problems-athletic-shoes.html

ProgressiveProfessor (22,144 posts)    Sat Jan 26, 2013, 04:44 PM

2. I used to use full strength quinine and it worked

It is an off the book use of insurance will not pay for it and has some cardiac implications.

ProfessorGAC (24,074 posts)    Wed Feb 6, 2013, 09:01 PM

3. Mine Comes From MS

But, there are very muscle specific stretching things that help me a lot. Don't need to do them all the time, only when i'm feeling the spasms. They work great. Some are good for calves. Some for the feet, some for the things, and some for the hips and butt.
 
My root cause may be different though.

Nay (6,690 posts)    Thu Feb 7, 2013, 03:10 PM

4. For some cramps, it's a deficiency of magnesium. Also, from your name, I get that you are maybe

55-75 years old? I'm in that range and the doc told me that just getting older brings on cramps, and that stretching exercises every day might help.

The empressof all (27,918 posts)    Thu Feb 14, 2013, 05:37 PM

5. Are you hydrating enough

My SO gets cramping when he forgets to drink enough water. If the doctor has ruled out any thing serious...try to drink 8 oz of clear water 6 to 8 times a day.

ohheckyeah (7,239 posts)    Fri Feb 15, 2013, 11:56 PM

6. Magnesium and vitamin D helped my leg cramps. I have fibromyalgia* and have rods and screws in my back so I have a lot of leg and back pain.
 
Walking around barefoot all the time made my leg cramps worse. What works best for me is cowboy boots. I know, it sounds weird, but they support my feet and thus my legs and back better than anything else. I spent over $100 on a pair of New Balance shoes that were custom fitted and I've worn them once. I switched to cowboy boots (remembering how I used to wear them years ago) and my leg and back pain has decreased significantly.
 
I also drink some tonic water at night sometimes (it has quinine).

*must be the primitive affliction de jour; the primitives do things like that, and the first and only place I've ever heard of it is.....on Skins's island.

wikipedia says it has psychological origins, which sounds suspiciously hypochondrial.

hedgehog (32,343 posts)    Thu Feb 6, 2014, 11:59 PM

10. I second the Magnesium and Vitamin D

The mag helps me sleep better at night, too.

MADem (97,066 posts)    Sun Feb 17, 2013, 11:11 AM

7. Do you get enough to drink? Particularly in winter it is easy to get dehydrated.

Over-hydrate, if possible, and see if that helps you. Do you take a diuretic for any condition?
 
Here's a Q/A article that might help:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/expert.q.a/05/25/leg.cramps.brawley/index.html

arthritisR_US (4,485 posts)    Sun Nov 10, 2013, 10:13 PM

8. Any problems with vertigo or dizziness ? If not

then try MBT footwear (www.mbt.com). They work by strengthening the core muscles and by doing so they increase the circulation to the extremities. Work wonders on neuropathy in the hands & feet of diabetics so the oxygen increase to the limb muscles is wonderful in getting rid of the leg cramps. I suffered for years and a month into wearing MBT's they were almost gone. Within the next month, gone completely, no more being woken up with excruciating pain.

Sketchers makes rocker sole shoes too but I would absolutely NOT get those. They don't have a carbon fibre plate in them so one ends up overpronating to the point where the knees and hips start having major issues (serious issues). I knew a gal who ended up cracking both of her femeral necks, so please stay away from Sketchers.

Herself (130 posts)    Thu Feb 6, 2014, 06:42 PM

9. wrestless legs, toes, calf cramps..

I take magnesium/calcium/zinc.

Not all supplements are legit. Don't buy them at walmart.

Go to Vitamin Shoppe on line, etc.

Everyone is told to take potassium. If you are low in magnesium, your heart can't "relax after it's contraction part of "pump' operation. Same thing for leg muscles.
 
Have doctor check your blood levels.

Always get copies of your medical tests performed.

wordpix (13,149 posts)    Thu Feb 13, 2014, 02:27 PM

11. I also had this problem, which is now gone (?) b/c recently I was diagnosed with cancer and I have done away with coffee, alcohol, most meat and dairy (unless a little free range/organic), and have very little sugar, except what's in fruit naturally. IOW, I am mostly now living on a vegan diet. Lo and behold, I have not had leg cramps since I started this diet in Dec.
 
The cancer is another story.

Nay (6,690 posts)    Fri Feb 14, 2014, 08:06 PM

12. If you take a statin, it may be the cause. I had horrible leg cramps a few weeks after starting atorvastatin. I have taken other statins without having the problem.
 
One more possibility is that you are slightly dehydrated. I understand that will cause leg cramps. So drink your water even if you don't feel thirsty.
 
Finally, you may want to try leg stretches immediately after your walk. My physical therapist gave me three stretches that will lengthen/stretch your leg muscles, which contract after exercise. I have found these to be very, very helpful.

<<<has had leg cramps before; not often, but a few.

<<<merely ate a banana, and presto! problem solved.

But because bananas aren't pharmaceuticals, drugs, the primitives aren't interested; only chemicals paid for by the taxpayers have any credibility with primitives.

[dane]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11471080

<<<has had leg cramps before; not often, but a few.

<<<merely ate a banana, and presto! problem solved.

But because bananas aren't pharmaceuticals, drugs, the primitives aren't interested; only chemicals paid for by the taxpayers have any credibility with primitives.

I get cramps in my arms, legs, and sometimes abs and/or back - depending on the WOD (workout of the day - practicing in case some day get a phone with txt capability).

Some of it may be due to overuse of that part during the workout, combined with aging (71).  Generally speaking, the banana therapy immediately after exercising prevents cramps.

[Big Dog]

I believe if someone posted a completely imaginary ailment (say, Restless Hair Syndrome), a half-dozen DUmmies would reply saying they had it, too.

[franksolich]

I believe if someone posted a completely imaginary ailment (say, Restless Hair Syndrome), a half-dozen DUmmies would reply saying they had it, too.

Actually, I'm sure that's been done before.

[dane]

I believe if someone posted a completely imaginary ailment (say, Restless Hair Syndrome), a half-dozen DUmmies would reply saying they had it, too.

A lot of their posts have a 'can you top this' scent about them.  The first DUmmy to post often doesn't have a chance, especially if it concerns ailments.

Regular DUmmies are with ailments as gNads is with careers/special skills or knowlege - they have them all.

[JohnnyReb]

500+ pounds on a 100 pound capable leg will cause cramps.

[thundley4]

I believe if someone posted a completely imaginary ailment (say, Restless Hair Syndrome), a half-dozen DUmmies would reply saying they had it, too.

There have been times when I've had a cold or the flu that it seemed like even the hairs on my body and head hurt . Does that count?

[Big Dog]

There have been times when I've had a cold or the flu that it seemed like even the hairs on my body and head hurt . Does that count?

That depends. Was your hair "restless"?

[Delmar]

Lionessa (3,894 posts)   Sat Jan 26, 2013, 04:02 PM

1. Walk bare foot. The good athletic shoes turn out not to be so good for everyone and are sometimes the cause of the problem. The heavily reinforced shoes apparently can force your feet into positions not normal for certain folks' feet to ankle ratio.
 
Additionally vitamin E is a big help with leg cramps.

http://www.ehow.com/info_...blems-athletic-shoes.html

Walk barefoot?  I guess they don't call them primitives for nothing.  Put on some shoes and join civilization, DUmmy--good shoes not athletic shoes unless you're going to be playing sports.

The history of shoes--that is to say, archaeological and paleoanthropological evidence for the earliest use of protective coverings for the human foot--appears to start during the Middle Paleolithic period of approximately 40,000 years ago.

http://archaeology.about.com/od/fterms/qt/footwear_histor.htm


The Allen Edmonds Mctavish, the ne plus ultra of shoemaking achievement.

[GOBUCKS]

Why don't they stop beating around the bush?

There's only one reason for this thread.

The question is whether a DUmmy can collect disability for a charlie horse.

[JohnnyReb]

Why don't they stop beating around the bush?

There's only one reason for this thread.

The question is whether a DUmmy can collect disability for a charlie horse.

....OR an excuse to buy medical pot.

An ounce of pot a day keeps the doctor away.

[Gina]

Magnesium. 

[thundley4]

That depends. Was your hair "restless"?

Could be. It seems to be migrating from my head to my back.   

[Big Dog]

Could be. It seems to be migrating from my head to my back.   

Mine is migrating to my ears and nostrils. We both have it!

Let's call it Stage 1 Restless Hair Syndrome (RHS1), and before long the DUmmies will be trying to get disability for it.

[franksolich]

Why don't they stop beating around the bush?

There's only one reason for this thread.

The question is whether a DUmmy can collect disability for a charlie horse.

It's been years--this was back on the old DU--but a primitive once inquired about whether or not trimethylaminuria (the affliction Atman has) would qualify one for disability.

[thundley4]

Mine is migrating to my ears and nostrils. We both have it!

Let's call it Stage 1 Restless Hair Syndrome (RHS1), and before long the DUmmies will be trying to get disability for it.

I forgot the ears. Have you considered going as Yoda at Halloween? I have.

[GOBUCKS]

It's been years--this was back on the old DU--but a primitive once inquired about whether or not trimethylaminuria (the affliction Atman has) would qualify one for disability.

Do you suppose that's what got him fired from his cartooning job at Mission Control?

The company produces political junk mail, and he was fired during the runup to the 2012 national election, their busiest, most critical time.

It had to be a really significant issue to shitcan staff at that time, regardless of how incompetent he is.

Maybe it's not just his artwork and attitude that stink.

[Big Dog]

I forgot the ears. Have you considered going as Yoda at Halloween? I have.

Consider I have!

[Tucker]

I'm disappointed. Not one DUmmie chastised the afflicted DUmmie, tell it that it shouldn't have stood up. Sitting down your entire life is the DUmmy way.