Cramps

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Shewie

Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,258
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Yorkshire
Random post warning ...


I've been getting weird cramps lately, some at night in my calf muscles which are enough to wake me up and have me hobbling around the bedroom for five minutes, the worst ones though are in the top of my feet/ankle and up into my shins. The pain is unbearable, the foot contorts and the toes curl up like I'm turning into Hulk, these happen at any time though and have resulted in some interesting driving journeys.

I'm pretty sure they've worsened since I started my meds for the thyroid thing, but I have had the calf cramps for years. I'm back at the specialist next week so I'll raise it then.

Anybody else suffer with this? Got any tips?
 
Never had such a thing Shewie but it sounds bloody horrible. One thing a person can certainly do without, that's for sure. Best of luck finding out what's causing it and more importantly I hope you can be rid of it!
 
Rich, buy Crampex tablets.

They are worth their weight in gold when that excruciating pain starts.

Best of luck sorting it all out asap.

M
 
i get the calf cramps at night, and as you say, get you hopping around the bedroom big time. Don't get it often, maybe twice in the past year. I'd be interested in what the Doc says.

good luck.
 
i get cramp pretty badly too, mainly in my hands. i've been told that they can be a sign of too much salt in your diet, but not entirely sure about that one. a cure would be a great thing as it can get really bloody annoying at times, especially when i'm trying to do anything delicate and/or fiddly.

i shall have a look into mary's suggestion of crampex, got to be worth a try. anyone know of a "home-brand" product that's similar 'cos i'm fairly sure that the name "crampex" has got to add at least a couple of quid to someone's profit margin

stuart
 
Quinine is supposed to help some people, found in tonic water I beleive. Also stretching and swinging of the affected limb. Tother half gets it and it hirts me as mich as her when she digs me for laughing at her doing the nocturnal highland fling
 
As VANDEEN says Quinine works but the only one tonic water that i know has it is schweppes indian tonic hope this helps you it works for me but you need to drink on a regular basis


Jason
 
It's a B vitamin, but I tried taking just the vitamin and ended up with the most appalling miserable histamine flush from it.
Not doing that again :sigh:

The Crampex is worth it's weight in gold when the cramps start.
My feet and shins can be cripplingly sore with them sometimes. Not the first night I've ended up in tears unable to ease the cramp out anyway I tried.
My nearly 90 year old Uncle said, "Try this.", and I did and it's a blessed relief :D

48 tablets for £6 or £7 if you buy online, but twice that at the chemist.
If you're in that much pain though, you'll buy them from the chemist just to have them *now*.

Real sympathy for anyone who has cramps like these at all.

M
 
Cheers for the suggestions folks, I'll give the Crampex a go first I think.

How is it taken Mary, is it immediately after the cramps or do you take them as a preventive?
 
I can't get my feet to move out of the cramp, even walking on them doesn't ease them :sigh: the ones along the soles are worse than childbirth, at least those cramps worked through and eased.

I don't suffer often Rich, I take one when I'm woken by the pain and within minutes I have peace :)
I know folks who take them every night before bed so that they'll get a sound sleep, but I'm not a fan of taking pills 'just because' if I can avoid it.

Tbh I think everyone's different though. I don't need them often, I have a friend who'll cramp up every night for a couple of months at a time :( well she did, until she started taking the crampex stuff too.

atb,
M
 
Have you changed your diet? Low salt can lead to cramp, used to be common with our dialysis patients, big mug of Jardox (think Marmite) would help them. Are you now on medication? Are you drinking enough?
 
I heard that about the salt too Richard, but I've always (pregnancy and feeding babies apart) taken far too much salt in my diet, so :dunno: about that one.

The B3 stuff I tried stopped the cramps but the whole body rash that developed hurt like sunburn until it faded away :(

M
 
Have you changed your diet? Low salt can lead to cramp, used to be common with our dialysis patients, big mug of Jardox (think Marmite) would help them. Are you now on medication? Are you drinking enough?

I've not changed the diet, still eating a reasonably varied diet, maybe not as much fruit as I should. I take a lot of salt with everything, could I have too much?

I'm on Carbimazole at the moment and I think it's that which has kicked off the foot cramps
 
I know what you mean, I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with searing pain in my calf muscle from cramp. I've heard it's lack of salt too.

It's bloody painful, but I find the best way to get rid of them are to jump straight out of bed and try and stretch it while massaging the muscle.

Never had it in the foot or during the day though, that does sound annoying
 
Suffered from cramps myself , used to get so bad my calfs would ache the following day. What worked for me was to eat a banana before going to bed, hope this is of help.
 

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