Please help!..Leg cramps at night?
betty_the_villages
18 years ago
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lazy_gardens
18 years agoPeaBee4
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Leg Cramps
Comments (21)I've been suffering the leg cramps for about 6 months now. I hate taking medications and will try anything natural. I've tried calcium and magnesium supplements, olive leaf extract and potassium. All seem to work for a little while then they come back. Went to my local health food store and they suggested a tablespoon of black strap molasses daily. It has worked for about the last 2 months. I've been able to reduce it to about a tablespoon every other day and that seems to be working. I have found that if I miss taking it for a couple of days, they slowly start making their way back. Most of them come on while I am sleeping. The ones in the thighs are the worst, they tend to pull in all different directions, getting out of bed is almost impossible. My husband has to begin rubbing it out before I'm even able to get out of bed to walk. I'm sticking with the molasses for now. I do stretch before going to bed as well. That also seems to help....See MoreWho's used soap in the bed for leg cramps?
Comments (18)Well, I have to question the placebo effect. My DH has terrible restless leg syndrome, and often leg cramps at night. I didn't tell him, but I put the bar of soap -Irish Spring- under the fitted sheet. It had no effect at all. I tested this, as we were keeping a journal for the doctor, for two months. We were keeping track of the cramps and symptoms nightly. Soap or no soap, no difference. Bars of soap in the sheets can't hurt you in any way, but belief is a powerful medication, so if you believe, maybe it will help. It didn't help my DH at all. And that's why I didn't tell him to start with. I wanted to know without the placebo effect. Potassium has worked wonders, in the form of a banana a day....See MoreMuscle cramps
Comments (48)" rob, with the kind of diets most people have, few have sodium deficiencies. Those with a reasonable diet get adequate magnesium and too potassium from bananas." It's not always that cut and dried sometimes. I ended up with totally messed up electrolytes and really lowsodium levels from a blood pressure med I was taking. My doc only tested my electrolytes because I started noticing I was constantly drinking heaps of water, peeing heaps and felt like I was dehydrated throughout the day. When people sweat heavily and frequently in hot climates or working outdoors in the heat it can also affect their sodium and other electrolytes. I've also found in the past there have been periods where I get annoying muscle tics. For years I put up with them but eventually found taking a magnesium supplement seems to resolve it. Bananas are a good source of potassium and magnesium but some people (like me) can't eat them so sometimes we do need extra from other sources, and lifestyle or climate can affect our individual need for higher/lesser amounts....See Moreleg cramps
Comments (39)I agree keep hydrated and eat a banana. If I eat the wrong food like something starchy I get terrible cramps and then migraines totally Associated for me with a magnesium deficiency. The last one I got 3 days ago was so bad that it looked like something had gouged part of my leg out of my side of my calf. It was completely caved in and hard as a rock. It took 20 minutes for that one to go away even though I applied what usually helps me which is a poultice of Epsom salts. :/ I had eaten yams instead of sweet potatoes the day before. Sweet potatoes help yams hurt. They are very filling though. I can eat it usually in small amounts. I'll have to try pickle juice and the homeopathic cramp treatment. Avocados don't help me and I really get tired of bananas. Because of my kidney problems I can't take excess magnesium as it causes me to have a kidney reaction....See Morebetty_the_villages
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