im having trouble with cramps in my f... - Lung Conditions C...
im having trouble with cramps in my feet in bed at night, anyone else have this or am special....
Sorry you are not special,, hahahaha,, its the inhalors,, i believe a nice little side effect,, 
yes i to get cramp in my feet,,,,
hi sesh123 i have this olso get it in my fingers too when i mentioned it to doctor he just said yes cramp was not really interested......dont now if its anything to do with inhalers or to many steroids but never had it untill a while after i was diagnosed with COPD they say tonic water helps or Doc can give you quinine tablets if really bad, know it keeps me awake with the feet is painfull, take care.
Hi there, yeah me too I find keeping them warm helps which can mean socks in bed sometimes - oh well.
Good luck,
Chris
Very rarely I get it but I do get it in a finger or thumb and the instep of my feet. I never used to get this before getting COPD medicines.
I struggle with it quite badly especially of I can't get my feet warm. It's difficult to control/medicate. I think for folk like us it's a circulation thing (although I get it in my legs sometimes when swimming). So you aren't alone but as regards a cure them I drink tonic water and just try and keep my feet warm as its invariably when they are cold that I get the cramp.
Awful isn't it? I did used to get it in my back before diagnosis - which indefinitely put down to poor circulation of air through muscles.
Mariex
hi marie, I found it was worse when cold and very painful when it moved into my shins,ive had it in my back too, very uncomfortable
Oh yes I get them too usually just the one foot. When I mentioned to the Doc as usual got the reply put up or shut up it's the meds (he knows me well) I have no advice I have tried different things from believe it or not vick on sole can't remember whose idea that was to wearing a cotton sock but so far nothing has worked Sorry 
Bugger! I've got it in my left foot now from lying on the sofa! Ouch...
Get up and walk around, that's what I do, and the cramp wears off.
it gets so painful to stand especially in the shin
First it starts in one foot so I circle the ankle round and round until it clicks but then it hops to the next foot ! If I bend the foot up at an angle it's just about bearable and like many others, socks and hot water bottle
i'll give it a try thanks
I get cramp in my feet too. It's horrible. It's not as if I can cuddle them. I can hardly reach them. I find standing up and walking around helps.
This is a copy and paste from a US Dentist who deals with sleep apnoea patients. When people have apnoeas their oxygen levels dip, and this is how he explains muscle cramps:-
""Here is the flow of my thoughts on muscle cramping not just in the calf and foot area but generalized muscle cramping. 1. your brain detects low oxygen levels in the blood and the only friend it has to mitigate the problem is the heart. Just to make the math simple lets assume the oxygen level is around 50% (fatal in real life). The heart would have to pump twice as much blood to the brain in half the time to get the original 100% oxygen saturation. 2. Pulse rate would rise and volume of blood flowing to the muscles would also rise as well. Muscles are very good at doing one thing- contracting. That's what muscles do! In effect, your muscles have just run a marathon at night when your oxygen levels go down and the pulse and blood flow goes up."
I'm thinking that this would also affect others, even without sleep apnoea, in connection with oxygen levels.
That's very interesting Kath, thank you for sharing.
My pleasure, and I know how horrible those cramps are in the night, as I used to suffer from them before my sleep apnoea diagnosis. I found the dentist's article interesting too
thanks for that kath
Try gentle pressing at little at a time on a cold floor. or a little cold water in bath or basin enough to cover your foot and gently press down.
Also quenine is found in tonic water and bitter lemon. i hate the stuff. i down it really quick but have other juice standing by for the aftertaste.
Yeah, I use the 'cold floor' method too Latte, it was either that or the WD-40 !
Exercises during cramps
During an episode of leg cramp, stretch and massage the affected muscle.
For example, if the cramp is in your calf muscle:
•Straighten your leg and lift your foot upwards, bending it at the ankle so that your toes point towards your shin.
•Walk around on your heels for a few minutes.
Exercises to prevent cramps
To reduce your risk of getting leg cramps in the future, you should do exercises to stretch the affected muscles three times a day.
For example, if your calf muscles are affected by cramps, the following exercise should be beneficial:
•stand about a metre away from a wall
•lean forward with your arms outstretched to touch the wall while keeping the soles of your feet flat on the floor
•hold this position for five seconds before releasing
•repeat the exercise for five minutes
For the best results, you should repeat this exercise three times a day, including one session just before you go to bed.
If you find these exercises useful you can carry on doing them for as long as you are able to.
A podiatrist recommended making a sloping board (from the side looks a bit like a slice of cheese from a round wheel) - about 4" higher at the front than the back and wide enough to stand both feet on to put in front of the washbasin in the bathroom to stand on while washing/cleaning teeth. I used to get a lot of cramp but this has gently stretched the muscles in the calves and seems to have substantially reduced the problem for me. I used to get cramp when I was quite young so probably not associated with meds for me. Still need to make sure my feet are warm before going to sleep though.
ive tried all that it and found little relief with foot cramps
My husband suffers with cramp in his legs and feet which is made much worse if he uses the ventolin inhaler! Not with any other drugs or using salbutamol in the nebuliser. And seemed worse when he was on the steroids recently. Sorry I cant help anymore, hope it subsides for you. TAD xx
im beginning to think its the meds, thanks
I too get cramps in the night and on waking, but I got them even before I started taking the symbicort or salamol. I just put it down to poor circulation as we get older. I have tried most of the above but find that no matter what you do it does go away eventually anyway.
I have friends who don't have COPD and they get it too.
Try eating a banana every day it's something to do with the potassium in them that helps.
Some things that may help that other lung patients have tried are;
make sure you drink plenty of water each day (dehydration can cause cramping)
a glass of real indian tonic water before bed at night (for the quinine)
rub feet with vicks vapo rub at night (recommended by a foot doc)
when in cramp, always flex the foot (so you get a hamstring stretch)
I have found all the above helpful, I also found formeterol fumerate, Oxis turbohaler a fab cramp causing med. I am prescribed this but can only tolerate one puff a day, 2 puffs cause me cramps day and night in the extremities
I've heard many say about eating a banana every day as cramps can be caused by low potassium levels (as copdber mentions). There are lots of other foods also high in potassium ;
ehow.co.uk/facts_4744618_fo...
healthaliciousness.com/arti...
If night cramps are very bad and none of the above helps, check with your doctor who may prescribe quinine.
Hope you get some relief soon.
thanks for that
Must be the medication, I also suffer now since taking seretide. I always wear bed socks now, very sexy, BUT, something that does seem to help is magnesium - I take 200mg two hours before bedtime.
Hope that it works for others, worth a try.
Joany
That's for the tips, have magnesium in the cupboard so will give that a go, tonic water two, can I add a gin to that? I get cramps too, so frustrating when very tired and need to sleep x x x
I was told by my GP that the only tonic that really works is Schh... You know who. Again it's to do with the amount of quinine. Another tip I was given years ago was to take good pinch of salt.
I actually get cramps in my legs and arms, it looks like there's a lot of excellent answers for you, hope you see an answer that works.
it seems we all have this cramp problem back cramps i stretch opposite way, hands i just push back & feet stand bear foot in cold floor works instantly for me. Try lots of advice something will work well for u. Good luck x
Hi Sesh, I have suffered badly with cramp ever since I first started feeling ill. Doc said it was a side effect of all the drugs I take and told me to wear bed socks (I do, even in the summer) and drink a least one large glass of tonic water with quinine. I was sceptical but it really works. I no longer suffer from cramp. when on holiday I have to find a shop that sells Scheppes tonic as nothing else works. Good luck Maximonkey
thanks maxi I will try that
Interesting thread.
I have been taking loads more Seretide over the past two weeks because of hayfever and yesterday some cramp started up in my right calf, really painful but at least on and off.
I wonder if magnesium would help with cramp? it's a muscle relaxant.
koala
I get cramps in both feet and my fingers it can be very painful. BUT COLD FEET oh I hate it makes me feel cold all over, best cure I know for that is to put them on my hubby in bed
I used to get this allot. I think , but cannot swear to it that some medications strip the body of some vitamins. I have found that potassium, for me at least make's it all go away. Or Tonic water is a good stop gap. I also take small doses of iron.
I get it in in both feet eventually the least change in weather and its heavy socks and hot water bottle I don't know if a mixture of oxygen steroids and water tablet
I used to suffer horrendous cramps regularly. I was on soluble paracetamol for years for a different condition, anyway when I changed to a non soluble tablet my cramps all but disappeared. M
Have your doctor check your blood for low Potassium. Inhalers for CODP are know for causing low blood potassium levels that can cause muscle cramping. Very low levels are life threatening. Please consider this if you are on breathing medications (inhalers) and getting regular cramps. If your doctor does not comply to your request and cramping does not stop. Insist!
me, too. I think done of the inhalation meds we take for our COPD can have this side effect. also heard that drinking lots of water will reduce this--very painful!
I get tingling sensations and pain in my feet,toes, and calf's,they come and go,also the feeling of tightness in under sole of feet,and ankles and calf's.I am on Spivira and Salbutamol Easi Breathe 100mcg.
I was on Seretide 500,but was taken off that for the time being,as consultant thinks it could be that med causing the Oral Thrush.
So I know it is/was not the Seretide causing the tingling in the above meds etc.
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