My father had it but not as bad as me. I am talking about my painful muscle cramps which usually occurs when I am about to get out of bed. Usually affects one leg, sometimes both legs, usually last few seconds but feels much longer than that, usually it goes off when I flex my ankle many times but sometimes it is so severe , it makes me get out of bed and walk. I told my cardiologist and he advised me to take my Atorvastatin 40mg in morning and not late in the day which I already do. I was told that the condition is caused by not taking sufficient fluids and now I take fluids as if no tomorrow. I checked my blood electrolytes and they are okay. In the past I was advised to take quinine bisulphate tablets 300mg but not sure if it really works. Folks, has anybody experienced this condition and if so is it possible to know what are the causes and how to prevent it happening?
Nocturnal leg cramps: My father had it... - British Heart Fou...
Nocturnal leg cramps
Oh how I feel for you. I am waiting for my HF Nurse to get back to me because I too suffer with leg cramps which wake me up a few times each night. I find mine is linked to water intake but I am on a fluid restriction and take 5 diuretics daily. They really are most painful and quite often reduce me to tears.I'll let you know what the HF Nurses suggests if/when she rings.
Hi dear, I sympathise with you because how painful and distressing it can be and when it does happen, there is no instant relief. I understand Quinine bisulphate 300mg is a counter dote to this awful condition. It is available on prescription but you and I know how difficult to get an appointment. I was told tonic water has quinine as one of the constituent and is effective. I got a bottle yesterday and has tried last night. I suffered a milder cramp first thing this morning but lets see how I get on. I note that you are on diuretics and fluid restriction. When you see your Heart Failure nurse, try to get some more information as to whether leg cramps are connected to your heart condition. Has your cardiologist tried Doppler test on your leg arteries to measure your circulation level. We are in the same boat, brother and I would appreciate feed back from the nurse and doctors.
I think that magnesium deficiency can cause leg cramps. Obviously supplements should only be taken with the approval of a health professional as they could interact with other meds. A blood test would be the ideal way to find out if you need additional magnesium. However, you could try to eat more magnesium rich foods-almonds and spinach appear to be good sources.
You can get magnesium rich body lotion /cream too as the skin can absorb it but I know nothing about possible drug interaction with that means of boosting magnesium.
Okay, Jeremiah. Thanks for the advice. I did not know about magnesium.
Hi I sympathise greatly as this happens to me every night. I drink lots and lots of water throughout the day so in my case lack of liquid is not a cause. This has been going on for a few years and I have tried many remedies.
Last Oct my iron levels were very low and I required an iron infusion. Within a week or so to my surprise my spasms stopped and it was heaven to be able to read a book watch tv, sleep without the awful spasms.
I had relief for quite a few months…..
I spoke with my Gastro consultant he said if my iron levels became very low again I would have another iron infusion but alas he couldn’t prescribe it only for spasms. I told him if someone could find the element in the iron that helped the spasms they would be considered a hero!
It might be worth your while having your iron and ferritin levels checked.
Good luck I hope you find some relief from this awful condition.
Hi Ghost Thank you so much. If I remember correctly, I had my Hb and ferritin and they were okay. I have been taking iron supplements over the counter for a long time and only gave up recently because of constipation.
Did you notice any improvement while you were taking the iron supplement? I could not tolerate the iron tablets but did manage the iron sachets without it upsetting my stomach and bowels and it did lessen the spasms a wee bit. However my iron was so low I needed the iron infusion and that’s when I got complete relief, it was wonderful to feel relaxed again. I keep hoping my iron levels will become so low again that I can get the infusion. First time I’ve ever wished for a health problem!
Hi Ghost, It was wonderful to know that the iron infusion gave you so much relief from these awful cramps but in your case you needed it. Total dose iron intravenous now a days is rarely administered but glad medics used the right treatment. No, iron supplements did make no difference. As somebody suggested I will stick to almonds and spinach because of the richness of magnesium.
Years ago I used to get crap at night. I'd wake screaming when i tried to flex my ankle. This was long before heart problems. I used to drink tonic water before bed. I know it only has a tiny amount of quinine but it did help.
I spoke to my HF Nurse who has suggested I take one less diuretic every lunchtime and see how that goes. I was told to drink plenty of water during the day in this hot weather. I will try this and keep an eye on weight increase.
My mum had leg cramps in bed after her HA 25 years ago. She's been on quinine now for years and generally doesn't get cramps anymore, but a couple of weeks ago, she realised she'd run out, and had to go without for a few days - the cramps came back the first night!
She's been on Atorvastatin for years - no suggestion that they should be helping the cramp. Personally I don't think she has enough fluid, but of course she doesn't want to drink more as she's already up once or twice a night to go to the loo.
Hi Alison, I am so glad that quinine helped in your mum's case. Did the medics ever considered circulation is the issue and had she ever had a Doppler's test to measure it?
No, I don't think they were that worried. Although she is type II diabetic, so I assume she has been doppler tested over the years.
thanks Alison. Do you suffer from cramp when walking and gets better on resting? That is called intermittent claudication because I have this as well.
No, mum only gets night cramps. Although at 93 she doesn't normally walk very far now 
I will merely note that having stopped Atorvastatin I no longer have leg cramps. In the process of working through this problem I tried quinine tablets and magnesium. Stopping Atorvastatin stopped the problem and I no longer take quinine or magnesium.
As with all these things however, ye need to do this in conjunction with the medics.
I’m now in the process of working with my gp and trying to find a statin that I can actually take without unacceptable side effects. And Atorvastatin isn’t going to be one of those!!
I had terrible leg cramps while sleeping for about 2 years.Put it down to all the training I was doing.Then had my bypass surgery 4 years ago.Am back training just as hard and not had any cramps since.Touch wood.x
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