Muscle cramps with cirrhosis

[Soreknees2016]

A brief summary of my situation: I was diagnosed with non alcoholic cirrhosis in 2020, partly due to being on methotrexate for psoriatic arthritis, as well as being overweight, diabetes, etc. I have had none of the typical outward symptoms of liver disease, and beyond occasional ultrasounds and fibroscans and one endoscopy, I haven't really had much in the way of medical intervention.

I have started to be troubled by muscle cramps in my legs - not the intense back of the calf seizing up type of thing, but more widespread. Through the early hours of this morning, I was wakened several times with cramp in my inner thighs, sides of my calves, across the tops of my feet/ankles - not all together or at the same time, thankfully!

Is this likely to be a symptom of the cirrhosis, possible worsening of the disease, and is there anything I can do to treat or prevent this happening? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Readlots]

Hi, this happened to my Mum as well. She was advised to drink tonic water - the quinine helps. But do check with your doctors in case it isn’t suitable for you. I also remember something about bananas, but maybe they were talking about me! I know it was really painful and kept her awake at night. She found walking on a cold floor helped.

[tipovtong in reply to Readlots]

Indian tonic water and bitter lemmon worked for me, but have to check ingredients as not all contain quinine👍

[FlippinOut]

Have you had recent bloodwork done? Your electrolytes could be off, sodium, potassium, magnesium etc.

[Tommy62]

I'm the same mine was low potassium I was told to ear bananas and oranges a drink a class of pure orange juice every day it worked for me goodluck

[juneblue]

Hello. With me the diuretics for ascites was causing my cramps. So the same thing flippinout said. Don’t know if your on them. They also caused dehydration. All of which are side effects of the medication. With cirrhosis, it’s a catch 22. Doc wants to limit fluid and sodium intake how ever you need both to live. You have to find a happy and healthy medium. Hope this helped.

[Missmanor2]

HiI too had methatrixate for my psoriatic arthritis and as well as now having a decompensated liver my psoriasis is a huge problem. My rheumatology consultant has offered the bio injection to ease that. I also suffer from cramps in my arms and legs l asked rumatology consultant about that he said he hears this a lot from people who have been taken off methatrixate and said it resolves itself in time (l hope)l am not a drinker but no one told me how much damage methatrixate could do.

So we are where we are and lm still here l struggle everyday but trying to keep positive.my thoughts are with you on your journey big hugs

[Soreknees2016 in reply to Missmanor2]

I feel your pain ☹️. Fortunately my PSA has been fairly well controlled for several years by MTX then Sulfasalazine, but the cirrhosis diagnosis was a real shock as I was never much of a drinker either, and it does worry me sometimes about what the future may hold. But like you, I try to stay positive and live for today. Sending best wishes x

[Tiger800xrt]

Magnesium oil spray works for some. Worth a try.

[Dionne19721318]

yes Magnesium oil spray really do work I use the Harrogate Organic Magnesium Oil Spray.

Amazon had some other good brands on offer as we speak.

Good luck and take care (:

[Bluegirl52]

I have cirrhosis from right sided heart failure. My Tricuspid valve was regurgitating and caused what is termed cardiac cirrhosis. I am well compensated but take massive does of diuretics because of the heart failure which cause symptoms of dehydration. I take a couple of teaspoons of prepared yellow mustard ( the kind you put on hotdogs) and it works pretty quickly. I’ve also heard of people drinking some dill pickle juice. I’m not a doctor but these are things others have tried. I also have to take a lot of potassium pills to keep things balanced.

[Soreknees2016]

Many thanks for all your helpful replies and suggestions.

I had regular 3 monthly bloods done just a week or two ago as I am on Sulfasalazine for my psoriatic arthritis, and nothing was flagged up but I will certainly mention the cramps next time. I also realised that I have a phone appointment with the hospital liver nurse on 11 October, so I can also raise it then.

I don’t take any diuretics, so don’t think that’s the issue, but I am conscious that these days, I drink less water than I used to, so that’s something I can work on.

I do occasionally drink tonic, but think I may need to make it a daily thing. I don’t particularly like the taste, so have started adding a splash of orange squash to make it a bit more palatable. Didn’t know about bananas, so I’ll definitely have them more frequently, same with oranges, and hopefully that applies to tangerines/clementines too, as they are a bit less messy to peel! I think I’ll pass on the mustard and dill pickle juice for now, but keep them in reserve in case nothing else works!

I’ll also look into magnesium spray - I tried this a few years ago but found it a bit greasy, so perhaps I just need to try different brands.

Thanks again for all your advice - it is much appreciated! 😄