I've been having muscle cramps for a few years now, mostly in the night and in my calves. But, the last several months I've been getting pain along the outside of my leg, sometimes the inside. This can happen during the night and also during the day. There have been a couple of times i went to the floor. It's never happened while I've been out and about but that is a concern.
I talked with my old neph and he said something about an electrolyte imbalance but didn't comment oh what to do..
I have to watch my potassium intake so can't go that route.
Thanks
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jodaer
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It does sound like an electrolyte problem (water is part of the equation too not just potassium). I am quite certain that a renal dietician could help you go that route in safe smaller increment.
While it's still an active area of research fibers (more potassium is extracted by the gut) and exercise (believed to help regulate potassium level) might be something to consider.
Or might might be really just a cramp and something like a massage can help relieve some symptoms. I had my share of muscle knots and mobility issue recently and I had some success with an inexpensive massage gun. It's too powerful for my neck but it did wonders with my legs and hips. I hope you can find something that works for you.
I have them too, mostly at night or early morning. I’m told that hydration makes a big difference and there’s a question about magnesium also. Best of luck to you. I’m sure this is disturbing. I like the massage idea.
I get cramps in both legs at night and its always after I havent drank my quota of water during recent days. As someone just posted. water is part of that electrolyte balance. What I can't understand is your nephrologist telling you it might be an electrolyte imbalance without checking your labs to see what could be causing it???
I'm always on the low side of magnesium and I take 250 mg a day to correct this condition; however, this dose just corrects it minimally but it does keep it in the low minimal range.
I would suggest you try to keep your water intake at required daily levels and take a look at your electrolytes from your last lab report.
Sometimes doctors act as if these cramps are no big deal. But, having them wake you up at night and even falling as you have is a big deal. I hope you can get some relief soon. Let us know how things are and how you may have relieved them.
I have ankle cramps every night now for 3 months. My ankles turn 90* upwards. Sometimes in and sometimes out. It’s crazy painful. Every hour or so I’m up walking the room to straighten my feet out. I’m exhausted. My electrolytes are in range and so are my other minerals. I drink Gatorade Zero and plenty of water. I take supplements as well. Going for an ultrasound next week. No signs of blood clots or swelling to the naked eye. Hopefully I will get some answers that I can share.
Have you had your blood work checked for what level your magnesium is? I take 400 mg of chelated magnesium. The Oxide variety does not get the the true amount absorbed
Hi Jodaer, My first comment is to the nephrologist. He said something might be wrong, but then does not make a suggestion as to how to help you. I would be looking for a new nephrologist. Cramps and CKD are very common and can often be relieved with the right care. Since I do not know your medical history, it can be dangerous for one of us to diagnose or even recommend. I would call the neph back and say, Well.....what can I take to help with this issue? We must advocate for ourselves. Do you have a GP also. Maybe they can recommend.
Usually leg cramps at night means water, magnesium or potassium is lacking. By drinking more water and taking a supplement, you probably will find relief. Ask the neph what you can take and don't let him ignore you.
I used to get these excruciating cramps in my calves in the early morning. They were so bad that my calves would hurt all day after getting a cramp. I started sleeping with a foam pillow behind my knees and that seemed to help. Eventually (after maybe a year?) the legs cramps just went away and I haven't had one in a long time.
Thanks for all the replies. I do drink enough water, most days. I fill a pitcher with water in the morning so i can be sure to drink it all. Of course there are days I don't finish it but they are few and far between.
When I was with my neph we had discussed my labs. Except for phosphorous, which was .1 over, all were within guidelines. Although proteinuria was off the charts again. We had discussed the leg pain at previous visits and I've come to the conclusion he doesn't get too concerned about them.
I am getting a new neph but only because I've relocated. I'm in the process of researching now.
I will work on making sure i drink my water, would probably be a good idea to keep a log and see how the leg pain/water intake goes. Also with potassium.
Bassetmommer, agree about giving medical advice.. I was looking for experiences but understand some take that as gospel.
Thanks again for all the comments. This is a great place to come to.
Hello jodaer! I also get leg cramps and recently, my calves have been feeling a little tight and painful as well. I’ve also been noticing that I’m not as stable on my feet (where I also feel pain in the heel of my left foot). I know that I do consume some foods that would raise potassium, and high potassium levels in the blood can cause cramping and muscle pain. But, from what I’ve read online, these symptoms can also occur with low potassium levels. If your nephrologist didn’t look into it further, you may want to discuss your concerns with your family doctor and maybe get some blood work done so you know where you stand with your levels, and then you can approach the issue better. I hope you’ll find this helpful. Wishing you all the best! Please do keep us posted. Take good care! God bless. 😊👍🙏
This is what happens to me when I am dehydrated and my magnesium and potassium are low. You need to tell your nephrologist about what is going on. He will probably run labs and see if your levels are low.You need to be your own advocate and get answers! If your present nephrologist isn't willing to help you find out the cause, it's time to find a new one.
Best of luck! Cramps in your legs and feet are not pleasant to deal with and should not be a part of your daily routine. Get help.
Due to my low sodium diet my husband and I have both had the nighttime leg cramps. Since he does not have CKD, he started adding salt back into his food, and just like that, the leg cramps disappeared for him. I started drinking quinine (tonic water) at my doctors suggestion, and that helps.
As a former ultrarunner, cramps are common among athletes. A lot of time it's an imbalance between too much water and too low sodium. If you drink too much water you can dilute the potassium and sodium in your cells to an unhealthy amount.
I wanted to add that in my case, my magnesium. Is rarely out of range but just low. But my cramps get better when I raise that magnesium a little and drink more water. I find it hatd to get the magnesium high. It's also interesting that one post mentioned low sodium. My sodium is always low and I do believe that this also figures in to the electrolyte imbalance. More and more I'm thinking this cramp issue has to do with the pattern of all the electrolytes rather than just one of them. And to complicate the issue we are all different with different needs and levels of electrolytes.
Hoping we can all find the formula the works for us. Best to all...
Drmind, I agree it's more a problem of the balance of electrolytes more than a low or high amount. I also think dehydration could be involved. I was down some on water intake yesterday and had a few almost cramps during the night.
Funny thing: I was running around last few days with all kinds of appts and didn't drnk all my 7 glasses of water for two days And, bingo, I got cramps in two legs last night. Darn. So, I'm already working on my 3rd glass today so I can get them in before bedtime
I’m new to this community and have joined because my husband has IGA Nephropathy and is experiencing some pretty bad symptoms which are really affecting our daily lives now. I note you describe leg pain and just wanted to ask you some more about that if you don’t mind as we haven’t heard it’s a common side effect of a kidney issue but he is suffering badly with it to the point where he’s been prescribed morphine. He’s had loads of scans and tests and they can’t find any other issues apart from his kidneys. He describes a burning pain down the back of his legs and then when it’s really bad he says he feels like he’s got a clamp around the knee area. Is this anything similar to you and have you met anyone else with kidney issues that also suffered with leg pain? He can’t walk more than a few hundred meters without support now and he’s in agony with a lot of the time.
I hope you are finding some answers and feeling better.
Hi, JLM1. I think the pain I was describing is due to an imbalance of electrolytes. But, I've had other leg pain, and it sounds similar to your husbands only my leg feels numb, almost dead and i do feel like there's a clamp only around my hip. His back of leg pain sounds like sciatica. Has he seen an ortho doc for the pain.. maybe something is going on in his back.
My husband, who suffered through kidney collapse, then dialysis, and now has a transplant was affected by leg cramps (particularly back of the legs) and also restless legs (mostly when he was on dialysis). When his leg cramps woke him up at night, he rubbed inexpensive Icy-Hot, Artic Ice (his favorite), and similar preparations on the area. Interestingly, some of these products have magnesium in them. Eventually, he found stretching exercises very helpful - he did them before going to bed. There are videos for these exercises on YouTube. Both leg cramps and restless legs disappeared after his transplant. We suspect that not only electrolytes are involved but also hormones that kidneys may not produce at the levels needed.
Check medication on drugs.com. I take Zetia for my high cholesterol and one side effect is rhabdomyolysis which can be fatal. Statins can cause some weird side effects too. I can't take them as they cause daily migraines.
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Severe, 45-minute long leg cramps
Nightly Leg Cramps
Anyone else with Stage 3 but no proteinuria?
Low egrf, high creotine, everything else normal.
