Leg cramps

[Barbola]

Awake almost every nite with severe muscle cramps mainly right, sometime also left leg and foot. I do have sciatica nerve pain from a bone spur and a herniated disc and also spinal stenosis. Am 82 yr old woman. On no medications. Magnesium cream and pills dont help. Have slight kidney disease, stage 3, no problems. Stemming from taking Meloxicam 2 yr ago. I know its common. I do physical therapy 3x week and stretching at home am and before bedtime. Hear its very common in old people but if anyone has hints how to prevent this, pls tell! Thank you!

[Hidden]

Hi there, I had same problems in my calf's , so my Dr put me on baclofen and it's worked a treat .

[Flossy61]

Hi I'm having similar ,though I'm nowhere near 80 in age my body is thanks to a fall. Sciatica from stenosis/spurs/osteopytes etc is awful at mo . I stretch ,walk (even though it kills me,dogs are a good reason to push through) use recumbent bike at gym and pool exercises. The only thing that helps me sometimes is not epsom salt bath,cold then not pads ,and pillows under legs or feetal position. But in fairness nothing really stops it for long.. I've said I wouldn't have op station as only 60-70 success rate but I have seriously been thinking about saying yes !

[Barbola in reply to Flossy61]

Sorry u are in pain Flossy and thank you for your advice

[FRreedman]

Make sure you drink plenty of water, take a full glass to bed with you, so when you wake up you can take a few sips.

[Barbola in reply to FRreedman]

Good advice, thank you

[Emma2017 in reply to Barbola]

Good advice but better still is, take a pint of water to bed so you can sip it when needed during the night but most importantly drink the whole glass full when you first get up. Then drink up to a further 4 or 5 pints during the day. Wether this helps with cramps I don’t know but it’s good all round. It was advice given to my husband who suffers from a strange kidney in which stones form quickly.

[Nick2U]

Hi Barbola... First of all, thanks for the info on Meloxicam—since I’ve been taking that occasionally for muscle spasms. Have you tried taking a magnesium supplement? Usually the tablets over the counter are too strong for me and have a slippery effect on my colon, but I found a magnesium powder that in very small doses mixed with water (or anything else you’re drinking) really does help with muscle pain. Best wishes!

[Barbola in reply to Nick2U]

Thank you! Careful with Meloxicam it is not a muscle relaxer but an NSAID but a COX2 inhibitor and many of those have already been taken off the market. Its an anti inflammatory but did nothing for my pain....went into kidney disease bc of taking it only half dose for 8 weeks.

[Nick2U in reply to Barbola]

Oops—you’re absolutely right. I was mistaken. I had only had that a few times for pain more than six years ago. I was thinking of Methocarbamol (Robaxin) which works great for my muscle spasms.

[Barbola in reply to Nick2U]

Yes it does but i try stretching exercises before bed time bc the muscle relaxants work but make me drowsy for a whole 24 hrs even small dose! Thank you for advice.

[carol-1966]

Hiya I also suffer with leg cramps at night my gp told me quinine found in tonic water if taken regularly will help cramps but I can't drink it due to the horrible taste my gp put me on quinine tablets best thing ever although I get leg cramps occasionally it's a lot better now.

Hope you resolve this soon.

[Barbola in reply to carol-1966]

Thank you, love my vodka tonic ( contains quinine)

[saj01]

Hi

It would appear that the cramps a more likely to be related to your kidney condition due to the fluid/electrolytes imbalance or maybe a bloodflow problem?.

I appreciate you have to keep to a particular diet which limits potassium, phosphorous etc so food stuff remedies and magnesium and quinine are probably out.

If you're not having to limit your fluid intake too much, then more water would help the imbalance.....I'm guessing that you might limit fluid intake later on in the day, simply because you are going bed? If you can drink some before retiring and maybe keep a glass by the side of the bed that might be worth a try.

Because of your condition , please don't be tempted to try other medications without checking first as they may be harmful for you.

Sorry, can't offer anything more positive.

[Barbola in reply to saj01]

Thank you. Every 6 mo my nephrologist checks electrolites so far ok.....my stage 3 kidney disease is under control, was told just limit salt and drink lots of water. I definitely will ask her re cramping

[saj01 in reply to saj01]

Hi thanks for your reply... re: limiting salt/ increasing water.. I had a similar conversation with a good friend of mine who is stage 4 and has been told he's not suitable for transplant, so has to rely on dialysis for the time being. He also suffers with high blood pressure so has to restrict salt intake... when we looked at foods, herbs & spices it was amazing to find that sodium is naturally present in virtually everything... and that's without adding any.. so I can appreciate how difficult it must be. Do try the additional water... maybe having it later in the day. Hopefully when you speak with them they will check other things for you. If you can increase your activity in anyway.. it does help.

[Barbola in reply to saj01]

My bloodpressure is normal, am 82. the betablockers only made me tired so i was allowed to stop them by my cardiologist.

[hosbay]

I have a long - standing sciatic problem (right hand side) and frequently get thigh cramp I my right leg. The exercise which helps me with this is lying on my back on the floor with feet slightly apart and about 12 inches from my bottom. I then tighten my stomach muscles and first and raise my torso using stomach muscles and thigh muscles together and hold that position for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times. If I get cramp doing this exercise I move my feet further away from my bottom to prevent the thigh muscle cramping. If I do not get cramp I move my feet nearer my bottom to the position just before the cramping position. I raise my torso as far as I can and can feel the thigh muscle tightening. I find that if I do this every day I do not get thigh cramp. If I do not do this exercise for a day or two the night cramps return.

I do not get cramp in my left thigh muscle so I believe the cramp phenomenon is something to do with damaged sciatic motor and/or autonomic nerves.

When my leg does cramp I frequently get stabbing pains on my toes and foot at the same time which must be due to the cramped muscle "grabbing" the sciatic nerve - very painful.

[Barbola in reply to hosbay]

You are my new therapist! My right side has the nerve“ pinched and its the right leg that spasms waking me up, sometimes left leg to but weaker....herniated disc, arthritis etc...i definitely will add the modified bridge to my nightly exercises im doing it in therapy also being thaugt right way......without arching back. Yeah, when i do my 15 min stretching before bed time it seems im ok. Doc said „stretching stretching stretching“ and dont waste money on creams and supplements but do have potassium levels checked next blood test. Thanks again and if u or i find new ways to avoid these cramps well inform one another!

[hosbay]

That's right you keep the back straight.

Sorry for the poor grammar in my last reply I wrote it quickly as my grandson wanted me to go out on our bikes. The exercise I described was the one I was shown a few months after my spinal trauma. At that time I was shown 2 others which I regularly do. The first is lying on my back, feet together about 12 inches from my bottom, knees together the drop both knees gently to left and right about 15 times. This helps align the spinal components. Then lying in the same position keep left leg absolutely still while you slowly drop the right leg to the right then slowly raise the right leg back up to the left one. Repeat 10 times. This one is to improve muscle control which I think also helps the cramping situation. Like the first exercise I told you about, if the legs are too near your bottom it can result in sciatic nerves being "grabbed" with very sharp foot/toe pain.

[Barbola in reply to hosbay]

Will try this one again 12 inches from bottom the distance seems important im 82 to your 76 and being female allows me to stretch easier so i may hold positions to count of 30.....so far seems to work. I also do the classical rihgt foot over left knee which is bent, pulling slightly to the left hold to count of 30.....repeat other side. Do this 3x of course all lying down on back. Morning and nite!

[nif100 in reply to hosbay]

another good exercise for my sciatica found was to sit on the floor legs straight out in front of me together and put the flats of my feet again the wall (keep the legs straight and level on the floor) HOLD for a short time weirdly after a few seconds the muscles and sciatic nerves seem to relax then you release the hold. Do three times a day

[Barbola in reply to nif100]

Thank u, a new exercise for me, will try!