Leg cramps at night 😱what to do? Help please!!!

[ToughCOOKIE78]

Hello ladies, I’m currently 23+4 and suffering bad leg cramps during the night, tossing and turning in bed all night 🙈(and getting very little sleep!). I’ve spoken to my midwife who basically said that there’s nothing to do 🤔and I’ve bought a magnesium body spray to spray on my legs before bed and do a little massage but it doesn’t seem to be helping.

I sleep on sides and it seems like whenever I’m on the left side there’s a button that get pushed and activates these horrible cramps 😢I have them on my right leg but less (but enough to keep me awake)

As soon as I get up from bed the cramps go away but leave my muscles very sore, feel like I’ve run a marathon!!! 🙈😩

Any advice on what to do to ease this please?

Thank you ❤️

[Mrs_MT]

Oh my gosh I am exactly the same!!! Sleeping on my left brings on cramps on the left leg. I have restless leg syndrome too which is horrible. I’m usually a back sleeper which makes things worse. I have trialled the mg spray which stopped working after a couple of weeks and stopped doing any exercise in the evening as very fatigued legs seem to bring on cramps.

The latest thing I’m trying is a different pregnancy pillow. It’s a double wedge so I can kind of lie on my back but I’m still on a tilt so as to not compress my vena cava. So far it seems to work.

LightEase Sliced Memory Foam Pregnancy Maternity Body Pillow Side Sleeping Double Wedge for Body, Belly, Back Support, Soft, Not Bulky amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SWSWYJ4/...

[nancynao in reply to Mrs_MT]

Hi, I had the same problem. Try some food with more calcium. I tried soya milk. Also other food with calcium. And it worked to me. You can have a go. 😊

[ray_of_sunshine_]

Hey I’ve not had many leg cramps in pregnancy but my dad used to get them all the time until he started taking a bit of tonic water every night. It seemed to do the trick, I have seen it mentioned by a few other people online too. Might be worth a try...

[Scb6]

Hi there,I had this and it's so painful and tiring so I am sorry.

My doctor told me to take magnesium supplements. I also drank a glass of tonic water in the evening, tried gentle stretching and massaging my legs before bed. I had a banana everyday too. It reduced the problem to once a week or so rather than several times a night.

[LucyAlana]

It may be just pregnancy related but it is worth talking to your GP and asking them to check your iron (ferritin) levels. Your body's iron requirement goes up in pregnancy and if levels are low it can cause result restless legs. I can't tolerate the tablets but had iron through a drip - immediately went from waking every 2 hours to sleeping through!

[Juniperandcat]

Hey girl, I really struggled with leg cramps at night too. I actually had some compression socks which I put on before I went to bed, and they helped loads! They didn’t make the cramps go away but it was a lot better. Just make sure they aren’t too tight 😊 x