severe cramp

[Katie18]

Does anyone have any remedies for severe cramp in their feet and lower legs? I suffered footdrop due to churg strauss syndrome and although the nerves have repaired themselves to the extent that I can walk - for which Im grateful - my feet have been left out of alignment and my nerves seem to misfire. The cramp I get is really painful and I have to leap out of bed. I also get it after gym sessions and during massages. The medical profession including physios dont seem to have any advice or solutions. I windered if any of you have tried something that works?

[piglette]

My GP prescribed me quinine sulphate which works brilliantly for me.

[optimist-ok]

I have the same problem with feet & legs so I do sympathise. Seeing piglette's reply we could ask for that remedy.

[PMRpro]

Here in mainland Europe, anyone with muscle cramps who went to their GP would be asked if they had tried magnesium supplements. That is the first approach. The UK (as usual) pooh-poohs the idea and even quote a study that purported to show it didn't work - the study was done in dialysis patients who are hardly normals are they! My husband gets night muscle cramps every so often - his immediate response is to take magnesium for a few weeks, they go away immediately and then he forgets to take it and after a few months they come back. Rinse and repeat. But why not start with that and progress if it doesn't work. Blood magnesium levels don't necessarily reflect the muscle level by the way.

It's difficult to overdose - take too much and you'll get the runs, it is a recognised way of dealing with constipation by giving big doses. High magnesium foods include dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, fish, beans, whole grains, avocados, yogurt, bananas, dried fruit, dark chocolate, and more (which, other than whole grains which I don't eat, all accounts for why it never happens to me!)

[Mooka]

Hi Katie18

I too have taken magnesium in the past for cramp after reading about it in a post on here. It worked for me. I always told my doctors that I was taking it and didn't get any adverse comments. One decided to test my blood for a magnesium deficiency and didn't find any, but I guess I wouldn't have any deficiency if I was taking them. I am going to start taking them again as my cramps have returned.

I bought mine from the supermarket and just took one a day.

Good luck.

Jackie

[Katie18]

Thank you all for your advice. I will try magnesium supplements and to add more natural sources of it to my diet. Pandora if that doesn't work ask my doctor for quinine sulphate.

[AllyGY2013]

Magnesium as others have said.

Also make sure you have enough, but not too much, salt in your diet. lack of salt can also causes cramps in muscles, as well as causing brain function to deteriorate and leads to memory loss, getting salt levels back to normal reverses the process.

[Katie18]

thank you. Ive just seen a podiatrist who has recommended eating bananas and drinking tonic - even if there is a gin in it

[BronteM in reply to Katie18]

Met someone yesterday who drinks a tonic with angostura bitters every evening - she never gets cramp. Her husband doesn't like the drink, and claims the idea is nonsense. But he does get bad cramp! Personally I don't like gin, but I'm going to try the tonic on its own option.

[Katie18 in reply to BronteM]

thank you - it's worth a go isnt it

[KirstyW1999]

Yes magnesium is great also for heart circulation, constipation, insomnia,

Muscles and bones.

You can get it in different forms is powder, tablets, oil to use topically or liquid ionic magnesium the last is said to be the best. I researched and found mega-mag well reviewed.

[Katie18]

thank you kirsty ill give it a go

[JLBM]

I laughed when I first heard this but it works!

Take a tablespoon or 2 of mustard each day. Yep the kind of mustard that you smear on a hot dog bun.