Cramp From Hell - Almost!

[anaxcrosswords]

Getting cramp in my calves isn't unusual for me. It tends to happen in the morning while I'm still in bed - I often get woken up by the muscles tensing and can get out of bed and remedy before full-on cramp happens.
But last night was a first for me. It was pretty soon AFTER I'd gone to bed and, very unusual, affected both legs. I could actually feel both feet being pulled while that horrible pain started building in both calves. I got out of bed and tried various ways of easing the muscles - massaging, stretching, walking around etc etc - but when I got back into bed the signs of cramp started again. The only way to alleviate it was to try to force each foot to point at 90 degrees to its leg, but that made it impossible to sleep.
Needless to say I'm shattered this morning; probably got about 3 hours total sleep last night, much of it just dozing.

What is it with cramp? Why do we get it? Does anyone know of any really good methods of holding it off, or otherwise dealing with it?

[mrs_overall]

I suffer dreadfully from cramps and taking quinine is worse than useless. I have a power plate machine I use regularly but they are quite expensive. I keep a shiatsu foot massager in the bedroom and that helps a lot. I know Lidl had one in last week for around £25

[whiskeryron]

First question, do you smoke ? I developed severe cramping in my right calf muscle way back in 1992 & was diagnosed as having hardening of the arteries, I was informed that it was due to smoking over a period of years & I had an angioplasty operation to clear my right femoral artery, I was informed that if I continued to smoke I would be in danger of losing 1 or even 2 legs by amputation. Needless to say I stopped smoking immediately & have never looked back. If you do smoke I would implore you to give it up, in the meanwhile I would suggest you see your GP as you may be suffering from diminished oxygenated blood to the calf muscles.

WR.

[Sqad]

To be honest, nobody knows the cause of the "common cramp" and there are as many "cures" as there are theories.

WhiskeyRon mentions one cause, arterial problems, but this is an uncommon cause.........however in your case, I would indeed see your GP and suggest thyroid function tests as an underactive thyroid may cause cramps.

[sandyRoe]

Have you started to take any new medications? I got really bad cramps in my lower legs soon after starting to take statins.

[woofgang]

interesting that you say that its uncommon sqad. In my dealings with old people when i working in the NHS, I found it pretty common anecdotally. Folk with chest problems, sometimes quite severe ones would kick the weed and often say that an unexpected side benefit was that the leg cramp which had plagued them for years had gone, never to return.

Mine was always hormone linked and got worse with menopause. I still get spates of it along with the flushes and so on. I have found that calmagzinc tablets really help. They come from the healthfood stores and are like small housebricks. BUT and this is a big but, I know what causes mine.

[anaxcrosswords]

Bananas.
No, not you. Apparently bananas are very helpful because of their potassium content.
Do I strap just one to each leg, or a handful of them? Peeled or not?

[Sqad]

woofy........my discussion was focused on what I called the "common cramp" as described by the OP...........sudden onset of muscular pains and spasms, particularly at night and in bed.

Yes, I agree that arteriosclerosis, common in older people, smokers and diabetics complain of "cramp like " pains, but these are associated with exercise e.g walking and relieved by rest.
Common cramp does the opposite, it is brought on by rest and relieved by exercising.

[woofgang]

true sqad...true.
Many years ago, before drink driving laws, I used to work with a dear old consultant who had noticed that smokers with exercise related cramp used to say that they got cramp walking to the pub but not walking home again. Accordingly he used to recommend a small amount of alcohol before exercise. I am not sure how well it worked but compliance was never a problem!

[Sqad]

woofy...LOL...seems OK to me.......;-)

[Wak]

I don't know how true this is but I once read that cramp is caused by an imbalance of various salts in the blood which trigger the muscles to operate involuntarily and I have found that having a drink of water before going to bed can help with the problem.
I also try to use very little salt in my food.
It could be worth a try??
Just a thought.