Leg cramps
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Asking for a friend...well, actually, the friend is Mr wtg.
He has gotten really horrible leg cramps for as long as I've known him. Sometimes in the toes, sometimes in the calf, and just now in the thigh right above the knee. His go-to is a mouthful of Gatorade powder. He has little pill bottles of the stuff all around the house and car. More portable than a bottle of the liquid. Seems to stop the cramps almost immediately in most cases. I'm assuming it's the electrolytes.
Got anything that works for you, either to relieve the cramp, or better still, to prevent it from happening?
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I’ve never experienced anything like that, it sounds awful! Do doctors offer any insight?
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I haven’t had many leg cramps, but I have noticed a bit of a pattern. Cramps in the calf, when they happen, often correlate with me not getting enough sleep. Cramps in the foot can be relieved and shortened by applying pressure right in the middle of the bottom of the foot — just pressing into the middle of the bottom of the food really hard with the thumb. These are just what I gathered from my experience; no idea if any of this is generalizable to other people.
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Both MrsTuner and her father struggle with leg cramps. They swear by an apple cider vinegar product I usually pick up at one of the local Ace Hardware stores. I think vinegar, ginger and something else in there. Either rubbed on, or taken internally. I think it is called Old Amish muscle tonic.
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That’s interesting Ron. Apple cider vinegar is very popular for health in Japan (as a drink), but I don’t think I’d really heard of it before going there.
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I'll pass along the Gatorade powder trick. How much does he take? The whole pill bottle? MrsTuner's dad gets them quite often. MrsTuner has been doing much better over night when she tried sleeping with socks.
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@Rontuner No, not the whole bottle. He just tips the pill bottle back and takes the equivalent of maybe a heaping teaspoonful directly into his mouth. He holds the powder under the tongue until it dissolves. Of course you can try dissolving the powder in water, but he developed this technique because the cramps would hit him when he he didn't have access to a glass or water. He seems to think that holding it under the tongue really helps it work more quickly. I think there are tons of receptors in the mouth that allow the electrolytes to be absorbed into the bloodstream efficiently. Walmart has the powdered Gatorade.
He wears socks when he sleeps.
This is a lifelong problem for him, but this last episode was especially painful and lasted for a while. He's scheduled for TKR in late August. The knee is painful and he sometimes wears a brace. I think this last cramp happened because he fell asleep with the brace on. He says he won't do that again.
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Oof, it sounds awful! I'm guessing the knee replacement is irrelevant to the leg cramps, right?
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The knee replacement is being done because the knee is bone-on-bone. He fell maybe 15 years ago and injured the knee. At that time he had arthroscopic surgery to deal with a torn meniscus that was causing problems. The injury and subsequent surgery seem to be what caused the demise of the cartilage in that knee.
So no, not related. Except that he had a knee brace on because the knee is shot and painful, and that reduced circulation and caused the cramps.
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
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@wtg said in Leg cramps:
Except that he had a knee brace on because the knee is shot and painful, and that reduced circulation and caused the cramps.
Then in that regard, I hope it helps! And also, just separate from that, good luck to Mr. WTG for a successful knee replacement!
Let us know if he tries the apple cider vinegar.
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I have cramping issues due to magnesium deficiency caused by transplant meds. I find staying hydrated helps.
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Usually it’s a lack of water, potassium or magnesium. Could also be circulatory. I get them if I’m a bit dehydrated.
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He's not good about drinking water. Sounds like that could be a major contributor to the problem. Thanks for everyone's suggestions...
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Eat bananas - lots of bananas, for the potassium. Plus, they're just so danged tasty.
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Ah, but only if they're a little bit green still.
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Good suggestions; we haven't had bananas around the house for a while.. The Costco organic bananas are great...they look a little green but they always taste wonderful. And they have a little plastic wrapped around the stem end that keeps them from ripening too fast. They're the poor man's version of these Nana Hats that were on Shark Tank a while ago:
