I used to have pretty frequent leg cramps years back and yeah they are bad. I even had one driving one time and had to pull the car over so I could get out and walk and stretch it. Nowadays I eat at least a banana a day and try to drink more fluids. Always keep Gatorade on hand too and will drink a quart if I think a cramp may be coming on. My wife had really bad cramps one night that woke her up and after having her drink a lot of Gatorade they went away.

Pain from Gout is pretty intense too. Never knew a big toe joint could cause so much pain.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
I used to get painful cramps in my feet and calves. Then I began taking a daily magnesium supplement (for a different reason). A week later I realized that those cramps had ceased. I continued the magnesium supplement, and the cramps have never returned.

+1 - this.

Find a magnesium roll on - a naturepath perhaps?.
Best when applied directly to the skin.

Dill pickle juice is supposed to help once you get the cramp.

Toes toward knees to stretch. Do not over do it.

I have had this crap my whole life, calf cramps and back of thigh cramps along with planters fasciitis, plantar fibromas and a host of other stuff.

And it just gets worse.

Some days worse than others.

Keep the mind busy and push through.

Grab your upper lip between your thumb and index finger and pinch. Supposed to be acupuncture point. It has worked for me.

I've always suffered from cramps. Especially in HS with football associated weight lifting + dehydration, they would get me.

I started on magnesium supplements and they help. As I get older (51) I find that I get cramps in weird spots (base of jaw under tongue, on top of my foot, latissimus muscles, etc). I also can get a sudden hard cramp if I move suddenly, as if I'm trying not to drop my keys and I jerk forward, whatever muscle I strain will cramp HARD. It sucks.

quote:

Originally posted by P229 357SIG Man:
I was kicked back in my recliner listening to the tube, laptop in my lap...dogs were sprawled out on the leg rest. I shifted my right leg a little and it happened...the muscles in my right calf contracted and wouldn't letup. It went on for about 3 minutes...the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced. I was helpless, nothing I tried helped, I just had to wait it out. I'm sure some of you can relate.

Charlie horse... ya, It BLOWS.

It happens much more frequently when your body is badly dehydrated, or low on potassium, or both.

(for those of us who wonder what it like to be tased, this is a small example. It feels kinda like that)

Happens to me if i tie one on from time to time. Sucks big time

quote:

Originally posted by Sigfest:
Grab your upper lip between your thumb and index finger and pinch...

Then pull it up and over your head.


Oh, wait. That's to simulate childbirth.

Never mind..

OP, be thankful that a leg cramp is the worse you have felt.

There are other kinds of pain that make a cramp feel like nothing.

A while back I had colon surgery, well I would up fully plugged up the day after I left the Hospital, and it was septic.

Long story short, a shot of Morphine every 1 1/2 hrs did nothing for me.

Before that I thought that when I smashed into the car door opening, when getting in, after shoulder surgery was as bad as it could get. WRONG

Be thankful,
Bob

Two words: testicular biopsy

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
I used to get painful cramps in my feet and calves. Then I began taking a daily magnesium supplement (for a different reason). A week later I realized that those cramps had ceased. I continued the magnesium supplement, and the cramps have never returned.

Yep. I had the same symptoms and taking magnesium stopped them. My doctor recommends a magnesium supplement for other reasons, too. (And zinc)

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by Sigfest:
Grab your upper lip between your thumb and index finger and pinch. Supposed to be acupuncture point. It has worked for me.

Or, along the same, press your finger to your upper lip (like your mimicking a mustache) and press hard. This works for me when I wake up with the leg cramp at night. This kind of re-directs the pain to your lip until the cramp stops.

I was driven awake last nigh with a back of the thigh cramp. I got up, chewed 2 potassium tablets, drank half a bottle of water, limped a few laps around the family room then fell back asleep in my lounge chair with my legs straight out on the ottoman. No sign of it a couple hours later when I woke up to get rid of the water!

quote:

Originally posted by Hawgster:

Dill pickle juice is supposed to help once you get the cramp.

What works for me: A potassium tablet washed down with GatorAde, followed by a sip of pickle juice, then sitting upright in a chair while eating a pickle and browsing SIGforum.

Doesn't take too long before the cramp has totally disappeared and I either go back to bed or fall asleep in the chair.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
I used to get painful cramps in my feet and calves. Then I began taking a daily magnesium supplement (for a different reason). A week later I realized that those cramps had ceased. I continued the magnesium supplement, and the cramps have never returned.

Yes yes yes, suffered from bad leg cramps in the middle of the night on and off for years. I’m talking jump out of the bed from a dead sleep at 2am kind of pain. Started taking a magnesium and potassium supplement daily and staying hydrated and have not had cramps like that since. Side benefit it helps lower BP and also stops you from getting up in the middle of the night to pee. Please look into it, I’m telling you it truly helps.

quote:

Originally posted by rbert0005:
...and it was septic... a shot of Morphine every 1 1/2 hrs did nothing for me.

Be thankful,
Bob

Yup, Been there. 'Lucky' for me I was comatose for a few days. Spent 2 weeks in the NSICU. Makes kidney stones feel like heartburn.

I got about 90 miles into the Hotter-than-Hell 100 in Wichita Falls back in the '80s and going up a hill, both quads locked up tight. Couldn't move my legs; had to just fall over on the bike. Drug myself off the road and waited ~30 min for the pain to go away. Never felt pain like that before or since.

quote:

Originally posted by Hawgster:
Dill pickle juice is supposed to help once you get the cramp.

I saw this suggestion on this forum one time. Tried it and it works amazingly well for relieving muscle cramps in my legs.

Potassium deficiency can lead to cramps. Recommended daily intake for a 2000 calorie diet is around 3500 mg. Most people are way under that (a banana has around 420 mg, for reference). Magnesium is another common culprit.

I’ve had those “wake you up in the middle of the night leg cramps” and they are pretty intense for something so sudden and unexpected.

My personal worst is something I’m almost ashamed to admit: a pulled hammy back in feb. I never knew they could be down right debilitating, but it was. I didn’t know about the various stages.

I forgot my surroundings for a moment, at the worst moment, and stepped backwards into an open basement access panel. My left foot remained well planted on the ground floor while the rest of my very overweight and inflexible body accelerated 9 feet down to the concrete basement. I thought my leg was broken but within about 3 seconds I realized it was some sort of soft tissue damage. It felt like a cramp, but unbelievably worse.

I managed to crawl up the steps 90 minutes later. Couldn’t walk for 2 days, couple more after that with crutches.

2 months later and that hammy still hurts and doesn’t work right. Hopefully soon.

I don’t envy you that have suffered worse or chronic pain. Just terrible.