non incontinence medical question

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Sometimes I'm bothered by leg cramps at night. They wake me up and usually happen in my ankles and lower legs. I know that magnesium helps but my question is, how long do you have to take magnesium? Is it just on the nights you have cramps or is it a long-term preventive measure and it has to be taken nightly? Second part, does anyone here have any home remedies for leg cramps?

 

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Drink fill pickle juice straight out of the bottle as soon as it happens. The more you drink, the better the cure. Even if you don’t later eat the pickles, it’s a reasonable expense to buy a jar of pickles every week. Night leg cramps are usually a sodium/electrolyte imbalance. It’s primarily the vinegar in the pickle juice that helps. Drinking pickle juice is way easier than drinking vinegar!

Magnesium doesn’t help me.

 

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Here's one thats been around for a long time but I only know one person with restless leg syndrome and it helped.
Put a bar of soap under the bottom sheet of your bed ivory or irish spring are mentioned.
No one knows why this old folk remedy helps some folks.

 

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Bill, in glad Maymay brought up restless leg syndrome or RLS. Do you know the difference between the two and are you positive it is cramps or could it be RLS?

 

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Google Quinine water for nocturnal leg cramps. Much info as well as pros and cons. Nocturnal sleep study is helpful in determining if it is actually RLS. RLS arises from a sleep disorder.

 

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Yup it also can be brought on by opiate medication use and other meds..

 

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I have seen what May mentioned about the bar of soap with RLS. I have been diagnosed with RLS, but never tried. But leg cramps till you one thing, your body needs potassium. So eat banana's

 

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My wife has leg cramps. She uses a product called Theraworks. She also drinks pickle juice. Buys small bottles from Amazon.

 

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Wow! @snow, @Maymay941, @Steven1980, @Bob1, @Boomersway, a lot of good suggestions here. Thank you and they are all pretty reasonable ones!
I just happen to use Irish Spring as my regular soap. I assume you mean a whole new unused bar? I have that right in my hall closet!
I haven't heard of the dill pickle juice one, though. I still have a few bread and butter pickles in a jar. Would that count? I agree it's easier than drinking straight vinegar! And I do have quinine (tonic) water but it's diet. I'm pretty sure I don't take opiate medications.
I'm not sure if it's restless legs or just cramps, though, When I get awoken by this, the muscles in my lower legs and ankles are definitely cramping. And sometimes during the day my hands cramp up a bit and it's hard to write or drive for awhile. But maybe I should get some bananas and have those with my cereal! I haven't eaten bananas in quite a long time, so maybe lack of potassium is the culprit. What else has potassium? I feel like there is quite a choice here!

 

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I've found that potassium helps my leg cramps. Bananas, avocados, and coconut water all have lots of potassium.

 

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Magnesium is best taken every day. It works wonders for me. I had hand pain, made an appointment with a hand specialist. Had listened to a radio broadcast that touted Mg. Started taking it and cancelled the doctors appointment. Magnesium is the main ingredient in Epsom salt, which you may have soaked in for pain relief.
I have told many about the benefits of Mg. It works for some but not all. If after a few tablets, without relief, it may not work for you.

All the supplements I take have an effect that I can readily feel some are amazing.

 

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billiveshere --- Dried apricots have a lot of potassium also and baked potatoes. I had calf but mostly foot cramps for many years and took magnesium tablets for a year. (I get foot cramps when I leave shopping at Walmart and get in the car, when I wear a certain pair of sandals!) My doctor didn't say not to take magnesium, but I tried to dissolve a tablet in water and it didn't so I quit taking it.

But I would get out of bed when the cramp started and walk around the bedroom until the cramp went away. I also put a bar of soap in the bed like MayMay941 suggested but that didn't help me. My sister has used that for probably 30 years and never had cramps after starting it. But for some reason I haven't had cramps at night for over 5 years. I don't know what the difference is.

Also about bananas, I read that bananas should be eaten before going to bed so I figured what the heck. Sometimes around 10 pm I have a half a banana sliced, a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream, a little Hershey's chocolate syrup and a small handful of pecans. I try to be good to myself! Also the more firm the banana the better.

 

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I must admit out of all of the potential cures, @ritaofsingers bedtime snack sounds the tastiest! I use my pickle juice up in my Sunday Football Bloody Marys! I eat bananas every day in my power shakes and get Magnesium from the Epsom baths I take! Out of all of the above I’ve found after many years of leg cramps due to my spine injuries, something about the Epsom Salt bath for 20-30 minutes before bed really relaxes my whole body and helps me sleep.
When I had the knee ablation 2 weeks ago I couldn’t soak, and the cramps hit me with such a vengeance I ended up tearing out a bunch of the stitches from the procedure before I could get them to stop by chugging Gatorade. For me the Gatorade is a last ditch effort, because all of the sugar in it I can never get back to sleep!
I’m sorry Bill, this probably just adds more confusion, so I would personally start with the ice cream and work my way through...
I hope everyone has a great day today!

 

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Well @Sprung87 and @ritanofsinger, the ice cream and banana sundaes sure sounds like the most pleasant and fun way to deal with this type of unpleasantry! And pickle juice in a Sunday Bloody Mary ain't none too shabby either!
And Rita, thank you for suggesting I just walk around the room until the cramps subside. I will definitely try that!
And shot bottles of pickle juice just for cramps, now that's anew one for me! :O

 

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RLS is not a sleep disorder; that’s the symptom, not the cause. RLS is most often caused by a deficit in Ferritin, a component of long-term stored iron. It can only be absorbed from red meat. I learned this when I dated a long-time vegan who did full-blown kick splits all night long. Sleeping together was out of the question. He refused to take the necessary steps (eating red meat) to correct his anemia. Iron supplements don’t correct ferritin deficits. We quit dating.

 

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@Sprung87 Try sugar-free PowerAde, which tastes great and has wayyyyyy more electrolytes than slimy, imposter Gatorade.

 

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I’ve also had some luck relieving nighttime leg and feet cramps with walking around. But dill pickle juice is the fastest and most thorough solution for immediate relief if you forgot your daily banana.

 

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Hi Snow, I would think that full-blown kick splits all night long would be a deal breaker especially if you wanted to sleep together!
I was interested in your explanation of ferritin. I didn't know that before! Since I don't eat a lot of red meat, I wonder if that's the cause? Well I did have some beef last night but no cramps so maybe we're on to something here?

 

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I also heard milk helps keep your muscles relaxed and helps your bones too. It’s helped me at least when I’ve had muscle cramps.

 

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@billliveshere I haven’t heard of using quinine, but I’m sure diet tonic would still work as well as regular tonic! Now I want a drink!