Leg Cramps

hey friend
I been working my hands/fingers hard, so i can play my bass guitar agin. show nuff, my hans an fingers have started cramping when i try to do certain things, but not a night, least it don’t wake me up yet.
GL
God Bless
soapy

hey heath,

you know the drill, rest & don’t overdo it. i often have to remind myself of that. take care. be well.

gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

Heath,

I use to wake with terrible pain in my legs and could not get them comfortable. Now I am taking Lyrica for my leg pain and it has reduced it a lot. I did not get cramps as you explain but when overdoing it our symptoms seem to increase somewhat. I am finding that now I am taking Lyrica I am doing too much and other symptoms are coming forward like fatigue.
I need to take some time out and rest. Heath I know what you mean when you say rest is not always possible.

Debbie

Hi,
I get leg cramps at night, but mine are from LACK OF ACTIVITY and they are not so bad that they bring me to tears. They can make me say ohhhhhh or owwwwww though.

I get leg cramps also and my muscles feel like they are too short for my legs. Weird huh ??? The only thing that seems to help is to gradually build back up to the activity and more rest. I know it doesn’t seem very practical but after 23 years post thats all I’ve come up with…… Sometimes mild stretching helps…

Heath I bought Quinine pills at the health food store which I keep on hand for those cramps, they work well.

Jerimy

heath-stop over doing things, man. limit your schooling, hunting, fishing and child play time to shorter time spands! if quinine pills don’t work, drink canada dry or faygo tonic water-has the quinine in them and quenches thirst and counts towards your daily amount of water which might also be causing your cramps. eat bananas, avocados or cantalope, great sources of potassium, which will help with cramps. i have them every night, especially when i do even the slightess of things. just turning over in bed starts them. can you increase your night time dose of neurontin? i take 900mg at bedtime, with alittle more relief then what i get from 600mg. my dr doesn’t want me to go higher, she’s afraid i’ll have a reaction to it at higher doses, because that is usually how my body reacts to meds. i also find when i take zanaflex at bedtime it helps relax the muscles better, reduces leg cramps, only found this out last week when i ran out.
if i come up with others i’ll let you know. take care. hugs to your daughter!:)

hi, yes i get really bad leg, feet, rib, neck, arms, hand cramps. did i leave any part of my body that i don’t get cramps. i started taking quinine pills in january and they really help. i tried drinking lots of water and magnisium pills but they did not help. i can tell if i forget to take the quinine i get cramps so bad at night that i have to get up an walk. ask your nuero or pcp for a rx.
good luck!

I know this may sound silly, but in Dr. Gott’s column in the newspaper there have been numerous people who report that putting a bar of soap under the sheet has stopped nighttime leg cramps. Put a bar of soap ( not Dove or Dial) under the sheet at the foot of the bed. Try it. You have soap in the house anyhow, nothing to loose. I don’t think it will help guitar pickin’ though. I was using a kitchen implement last week and kept getting a cramp till I quit using it.
Mary Ann

Hi Heath ~ I find that taking a Calcium/Magnesium/ Zinc capsule helps. My husband will take 2 Kelp tablets. You’ve gotten many good suggestions. Keep trying until you find the one(s) that work for you. And yes, over-tired, pushing to hard can set one back for a moment. I am post GBS 11.5 yrs. and still deal with long-term residuals. But, I continue to improve slowly but surely ~ yeah! 😀

neurontin for neurological pain. take care. be well.

gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

I do get leg cramps in various areas on ocassion-I take a potassium pill, and my doctor suggest bananas will help also.. Somewhere I read that an exercise bike will help also-however, not everyone recovering from GBS can do that. If the pain is really bad, an aspirin will help it right away. elayne

elayne,

i agree w your doc. potassium pills are made so weak [i think they eat away your stomach] that bananas are a better source. take care. be well.

gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

I have had GBS twice, first being 8 years ago, second attack wsa 5 years ago, and i also have leg cramps, that wake you up, and make you say bad things..lol..Sometimes 15 to 20 times a night..My nuerologist suggested, Quinine for the cramps, on days that i overwork myself, or have been on my feet all day, i take one before bed time, and never get cramps…She gave the option of a Gin and Tonic as well, it works Too!..

How funny you should mention the quinine…about a month ago (when I was getting leg and arm cramps) I started craving gin and tonics. Now I have one in the evenings occasionally and the cramps seem to have disappeared. Wonder if my body knew that would work all along. 🙂 Hmmm…curious…

Kathryn, you know you are always supposed to listen to your body!!!! it knows whats best for you!:)

Eating foods with high potassium levels alleviates my cramps. Some examples: banana, cantalopue, orange, honeydew melon, avocado, spinach, sweet potato, milk, yogurt.

I might add that one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced in a potassium iv!

Regards,
Marge