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Aargh, leg cramp!

Spiker

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,685
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I must be low carbing.

Time for some salt and fluids I think....
 
Ouch,

something I used to suffer from, so much so that the doc prescribed me Quinine for night time leg cramps, and yes, they worked but after a few months I took myself off them. Not sure why I suffered every night but if your cramp is even a tiny fraction of what I went through I feel very very sorry for you.

Hope you sort it out soon.

Hugs,

Dee
 
Thanks Dee. I just need to remember to add salt to my food. It's all this bloody low salt food everywhere. I keep forgetting. The thing is, the low salt folks are half right. Too much salt is unnecessary and even harmful, if you're eating a high carb diet. But as soon as you low carb, your salt requirements go up (or back up to 'normal' levels). I need to get my salt shaker out of the cupboard and leave it bang in the middle of the dinner table so I remember to use it every mealtime.
 
hmmmm,

I have not added salt to my food for many years now, I don't add it to food during cooking either. Not sure how low (gram wise) low carb diets can go. I use MyFitnessPal and have set it at 87g of carbs a day maximum for me, had the odd twinge of cramp but nothing full on in many months so maybe I should keep an eye on what happens next, especially as I have only been low carbing since diagnosis in March. When I was suffering from bad cramp (lower leg - front, back, both sides and top of ankle/front of foot) I was not diabetic and ate lots and lots of carbs.

You are a true mine of information

Hugs,
 
I found that since I have been low carbing I hardly get any cramp now. I used to get it at least once or twice a week. I don't add extra salt to much.
 
Spiker said:
I must be low carbing.

Time for some salt and fluids I think....
Click to expand...
Magnesium is often useful.

As to salt, I take half a teaspoon of sea salt in a smallish glass of water when I need some extra salt.
 
I have found that Lloyds cream from the chemist ,helps alleviate Cramp when it strikes.
Its not sold for curing cramp , but its worth a try .
 
Go for some magnesium supplements, works every time for me. I often get leg cramps in the early morning and a few days of magnesium supplements puts it right. Don't go overboard on the magnesium though, unless you fond of frequent trips to the toilet.
 
Thanks for all the different tips! In the end I mixed about a teaspoon of sea salt into a Berocca and that seemed to do the trick.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Spiker said:
I must be low carbing.

Time for some salt and fluids I think....
Click to expand...

When I got it bad in my foot and ankle, I drank some tonic water as it has quinine in it, but for a more permanent solution, it seems to be , Low Potassium levels, Especially on metformin tablets, get some yogurt, drink some milk, apricots, tuna, raisins, or baked potato with skin, tomato paste, banana , beans, cod or salmon, the yogurt really helped when I had tummy cramps,
Research confirmed that it was indeed low potassium levels, and it is very important for muscles especially for a healthy heart
 
When low carbing few of the above are possible solutions.
 
I use potassium supplements from holland and barratt.

Luckily, I get a warning sign when my potassium is getting low - a tiny area of sore throat, always on one tonsil. Like a little pea. I always wake up with it and (depending on my need for potassium) it disappears during the morning. If I ignore that warning, then it is just a matter of time before the cramps strike, usually at 2am.

I once read that mouth sores are a symptom of potassium deficiency - but have never found that information since - or I would link to it.
 
Volek and Phinney 'The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance' : drink a mug of bouillon to address depleted mineral levels and muscle cramps when on a low carb diet.
i'm happy to do this, but I'm not sure all bouillon cubes are as good as each other.
 
Yes I'm plagued by cramps in the calf behing the knee, at the top of the forearm and in my toes. I'm not taking anything specifically for the cramps (although I have previously) but I do sweat a lot and have put it down to this and consequential dehydration.
 
Well, no need to suffer. There are plenty of suggested solutions here - bacon, salt, magnesium, etc. If you are losing water through sweating, you will also lose electrolytes (various salts), and if you don't replace them, you will get cramps.
 
I've tried them all Spiker but the extent of the cramps seems to get worse with age.
 
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