• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Bagpuss woke up & stretched

IanD

IanD

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,429
Location
Peterchurch, Hereford
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Carbohydrates
Since low carbing - nearly 3 years ago - I have been free from muscle pains. Before that, giving up statins - 6 years ago ? - cleared general muscle pains.

Twice recently, in the last 2 weeks, I have woken up & stretched my legs in bed. Immediately intense pain gripped my calf muscle - of the left leg, then a few days later the right leg. It took about a day to clear completely, though once I was moving it wasn't a problem.

Any ideas?

I take a multivitamin/mineral supplement;
Q10;
glucosamine/chondroitin;
fish oil
 
It could be just plain old cramp, Ian. I've done that a few times. If you are worried check with doctor.

A leg cramp is a pain that comes from a leg muscle. It is due to a muscle spasm which is when a muscle contracts too hard. It usually occurs in a calf muscle, below and behind a knee. The small muscles of the feet are sometimes affected.

A cramp pain typically lasts a few minutes. In some cases it lasts just seconds, but in some cases it lasts up to 10 minutes. The severity of the pain varies. The muscle may remain tender for up to 24 hours after a leg cramp. Leg cramps usually occur when you are resting - most commonly at night when in bed. (They are often called night cramps.) They may wake you. It can become a distressing condition if your sleep is regularly disturbed.
Click to expand...

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Cramps-in-the-Leg.htm
 
hi ian,
i get the same evry now and then in the morning and i thought it was due to dehydration try taking water before you go to bed. i find if i havent had enough water i get this pull. its like you get a 2 sec warning before you try to move to stop it then it pulls and you get trap jaw in the process a bit like this>>>>>> :o . try more fluid see what happens
 
You can also try a small pinch of salt in the water as it is sometimes due to sodium deficiency caused by exercise and dehydration.
 
Make sure you're getting the minerals you need in your 'new and improved' diet! :) Magnesium and potassium deficiency are the main culprits in cramp. Have you changed your exercise routine at all recently? Or your shoes? These can all cause problems. Honestly, for such an amazingly resilient organism we are precariously balanced individuals! :lol:
 
Thanks, folk.

The last 2 weeks I haven't been able to exercise as snow was on the tennis courts, & the hospital gym programme stopped over Christmas. I must keep up the stretching. I have assumed the multi-vit-mins would be adequate.
 
Ian, what you describe sounds like cramp to me, I suffered terrible recurring calf cramps when I was taking steroids and the doctor put me on quinine tablets which immediately stopped the problem. He did tell me that a bottle of tonic water at bedtime had the same effect, although you cant get tonic water on prescription.

So do try a tonic water at bedtime but if the problem persists it will almost certainly be down to a mineral deficiency so see your doctor.
 
Same for me
For my leg cramps GP put me on Quinine Sulphate tablets
that works for me :)

I also have a bottle of Schweppes Diet Indian tonic water next to bed that also has Quinine
on advise from my DB nurse I also find tonic water also helps me out with the odd hart burn at night
 
I doubt that stretching will have any effect at all Ian, as I understand it, and I did look into it when I had the cramps problem, what happens is that when you lay in bed your feet are generally pointing downwards which relaxes the calf muscles, when you wake up or stir in the night you move your feet into the normal position and it is that manoeuvre that flexes the calf muscles puts them into spasm. Therefore exercise will have no effect on night cramps, a mineral deficiency though will have. Look at correcting your diet or taking a supplement :D

Quinine tablets are only available on prescription whereas tonic water is available to all. Few things are initially as painful as night cramps. Standing on a cold surface will also help, before I was prescribed quinine I used to stand on a marble fire hearth or lift my foot onto a cold radiator (only works in the summer LOL)

I am loath to say this but have you considered that your low carb diet could be responsible for a Magnesium deficiency? Not looking to start a war or anything but worth considering dont you think.

Worth a read digitalnaturopath.com/cond/C466089.html

Ive edited this post at least six times as I really am not interested in starting an argument but having suffered from night cramps due to the ravages of prednisolone I am only too aware of the consequences of mineral deficiencies
 
Sid, thanks for further advice. The only "war" I am concerned with is for the provision of valid health information, & against the disinformation provided by DUK wrt diet. We are all learning & sharing.

I hope I have developed a new "reflex" on waking - not stretching, but flexing my feet.

My wife asks me to say she finds bananas helpful in reducing leg cramps - she's nor diabetic, but a heart patient on statins & quinine & an assortment of other prescribed drugs.
 
Interestingly I used to get cramps a lot in my calves before I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes & since I have been able to control it I have not suffered from these at all -touch wood!
I thought the change was just down to a better diet/exercise but if there are a lot of other sufferers could it be a symptom of diabetes or of something related to diabetes in the bloodstream?
 
Interestingly, and perhaps somewhat oddly upon reading Sid's posts, I suffered from leg (calf) cramps which disappeared once I began taking Prednisalone (after dx'd with Rheumatoid Arthritis). Once I came off the Pred (approx 18 months later) the cramping returned; not as severe, but back nonetheless.

Anyhoo...I hope you find a solution to your morning cramping, as I know how damned painful it can be...not just at the time, but for the rest of the day.
 
iph888
Interestingly I used to get cramps a lot in my calves before I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes & since I have been able to control it I have not suffered from these at all -touch wood!
Click to expand...


Picked this gem up

Muscle loss can also cause cramp

muscle mass is lost when glucoses are uncontrolled. There is some tissue breakdown, and there is considerable loss of "electrolytes". These are salts that are present in all tissues of the body, and are abundant in muscle. When they are lost, the muscle becomes very prone to a cramping pain.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all the replies - I increased my vit/min tabs to 2/day & of course resumed my activity. The problem has cleared. I'm back to 1 tab/day.
 
Back
Top