Leg Cramps - What do people do to prevent or treat these

lovinglife said:

My hubby gets leg cramps not because of diabetes but another health condition, he uses magnesium spray, he also drinks a small glass of diet tonic water before bed. He also likes the menthol massage balm (I think that’s what it’s called) from the Body Shop - he has stocked up on that in light of the recent demise of the Body Shop

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I also have diet tonic water.Haven't had cramp since drinking it.

I discovered that drinking quite a lot of water was a first aid treatment for the night time camps, severe ones could need two pints, but most needed at least one pint.
These days I add salt to several meals each week - I have no other source of salt as I don't use it in cooking and eat no food with salt in other than cheese, and don't always buy that type - plus the really salty brand I found made me retch, so my dietary salt content can be zero some weeks.
I take a supplement which contains magnesium, and calcium, zinc and various vitamins and although not every day, I doubt I am lacking in those elements.

Art Of Flowers said:

I watched a YouTube video today on night symptoms of diabetes and one of these was leg cramps. I occasionally get cramp in the calf muscle my right leg.

I previously assumed that cramp this was due to my leg getting cold, but now I think it may be related to diabetes.

I did a quick search on the forums and saw that some people use a Magnesium Chloride spray to treat cramp. Does this work, or is there a better alternative?

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I use Better You Magnesium Muscle Spray it is actually amazing. I don't get leg cramps but my legs are always restless in bed, but not with this. My daughter has a problem with her shoulder atm, but the pain goes away with this amazing spray. I found ut in home bargains last week 4.99 instead of the 13 quid it costs in Holland and Barrett.

When I first went low carb I got bad night cramps. I went with the low magnesium theory and used the same spray as @ATB123 . It worked well. I only use it very very occasionally now. I have however changed to using pink Himalayan salt in my keto coconut porridge every morning. That seems to give me enough magnesium to prevent cramps.

Art Of Flowers said:

did a quick search on the forums and saw that some people use a Magnesium Chloride spray to treat cramp. Does this work, or is there a better alternative?

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When I first went low carb all was good

But as moved deeper into it, all those years of salt & sugar filled foods fell away .

Eventually, like you, I got cramps.

But not the niggly types I got before, these were more muscle ripping ones.

The types that make you worry they might not end, as you watch the muscles contort & writhe beneath the skin

So much so I jumped out of bed most times to "walk it off"...which usually worked, after some time up walking .

Looking back, I had dropped off eating so much salt through lchf and a diet that literally consisted of meat that looked like meat, and veg that looks like veg

I didn't realise at the time how much salt was missing from my diet, and at the time believed salt was 'bad'.

Advice I got was to use mag spray and add back some salt to my food.

I used magnesium spray, which helped tremendously, and began adding salt to food.

Over time the cramps eased considerably .

But I still get the occasional cramps, where that writhing occurs and I need to get up, but that is rare now.

For me, mag spray was a godsend...but re-introducing salt was the solution to the problem .

Hope you buy some and see for yourself.

And do try to add some of the missing salt back into your diet ,if you went hard on lchf or kicked a lot of processed foods to the touchline

Good luck finding a way to ease the cramps

I first suffered with severe leg cramps about 6 years ago, and my then GP prescribed Quinine Sulfate, whilst warning me of the side effects, so it might be worth doing a bit of research before seeing your GP.
I last suffered with leg cramps 2 years ago, and when I spoke to my current GP, I mentioned that I had been prescribed Quinine Sulfate in the past, and he repeated the caution before asking me if I wanted to try that again.
A week into the month's prescription, the cramps had stopped, so I stopped taking the tablets.
If it is suitable, and your GP prescribes it, do not take the tablets for longer than necessary.

Rachox said:

When I first went low carb I got bad night cramps. I went with the low magnesium theory and used the same spray as @ATB123 . It worked well. I only use it very very occasionally now. I have however changed to using pink Himalayan salt in my keto coconut porridge every morning. That seems to give me enough magnesium to prevent cramps.

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It's great stuff isn't it! I don't have cramps to try it out on but has been so good for restless legs and my daughters shoulder. I don't have painful joints either but will definitely try it if I do get some one day!

I use Himalayan table salt and take a magnesium supplement.

Taking electrolytes everyday in a large glass of water sorted my leg cramps

We tend to underestimate the fluid lost through perspiration, especially when physically active in warm weather, so make sure you have plenty to drink. You can't beat water out of the tap, but almost any sugar-free beverage will do. Unfortunately, alcohol tends to exacerbate the problem.

Diabetics are known to be more susceptible to cramps than the general population. It can occur with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but appears to be more prevalent with type 2. possibly because patients with insulin resistance tend to lose magnesium in their urine, contributing to lower levels.

Should you be unfortunate enough to experience a bout of cramps in your legs, whatever you do, don't point your feet! It's a natural reaction, but prolongs the agony. Instead grab your toes and pull upwards towards your knees. You may want to support your feet in bed with a pillow. I find that simple precaution prevents me from flexing my feet in my sleep.

I take a magnesium supplement, when i've run out it takes only a couple of days for restless twitchy legs to start, followed by agonising cramp in my feet. Restoring the supplement works very rapidly. So i'm very confident that Magnesium is My own particular problem.

i use to use Dioralyte when I use to suffer from cramps , it replaces all salts minerals etc , which if lost can be a cause of cramp, most importantly stay hydrate, increase your water intake it’ll definitely help

I tried Magnesium supplements after looking up about cramp. They worked for a short while I’m now on quinine tablets from the drs they work a treat!

I have started suffering with leg cramps since working in a job where I’m on my feet all day and covering many miles. I use the Better You magnesium gel or lotion on my legs and feet and I also have a glass of cold water immediately before bed and I find that these really help.

Thanks for this timely thread.
I didn't bother taking my magnesium citrate supplements with me on a 14 day holiday and haven't (until now) connected that with the virtually constant prickly feet and frequents cramp I’ve been getting. I'd been putting it down to all the city walking we'd been doing in heat.
I may even double up my dose for a while

might just get some of this magnesium today and see if helps , thank you