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Hi girls
Does anyone have any tips on how to stop/slow leg and foot cramps in the middle of the night? I've tried stretching before bed but I still get woken up in the middle of the night with almighty leg cramps...not every night but it does happen maybe once or twice a week. It's getting harder and harder to jump out of bed to stretch when I feel the cramps... ;)
Thanks in advance! :)
Sherie
Sherie....I had these SO badly when I was pregnant with Olivia...toture!
My OB recommended increaing my calcium and adding magnesium and potassium to my diet....which is easy if you have a Milo before bed....Milo has loads of magnesium and potassium, and of course the extra calcium from the milk.
As soon as I started this, the cramps went.
I did this in my pregnancy with Charlie and had no leg cramps at all, and so far in this pregnancy, no cramps either....
Good luck....
Banana's are also a good preventative for cramps - but you'll have to take out a loan to buy them LOL.
Sometimes I'd have a bath with some Epsom salts in it just to try to soothe the muscles before I went to bed. I could always tell when I'd get them too, which was usually after a day out with lots of standing etc.
Hey Sherie,
We have something in common again ;)
I havent had them that frequent but have had them.. Usually at night while watching tv actually. One night i was in tears it was that bad and doing the usual stretch to fix it was making it worse. DF just rubbed it for me to get the heat up in my legs.. that was the only thing i could do.. and put up with it until it went away. Im not sure if you can get some cream or something for it, but im sure it is very possible.
Lately ive been getting a sharp pain in my shins when standing up for more than 5 minutes at a time.. not very nice :(
I was told by the midwives last time it was a shortage of magnesuim I think, or maybe potassium.... but anyway they said pregnancy multivitamens would help.
I also added spinach, and more greens to my diets and they seem to have helped. Bananas are high in potassium as are avocados which are in season so maybe adding those too? All the leafy greens have both potassium & magnesium in great amounts so maybe just adding them to cover both sides LOL... (I'm sitting here looking at my natropath's guide to vitamens & minerals found in particular foods LOL)
Calcium tablets work a treat for me Sherie
I heard that one too Sheree when I was pg and just came back to say I've also heard that it was calcium...
Thanks heaps girls!!!
Lucy - I love Milo so that's an easy 'remedy' for me!! Any excuse for milo is a good one! ;)
Emma - I hope you don't get cramps...maybe the advice here will help you avoid them! :)
Kellxx - sorry to hear about the pain in your shins...I'm glad I haven't had that at least...I hope it doesn't last too much longer...
Thanks heaps to everyone else also! I'm hoping the milo works and will try a few of the other things too... :)
I will have to try the Milo one as well.
I am starting to get the cramps in my feet too. I ha dthe same prob with my first 2 pgs as well.
I fidn what works for me is my foot will cramp in one direction (usually toes pointing) so as painfull as it is, I just force my foot back the other way before the cramp gets to take hold. It works but doesn't actually prevent them!
I also suffered bad with "restless leg syndrom" as the midwife called it anyway. But this is soooo anoying. Basically I will lie there in bed & I need to keep flicking my legs (sort of bending & straightening but really fast) or it feels like there is pressure building up in my knees & calfs. Apparetly there is nothing I can do about it & I can already feel it happening again!
Yeah I had these too ... drive you crazy they do! I took Blackmore's magnesium which helped cut them down a fair bit.
Lucy, it's funny you mention Milo because I couldn't get enough of the stuff in the last three months of pg. I had a couple of glasses a day! Proof again I guess that the body knows what it needs.
Melbo....I am the same, only sadly it is bananas......its costing me a fortune!!
I had the cramps and restless legs as well. Drinking tonic water helped heaps for me (as I can't have the milo) and also sleeping in bed with my legs on a pillow.
Thanks girls! :) It's great to read all the different remedies! :)
I had my OBGYN appointment today and asked him what he thought...he told me that milo is good but that a drink of tonic water in the evening would work even better... I must try that! :)
~Emma~ - oh gosh, sorry to hear that you're getting cramps now...I'm the same with the heartburn...a friend asked if I get it yet and I said 'no'...a few days later, guess what!??! Bummer!
I woke up to go for a ruitine loo trip last night, as soon as i stood up i got the worst cramp in my left calf muscle.. it was the worst pain i have ever felt in my life! (yet to experience child birth!) OMG.. i cant even explain how it felt it was so bad. Nothing i could do would make it go away.. pulling my toes and foot back made it worse. DF tried to rub it for me but that just hurt to. Eventually after about half an hour the pain subsided but i was unable to walk on my leg and had to hop to the bathroom. This morning the muscle in my leg feels like its bruised or something and its difficult to walk on. Im not a big salt fan so perhaps thats the cause but im going to be stocking up on some salt and vinegar chips or something today. I never want to go through that again :(
Wait till you get them while you're walking down the street. I used to cramp all the way up my leg and into my crotch every few steps. Yeeha!
Lucy - you're right, bananas are like gold at the moment!
Its the worst pain Kate.
With those tablets.. im taking Fabfol pregnancy tablets which have the folic acid, iron and multivitamins in them also.. would that be too many vitamins for me to take them also?
Aww that would be terrible Melbo.
Having a banana as i type! I so dont want to go through that again, it was agony!