Anyone Getting Any Cramps?

For the first time last night I was woken twice last night with cramps in the calf of my leg... Very painful

Has anyone else experienced this???

Hi :)
I've been fairly lucky and have only had this happen once when I was around 19w. I think I actually had them more frequently before pregnancy!
My naturopath told me if I get them then it is likely I am low in calcium and may need a supplement. As your baby is growing it is hogging all of your nutrients, so you may need a little boost of calcium if you continue to get cramps.

I`ve been getting cramps in my feet during the night over the last couple of weeks

Not with this pg yet thank goodness but I got them all the time third trimester with my first bub. It's something I'm not looking forward to with this one. Funnily enough, when I started getting heartburn and taking Rennie (which became by best friend), I found the cramps didn't happen as often.

I have had two absolute shockers in my calf over the last 10 weeks. Both times I haven't been able to walk properly for three days after! Each time it happens I am reminded to take my magnesium powder! I just put a teaspoon in water and it keeps them away, until I forget again!!!

I have been sometimes in my calfs.
I also had what I'd thought were hamstring cramps but turned out to be sciatic pain.
I have not had as many with this pg as I did the last time around.

Magnesium can help some people. I know the blackmores one states that its safe to take in pregnancy.

Childondaway- Yep Im getting real bad cramps in my calves too. I go back to the midwife on Friday coming, so I will ask her what I can do. I think I have heard of the calcium thing before. I also notice if I have some swelling at night, when I get up in the morning, it hurts to walk for 10mins or so.

Have only being woken once with a cramp this time round..
With DD & DS, I got 1 or 2 very painful crippling cramps in the 3rd trimester..

Me too, better go have some caltrate.

My last blood test results came back that I was low in Vitamin D. I started taking the tablets, and have read on the bottle that it helps absorb calcium.

I had cramps in my calves with both of my other pregnancies from the second trimester onwards. I can't remember where I heard it, but it is important to stretch the cramp, not squash it up further so I found it really useful to stretch my calves by pointing my toes back towards me as soon as I woke with the cramp and found that this did the trick. The worse thing you can do for the pain is to point your toes away from you. I did this once and the cramp was so bad it took a while to get rid of it. I think I have described it properly anyway - if you pull your toes towards you then you should feel the calf muscle stretch. I found this useful for me, hope it is useful for you too.

Actually I have always been told the opposite by physios and osteos.
Stretching is great when you arent cramping, but when you are its best to compress the muscle, becaue stretching it can aggrevate and potentially cause injury.

I didn't know that. I went and googled cramping in pregnancy to see if I can trace down the source of the info I gave above and it seems to be quite common advice given on pregnancy websites to try stretching your calf muscle by pulling your toes toward you. Otherwise they say that you can try applying a hot or cold pack to the affected site. Stretching worked for me, but maybe talk to your doctor about it if there is the potential for it to be dangerous.

I used to get cramps in my leg so bad. It was always when I was getting out of bed. One time my leg was just stuck out in front of my like cardboard. It was extraordinary. I stretched it out by grabbing my toes and pulling. Each time I ended up with no ill effects afterwards. My muscles weren't sore or anything, it was just annoying.

I asked my OB and he said to drink Tonic Water because it has Quinine in it. I didn't do it long, because it tastes like garbage. I just ate bananas instead and drank normal water.

I agree on the stretching out thing, though.