Painful calf muscle cramp

I woke up this morning screaming in pain, i was either stretching or rolling over, and my calf muscle in my right leg went into overdrive cramp, it was so painful, but settled down once my hubby rubbed it and i stretched it out.

It still is so sore it feels like a truck ran over it, and it hurts to walk on it, i didnt think it stayed sore after it happens? The last few days when i walk the path to get the kids from class both calf muscles would hurt and go hard but nothing like todays spasm.

Ive never had this before in any of my 5 previous babies so this is totally new to me, i goggled and read that eating banannas to increase potasium and also increasing calcium can help prevent it happening again.

What have others done when thishas happened to them, and is it a serious medical thing or just a bad part of pregnancy?

I'm not sure on the pregnancy part of it, but magnesium can help ease leg cramping but I'd check with your pharmacist before taking it.

I had it happen to me in first pg. It really hurts! You poor thing!!! I found that stretching before bed helped and magnesium tabs also helped.

Good luck hun, hope you find something that works for you!!

Thanks for the replies.
Ive just had a glass of milk, and stretching my legs and getting into bed, but i cant believe how painful my leg still feels, and this happened at 6 in the morning and its almost midnight :(

Can u get magnesium over the counter or should i see my gp? I have a drs app at the hospital next thursday when i will mention it to them also.

You can get a tissue salt cream at the chemist to help, are you still taking pg vitamins? I started to retake mine and it helped.
Try also eating mag rich foods, google it, but nuts and whole grain breads are good...

I realized that it I felt at all jittery or restless in my arms or legs at night that would be the night I would get a cramp... So I take a mag phos remedy from my homeopath that I take if I feel like this now and have not had another cramp.

HTH they are not fun at all


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Yep, I agree with the magnesium. I've been taking it (300mg) every day for the past 5 months or so and haven't had a leg cramp since. I highly recommend you try it! I'm pretty sure you can get it over the counter (although, i live in Germany - so wouldn't really know if it's the same in Australia, but i don't see why not).

You can get it OTC, blackmores have a good one, the smaller jar with the gold label.
I used one my naturopath had, and it was awesome. I dont remember the brand. I had horrendous cramping hip to toe in labour with DS1, for with DS2 I took magnesium and zinc the whole way through (I think the zinc was for something else) and had the odd cramp but not the same issues by a long shot.

Yes it is a pregnancy thing! I had bad cramping in both pregnancies and found that the magnesium tablets really helped a lot. The cramps went away after I had the baby.

Yep this happens to me! About once a week :( I stretch in my sleep and am woken by the searing, ripping pain of a leg cramp. And yes, mine takes a good 48 hours to recover completely! Feels tender and sore and has me limping. I need to pick up some magnesium too. I eat a banana and drink a glass of milk before bed to try and stop it lol.

I get it every morning in both calves :( i'll have to start the magnesium tablets i think, someone suggested salt too (more in the diet apparently helps with cramping)

I would get pangs of unbearable pain in the front of my calf towards the end of my pregnancy and they would last about 30mins !

Geez i so feel for you as they are terrible to experience :hug:

Do not miss this at all. I had a bottle of poweraide on bedside table.

Yep, I had them too. But I've had them for years, due to a horseriding accident I had. Because mine are random, I found (by accident) that if I leap out of bed and actually stand on it, the pain stops almost straight away. But it's not that easy leaping out of bed when one is eight odd months pregnant!!

oh wow i cant believe how many of us has been through this pain, it is still hurting today, my leg looks fine but feels like its bruised!
Thanks for all the suggestions i will definatly be checking them out tomorrow at the shops, cause this hurt sooooo much i dont want to go through it again! I told my hubby he had to buy me heaps of banannas and yoghurt! I have a two story house and i found it so hard to walk up the stairs this morning!

Interesting about the salt, i dont eat salt unless its on food ive bought, but i dont cook with it or add it to my meals, maybe i should?

I don't add salt or eat salt, it's more the magnesium... Eating more salt will dehydrate you more and I found when I was dehydrated my cramps were worse. Athletes use 'tissue salts' cream (which is mainly mag) to stop the cramps.

I would just stick to a mag supplement or cream tbh


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drink more water too..you could be dehydrated. DH cramps up and he drinks more water and it fixes the cramps.

Don't eat too many bananas, you don't want to add constipation to the cramping ;)

I've always been prone to cramps and pregnancy sends my crampiness mad. The best thing, especially if you have a cool floor like tiles or floor boards is to get out of bed ASAP and place your foot flat on the floor. This willl usually help ease the cramp. And it does feel like a pulled muscle after :(

Also always make sure if your calf is red or swollen you get it check out to make sure its not a clot.

I hope you feel better soon

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Magnesium phosphate tablets are amazing!!! I had bad cramps and horrible restless leg while pg and they help as well as eating a banana before bed.

The brand is Schuessler and they are mag phos tissue salts and 100%safe during pg. :)

i used to get these all the time when i was young, ive had once since being pregnant, the doctor told me when i was young it was a lack of magnesium/salt in my diet, he told me to go and get magnesium phosporate (spelling?) tablets.. im not sure if u can take them when youre pregnant so if you decide to take them maybe talk to your doctor??

i got them from standing for a long time.. the pain lasts about a day for me, depending on how bad the cramp was.. i usually dream that its happening then wake up swearing lol.. i stretch as soon as it happens..

I was getting them around the 25 week mark too! I wld start stretching out in my sleep and wake up in excruciating pain.. And yep my leg wld hurt for days afterwards.. like i had just run a huge marathon!

I asked my midwife and she said get some magnesium. But i just started taking my pregnancy vitamins again and upped my water intake and i dont get them anymore, thank goodness!
Do u take any pg vitamins???

Having always been fit - I was astounded that now, on my 3rd pg - I got these darned calf cramps. So so painful!!!

DH bought me calcium and magnesium (natures own) tablets and since having two of those each day I've had no cramps!

One thing I found helped me is that I'd try and remember to stretch my legs by pulling my toes towards me instead of away (ie up instead of down) it's definitely made a difference for me.

Omgoodness!! I can remember the same thing happening to me when I was preg - I remember those cramps more than the birth!! Lol

I would get them really early in the morning when I was still sleeping - I swear I would fly out of that bed trying to get rid of it.

They just stopped one day - I suspect it may have been dehydration - are you drinking enough water?

I hope they stop soon - they ate the worst!!!!