Cramp! Might as well jump...

[TheDoggingFather]

As a reasonably ardent walker on a daily basis I seem to suffer when it's time to climb the wooden hill to Bedfordshire.

Cramp. Just as I doze off to sleep. Sometimes it's just a nuisance, other times it can have me flying out of bed in absolute agony.

The cramps seem to vary from either the calf muscle or my left big toe that seems to head off to the right. At this point I'm contemplating naming it Elon.

It's not every night, but some weeks it can be every night, occasionally multiple times in one night.

Ii drink in the region of 3l of fluids a day, I've tried stretching before bed, varying the amount I walk has no apparent affect on it. My only comfort currently is the cold stone flooring in our downstairs hallway.

Ideas and suggestions very welcomely received, it's driving me gaga.

[danb79]

TheDoggingFather said:

As a reasonably ardent walker on a daily basis I seem to suffer when it's time to climb the wooden hill to Bedfordshire.

Cramp. Just as I doze off to sleep. Sometimes it's just a nuisance, other times it can have me flying out of bed in absolute agony.

The cramps seem to vary from either the calf muscle or my left big toe that seems to head off to the right. At this point I'm contemplating naming it Elon.

It's not every night, but some weeks it can be every night, occasionally multiple times in one night.

Ii drink in the region of 3l of fluids a day, I've tried stretching before bed, varying the amount I walk has no apparent affect on it. My only comfort currently is the cold stone flooring in our downstairs hallway.

Ideas and suggestions very welcomely received, it's driving me gaga.

Try quinine tablets (or drink tonic water with quinine in it)

Bananas help too

[egomeister]

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will come along later, but at a guess I'd say you could do with increasing electrolyte/salt intake especially as you are drinking a good amount of water (which as I understand things would dilute your existing intake)

[Austin Prefect]

What seemed to make a difference for me was flexing my ankle to get my toes as close as possible to my shins before going to sleep.

[classicfred]

Not sure how old you are but maybe worth getting checked re ; blood supply to lower leg -
claudication can feel like cramp and doesn't just happen when walking ( in my experience anyway ).
Also had similar pains and after a lot of investigations, found out it was a trapped nerve in lower back causing calf pain, something I had never even thought of.......

Edited by classicfred on Wednesday 22 January 15:58

[Silvanus]

Do you ever suffer from sciatica/disc issues?

[Tisy]

TheDoggingFather said:

As a reasonably ardent walker on a daily basis I seem to suffer when it's time to climb the wooden hill to Bedfordshire.

Cramp. Just as I doze off to sleep. Sometimes it's just a nuisance, other times it can have me flying out of bed in absolute agony.

The cramps seem to vary from either the calf muscle or my left big toe that seems to head off to the right. At this point I'm contemplating naming it Elon.

It's not every night, but some weeks it can be every night, occasionally multiple times in one night.

Ii drink in the region of 3l of fluids a day, I've tried stretching before bed, varying the amount I walk has no apparent affect on it. My only comfort currently is the cold stone flooring in our downstairs hallway.

Ideas and suggestions very welcomely received, it's driving me gaga.

Very high likelihood of being low on magnesium. It's a well-known problem for those of us who do extended fasting and I've experienced the excruciatingly painful cramps in my feet first hand, where my toes have curled downwards from the muscle contractions and basically frozen solid in that position. No pain like it !

The fix is quite simple and cheap. Get some of these in you : https://amzn.eu/d/6O2iZNr . Magnesium glycinate. Take 2 within a couple of hours of going to bed as they make you very sleepy.

[Tisy]

To add to the above, dark chocolate with (at the minimum) 70% cocoa is a good natural source of magnesium, as are avocados.

[Douglas Quaid]

You’re drinking a lot of water so are probably flushing your system out too much. Eat bananas.

[TheDoggingFather]

Thanks for all the replies.

danb79 said:

Try quinine tablets (or drink tonic water with quinine in it)

Bananas help too

Douglas Quaid said:

You’re drinking a lot of water so are probably flushing your system out too much. Eat bananas.

I've recently taken to eating bananas, 1 a day, not eaten bananas since I was a kid. Hasn't had a noticeable affect at present.

egomeister said:

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will come along later, but at a guess I'd say you could do with increasing electrolyte/salt intake especially as you are drinking a good amount of water (which as I understand things would dilute your existing intake)

I've just ordered some tablets to see if they help.

Austin Prefect said:

What seemed to make a difference for me was flexing my ankle to get my toes as close as possible to my shins before going to sleep.

I have been trying that, to no avail.

classicfred said:

Not sure how old you are but maybe worth getting checked re ; blood supply to lower leg -
claudication can feel like cramp and doesn't just happen when walking ( in my experience anyway ).
Also had similar pains and after a lot of investigations, found out it was a trapped nerve in lower back causing calf pain, something I had never even thought of.......

I'm 42, I'll certainly bear that in mind not something I'd considered at all.

Silvanus said:

Do you ever suffer from sciatica/disc issues?

From time to time, not so much now I've shed a few pounds.

Tisy said:

Very high likelihood of being low on magnesium. It's a well-known problem for those of us who do extended fasting and I've experienced the excruciatingly painful cramps in my feet first hand, where my toes have curled downwards from the muscle contractions and basically frozen solid in that position. No pain like it !

The fix is quite simple and cheap. Get some of these in you : https://amzn.eu/d/6O2iZNr . Magnesium glycinate. Take 2 within a couple of hours of going to bed as they make you very sleepy.

The missus mentioned this as a possibility, so will definitely add to the list to try.

Tisy said:

To add to the above, dark chocolate with (at the minimum) 70% cocoa is a good natural source of magnesium, as are avocados.

I loath dark chocolate, I'm sure I could disguise the the flavour with something

[Silvanus]

TheDoggingFather said:

Thanks for all the replies.

danb79 said:

Silvanus said:

Do you ever suffer from sciatica/disc issues?

From time to time, not so much now I've shed a few pounds.

I suffer specific cramps down my left leg, mostly my calf but sometimes my hamstring. More often they are at night and at times can be excruciating and leave me limping for a day or so.

Mine are down to a badly prolapsed disc (L4/5). I required 3 surgeries over 9 months and has left me with a permanently damaged sciatic nerve. I an numb down my left leg, worse as it goes down to my foot. My surgeon has told me these regular cramps are down to the nerve damage and the muscle loss.

I've tried all sorts of things, exercises, supplements etc. nothing really helps, exercise actually makes it worse unfortunately. What I have got better at is predicting them and relieving them faster when they start

[rhamnousia5]

I used to suffer exactly what you’re describing. I ignored it until I had a fairly major issue where I became hyponatremic (low sodium in my blood) and ended up being rushed urgently to hospital for an extended stay. The view is that it was caused by me doing a bit too much exercise and diluting my electrolytes in general (but primarily the sodium) with too much water intake. Since then I’ve been taking electrolyte tablets, magnesium and potassium pills daily along with the odd soluble fizzy electrolyte tablet in any water directly before during or immediately after exercise. These can all be sourced for next to nothing on Amazon or a chemist.

I haven’t had any issues since. In fact I now sleep very well and often fall asleep within minutes of going to bed compared to lying there awake for hours previously.