I get absolutely excruciating leg, calf, and foot cramps. Mostly at night but not always. Tried a million things over the decades. Magnesium and potassium supplements help me the most in terms of prevention, followed by chugging pickle juice when they strike.

My sympathy to anyone who battles these things.

I was having the opposite problem. My calves and right ankle would start cramping then my right foot would straighten so that the front of my leg to my toes were in direct alinement. My left would also cramp but not to the same amount. Someone on here??? suggested tonic water which did help relax the muscles. Walking to the kitchen sounded like one of those old Pegleg Pete cartoons.

I have found it interesting that the nights I have had the straight leg cramps the left calf starts having small cramps in the evening. Now that I have the connection I drink perhaps a third of a 10 oz glass before I go to bed. I have had cramping in both legs but not the straightening of the foot and leg waking me up but not the straight leg thing. Tonic water is not something I want to make a habit to drink.

I wonder if magnesium lotion applied topically would help. I'm just throwing it out as a possibility; I've never tried it.

I will say there are several kinds of magnesium supplements, and if one didn't help, perhaps another would. Magnesium oxide is the cheapest, and the least helpful in general. Magnesium glycinate has a good reputation.

FWIW, I usually try to do a few minutes of yoga and other stretches daily, and when I don't is when I start getting painful cramps in my feet and lower legs. Standing up, stretching and massaging the cramped muscles relieves it, but it can take awhile.

Yes, drastically upping my water intake helped me with foot and calf cramps. Man Man, those calf cramps hurt! Glad you found an answer, Petal.

Yes, carol, I think it tkes a bit.

I have read ”magnesium” but think that is unlikely the remedy.

I will not practice medicine or physical therapy here, but I will try to describe what has helpd me. (And when I slack off, ny cramps, less severe begin to hint at returning.)

1. While lying on my back, relaxed, legs stretch out before me, toes pointing upwards, I gently try to move the toes of both feet towards me as if I could get them to rest on my kneecaps. I hold that position for few seconds until I feel the stretch release a bit. I relax my feet and toes, then repeat. I do three or more sets of these. Then shake relax legs and feet.

2, Next, legs still extended, toes pointing up, I point and stretch my toes in the opposite direction — pretending that my toes want to get close to my heels. I hold this stretch until after about three seconds, I can feel it release a bit. I relax my legs, feet and toes and do a few more sets.

That’t it for the supine exercises.

Next, I do that familiar (to many) vertical, standing calf stretch. I do not ”bounce” — not good. And, I altyer it a bit from this illustration below (illustration coming soon). With the leg that is extended in back of me, I go up on that toe, and that lifts that heel off the floor a bit. Then, as I am stretching with that leg extended, I slowly lower my heel of that foot to the floor. Hold a few seconds. I saw this someplace as a way to stretch the achilles and the plantar fascia. I then do the same with the other achilles (other leg and foot).

I do a couple of these, alternating sides.

this seems to help prevent those crazy painful “line drive” balls to my calves sort of pain.

and, maifleur, I think I know what you’ve experienced with your foot cramped into an extended straight line. Those types of spasms are brutal.

I started getting calf and foot/toe cramps this year, and they are awful. I usually rub magnesium oil on my calves and feet twice a day, and it helps quite a bit but not 100%. I've also upped my daily water intake. But I'm also looking for possible solutions to this painful problem.

Drinking enough water really helps, but I tend to forget that during the day. When the cramps occur, my immediate solution is stand up, and if it’s at night, head to the cold tile bathroom floor and stand flat.

When I was pregnant and they hit big time, it got so where I could wake up just beofre I felt it and was already on my way to the cold tile floor when it hit.

I know I don’t drink enough water throughout the day.

I have been plagued with leg cramps all my life. I have done all of the above remedies except pickle juice -- I can't stand pickles, much less the juice. They helped somewhat. But they intensified when I began to take BP meds.

I made a comment to my cardiologist about them and he changed the meds.

I've not had NEAR the issues!

If you take any RX medications, check out the side effects.

I can't stand the taste either pudgeder. It often makes me gag. But it works within minutes, virtually every time. 🤷‍♀️ I've tried drinking water, or orange juice instead. Nope. Has to be pickle juice. I have no idea why and I don't really care because it works. 😆

I drink plenty of water during the day. I get exercise. I've tried stretching before bed. I have tried bananas.

I used to get so frustrated and tired that I'd almost cry when they hit. They seem to go in spurts and I've never found a cause. I suffered for decades with them. Thank God for pickle juice.

dill pickle juice, tho vile, can help w/i 15 minutes. The cramps, for me, indicates it is time to switch up my statin drugs. Rosuvastatin is the one I have been using for about two years. Sometimes rotating to another doctor approved statin drug is what it takes. Always keep a ar of dill pickles handy.

I get really bad leg, toe and hip cramps. Or I did. I walk a lot, so the doctor I used to go see for weight loss told me that right after my walk, or all throughout if possible, drink ZERO SUGAR Powerade. So I do and it has helped me a lot. I still have random cramps now and then but they are much less severe and frequent as they used to be.

When SO feels like one is coming on, I give him a potassium pill, a magnesium pill and wrap our really big heating pad around his leg and it helps him.

Last year my MD had me do a Dexa scan to check on osteopenia, and as a result encouraged me to take calcium supplements. I was already on Vitamin D. The severe spasms - much stronger than a classic "charleyhorse" and as has been mentioned, in my feet or even hands along with the lower leg/ankle - are really painful; I have been awakened at night. Unfortunately, stretching seemed to set them off! This is different from the restless legs that magnesium works well for. Mag seemed to help a little but not significantly.

My vitamin D levels have been monitored the past couple of years and have been in the low normal with the supplements, but I wondered if I had finally caught up and now was taking too much. I took a vacation from both the D and the Citracal, and the spasms have stopped.

I see my primary MD next week, so we will see what those D levels look like now.

Glad to hear you are feeling better!

I have this fear that in 20 or 30 years I'll have dementia or a stroke, and leg cramps, and no one will know why I'm in such agony.

https://www.amazon.com/Theraworx-Relief-Fast-Acting-Cramps-Soreness/dp/B06XD2YSX1/ref=sr_1_7?crid=36JOI9J22I5IL&keywords=roll+on+for+pain+relief+of+leg+cramps&qid=1660313287&sprefix=roll+on+for+pain+relief+of+leg+cramps%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-7 The above works well on my cramps. You roll it on and in ten minutes the pain is gone.

A reminder not to go crazy drinking *too much* water. Our internist told DH to drink 64 ounces daily. He developed a serious potassium deficiency! Now we each try to drink 32 ounces daily. I put two pitchers on the kitchen counter and shake a small amount of Crystal Lite flavoring into mine to make it more palatable.

Interesting about the statin connection...and the Vit. D, which is the only thing I take daily, along with a multi-vitamin.

raee, I'm curious to know what your Vit D levels will be. I'm deficient but also have been taking Vit D off and on to correct that.

Water, potassium and magnesium do help but I also get Hyland's Leg and Foot cramps pills that work VERY well. They do not interfere with any meds a person takes. They should be available at Walmart or any pharmacies and can be ordered from Amazon.

My husband used to have bad leg cramps, his doctor told him to drink tonic water for them. So we kept it on hand and he'd drink a small bottle of it when a cramp hit. It usually worked within a few minutes. He never tried drinking it before bedtime to try to prevent the cramps. But then his cramps weren't necessarily just at night, they often happened in the daytime, too. But the tonic water was a godsend.

Rusty

I have been getting awful leg (calf) cramps at night just within the last 10 years. I have to get up at night and massage my calf. I find keeping warm enough does help (I tend to like to sleep in a cold room). I now drink ice water before bed. I don't see how tonic water could possibly be harmful for this. It was given for decades as quinine.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I thought a lot of you might experience leg cramping. The simple stretches, even those when just lying down have made a huge difference. I have not experience any leg spasm and cramps for a long while now. For me, it was such an easy remedy.

I spoke to soon about my spasms having stopped - I guess I jinxed myself! They were back last evening and repeatedly overnight. My legs were stiff and sore this AM, as if I'd been out hiking mountains!

But, I had resumed taking Citrical and my multivitamin this past week so I still wonder if there is a connection.

I've gotten back into doing those stretches, and it's really helping. I'm glad I read this thread, it reminded me to do those stretches.

I have had severe leg and foot cramps/ charleyhorse during night when asleep. my rheumatologist told me to keep tonic water next to the bad and sip when this happens…always worked for me good luck

Like Rusty amd Cran, I also use tonic water. I put about 1/4 cup in my OJ every morning. My dad used to be up walking the floor with them at night, finally started on over-the-counter quinine pills (which are no longer availabe). But there is just enough quinine in tonic water to work for me.

For calf cramps, as soon as I feel one coming on, I point my toes to my nose, and get fast relief. I have been taking magnesium (100 mg) for a while and haven't had any cramps.

I get them really bad in my upper leg between my knee and my thigh. Or my toes. The cramps on the upper leg are the absolute worst! It runs the entire top of my leg on the inside and getting up to walk it off is almost impossible. And even when I do finally get up, it can take a good five minutes before I can relax. I usually go to the fridge and pour an ounce of pickle juice and a glass of warm water to chase it down. I know I don't drink enough water which is the problem nor do I eat enough bananas.

I alway have a bottle of pickle juice on my night stand...notnothing works better!