[rwquilts]

For the past 3 nights I have woken up every time I turn over and stretch my legs, I have a cramp start in my lower leg. I take a multi-vitamin and a 99mg potassium daily. I have been taking these in the morning but wonder if I should take the potassium before bed. Any ideas?

[ddovii]

Good question. I get the same thing, usually it happens frequently for a month or so and then goes away. I hate those, ouch!

I tried potassium (via bananas) and multivitamins also, and while I think that's a good idea, it didn't do anything for me.

What I've been using lately is drinking unsweetened coconut water regularly, especially after exercising. Coconut water supposedly is a perfect source of electrolytes, not just potassium.
It's been a few months since it happened which is the longest stretch yet. I'm not sure if I have a solution or if it's just lurking waiting to come back.

Other treatments I've heard have worked is drinking tonic water before bed (quinine), but liquid too close to bedtime might disturb your sleep.

[rwquilts]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will try them. The strange thing is that I haven't changed a thing....my diet, my exercise, my HNS's. Only stopped taking CortiTrim.

[JodiH]

Try taking the Trace Minerals. That helped me.

[LiannaKole]

I get that sometimes. So far as I can tell it's not linked to anything I'm doing. I haven't noticed a pattern, really.

I've learned to stretch in a way that won't pull anything. It helps a lot.

Also, if you feel one coming on in your leg, gently bend your knee and bring your calf close to the back of your thigh (fold your leg). Don't put pressure on it and don't flex the muscle much. Use your hand to move your leg if you think moving will make it pull. When I do this and wait for a bit, the cramp goes away.

[camaswa]

I had this quite severely and read online that it can be caused by switching to a higher protein diet. I started taking pottasium before bed and it totally stopped. It was instantaneous, really.

[rwquilts]

Camaswa, i think that may be it. I decided to take my potassium before bed last night and didn't have any leg cramps. I think that I'll start taking my calcium and multi vitamin then also. Maybe I've been peeing the vitamins and nutrients out by taking them in the morning.

[camaswa]

I'm so glad! I REALLY suffered with them, like multiple times a night sometimes. And the next day my calves would be sore. Sometimes it would be in the front, like my shins and down to the tops of my feet. Unbearable. I NEVER miss the potassium at night now.

[katie039008]

Since the average adult should have ~2000mg of potassium a day, it could also be that you aren't taking enough. I'm not sure which stage you are on MRC, but at my stage we can't have bananas. I take two in morning and two at night to supplement the lack of potassium in my diet.

[camaswa]

I read that 99mg is the max you should take. That's what the
capsules seem to contain, so I assumed it was correct. You might want to confirm somehow, Katie. I really don't know.

[rwquilts]

Katie, I can't have bananas yet, so the capsules is what I've been using. I did wake up one time last night with the start of one, but I got up and walked to the bathroom and it seemed to be gone.