Leg and Foot Cramps

kkrtype

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Apr 1, 2015
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I was getting really bad foot cramps at night and also in my calves if I stretched in the night, meaning if I stretched my legs upon waking.

Then I started eating more RP and didn't have an issue. But every now and then they will just show up! And they don't last like the other times but they do cramp and then go away. Before they would really, really stay and hurt like a Charlie horse, it was awful.

But anyway, what causes this? Am I drinking too much milk or dairy or not enough or something else?

I know that when I eat cottage cheese, I get spasms spontaneously in my left arm. They come suddenly and it really hurts and I have to grab my arm until it subsides. It's kind of embarrassing as if I'm in a conversation or with friends or the like, all of a sudden I am grabbing my arm in pain. I have no idea what causes that, but when I eat lots of cheese or cottage cheese that happens. However, when I eat raw milk cheese or cheese made with the animal rennet that RP advises, it doesn't happen. (Although organic cottage cheese still brings the spasms in my arm).

Anyway, thanks for your responses on the above!!! :) :)
 

tara

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Have you tried getting in more magnesium? Maybe try different forms if you think you are getting plenty now? I think Peat has said that cramps are often the result of insufficient Mg. But if you can't get Mg, sometimes salt will help. And getting more salt sometimes helps with retaining Mg, too.
I've had a lot of foot cramps, sometimes calf cramps, and occasionally hamstrings, all usually in bed at night. They are intolerably painful - I'm not surprised you want a solution! Cold always makes me more prone. I'm heading into winter, so I'll be curious to see if I can keep them at bay with enough magnesium.
 
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kkrtype

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Well, it's worth a try!! :) I will start taking the mg and I have already increased my salt. Good to know you can relate! Yes, the calf ones, oh my goodness are they painful!!! thanks Tara!
 
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In my experience leg/foot cramps are related to a need for magnesium, but it's good to make sure all your minerals are covered.
 

Brian

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I'm trying to figure out why my parents are getting leg cramps. They've been taking Estroban for about 3 months and recently leg cramps have been appearing.

They both have also been taking about 400mg magnesium glycinate for at least as long. Calcium intake probably varied between 300mg to 600mg per day by my estimation of their eating habits.

Any ideas on what could be causing them?
 

Mittir

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Brian said:
I'm trying to figure out why my parents are getting leg cramps. They've been taking Estroban for about 3 months and recently leg cramps have been appearing.

They both have also been taking about 400mg magnesium glycinate for at least as long. Calcium intake probably varied between 300mg to 600mg per day by my estimation of their eating habits.

Any ideas on what could be causing them?

I associate leg cramps with hypothyroidism, which causes magnesium loss.
Excess vitamin A can cause hypothyroidism and requirements of vitamin A
depends on state of metabolism. RP mentioned that an average hypothyroid person needs
about 5000 IU of vitamin A . I do not know if 400 mg of magnesium supplement
is enough to compensate that loss.

Another possibility is that their metabolism has increased and they are not
getting enough nutrients to support that. Low protein ( low albumin)
and low alkaline mineral happens often. Are they on low salt diet? Low sodium can
increase magnesium loss. One can lower magnesium loss by taking adequate or extra
sodium, potassium and calcium.
 

Brian

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Mittir said:
I associate leg cramps with hypothyroidism, which causes magnesium loss.
Excess vitamin A can cause hypothyroidism and requirements of vitamin A
depends on state of metabolism. RP mentioned that an average hypothyroid person needs
about 5000 IU of vitamin A . I do not know if 400 mg of magnesium supplement
is enough to compensate that loss.

Another possibility is that their metabolism has increased and they are not
getting enough nutrients to support that. Low protein ( low albumin)
and low alkaline mineral happens often. Are they on low salt diet? Low sodium can
increase magnesium loss. One can lower magnesium loss by taking adequate or extra
sodium, potassium and calcium.

My thinking right now is that especially in my mom her calcium intake has been chronically too low, sometimes less then one cup of milk per day. After about two months of 8 drops of Estroban topically per day (5000 IU Vitamin A) she was noticing a lot of positive effects such as prolactin and estrogen decrease. But I think now two months later her calcium needs have greatly increased while taking magnesium further decreased the Cal:Mag ratio. So I think her PTH dramatically increased in reaction and she now might have high serum calcium.

So I'm thinking for her something like the equivalent of 1000mg calcium per day through dairy, and maybe only 4 drops of Estroban would get her PTH down. But I wonder if at least temporarily her magnesium supplementation should stop to not antagonize her calcium absorption?

What do you think about this approach?
 

Mittir

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Feb 20, 2013
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@Brian
I do not exactly remember, but i think the topical absorption rate of fat soluble vitamin is around
20%. If that is correct then she is probably getting around 1000 IU of vitamin A.
That is not much to inhibit thyroid function.
Vitamin D improves calcium status even when calcium intake is not optimal.
Higher calcium intake should lower PTH and can improve the condition.

I think milk is a super food if it is digested properly. Increasing calcium is a good idea.
RP does not give extra attention to ratio of calcium and magnesium, it is the total
intake of alkaline minerals. You still want to get RDA of cal, mag,sodium and potassium.
I think you can increase calcium/milk to see if the problem is
resolved without changing other variables. If it does not work then tweak with supplements.
I do not see any reason to lower magnesium unless it is causing gut irritation.
Hypothyroid and older people have problem retaining both magnesium and sodium.
 

Livingirl

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Oct 9, 2014
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Was looking for threads about calve cramps. I'm really confused myself. I took my Calm magnesium supplement last night with my zinc picolinate, and woke up in the middle of the night with a severe charley horse in my left calf. After that, my legs cramped and were hurting all night. I haven't had a charley horse cramp in years! I'm confused because I took mag before I went to bed. How the heck could that happen? I ate a honey dew melon earlier, and took my supplements about an hour later. Still don't understand since I took magnesium. Weird...
 

artemis

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Dec 19, 2014
Messages
196
Same here. I've been plagued with leg and foot cramps in the early morning hours for the past couple weeks, every night. Never had them before. I'm certain it's not a mineral deficiency -- I take in a lot, and take magnesium glycinate and potassium before bed. I'm at a loss. The last few nights I've been stretching my leg muscles before bed. It has cut down on the cramps, but not stopped them completely. And even when they're not cramping, they're twitching, like they're thinking about cramping.
 

YuraCZ

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Apr 24, 2015
Messages
674
Mittir said:
Brian said:
I'm trying to figure out why my parents are getting leg cramps. They've been taking Estroban for about 3 months and recently leg cramps have been appearing.

They both have also been taking about 400mg magnesium glycinate for at least as long. Calcium intake probably varied between 300mg to 600mg per day by my estimation of their eating habits.

Any ideas on what could be causing them?

I associate leg cramps with hypothyroidism, which causes magnesium loss.
Excess vitamin A can cause hypothyroidism and requirements of vitamin A
depends on state of metabolism. RP mentioned that an average hypothyroid person needs
about 5000 IU of vitamin A
. I do not know if 400 mg of magnesium supplement
is enough to compensate that loss.

Another possibility is that their metabolism has increased and they are not
getting enough nutrients to support that. Low protein ( low albumin)
and low alkaline mineral happens often. Are they on low salt diet? Low sodium can
increase magnesium loss. One can lower magnesium loss by taking adequate or extra
sodium, potassium and calcium.
:confused
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=6096&p=72133&hilit=retinol+in+premenopausal+women#p72133
 

Livingirl

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Oct 9, 2014
Messages
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artemis said:
Same here. I've been plagued with leg and foot cramps in the early morning hours for the past couple weeks, every night. Never had them before. I'm certain it's not a mineral deficiency -- I take in a lot, and take magnesium glycinate and potassium before bed. I'm at a loss. The last few nights I've been stretching my leg muscles before bed. It has cut down on the cramps, but not stopped them completely. And even when they're not cramping, they're twitching, like they're thinking about cramping.

How much Peating are you doing? I cut dairy out of my diet for years until recently. Recently being about 2 months after 10 years. I wonder if the dairy has anything to do with it? I've only added a small amount of ice cream and whole cream for my coffee, which the latter I have occasionally over the last several years. I take several supplements, vit D3, zinc, co-enzyme B's, aspirin and natural progesterone. Have been taking all of those except aspirin for the last two years.

I'm just wondering why am I having these, after years of not?
 

artemis

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Dec 19, 2014
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Livingirl said:
How much Peating are you doing?
I'm pretty much full-on Peaty, have been for 7 months now. I never drank milk before in my life, except I guess as an infant. Started drinking it when I started Peating 7 months ago, found that I really liked the taste, so I've been drinking it all this time, yet only been having the leg cramps for the past 2-3 weeks. So I don't think it's the milk. My diet is pretty strict Peat -- eggs, milk, fruit, OJ, gelatin, no gluten, no/minimal PUFA, etc. And I take a lot of supplements, too. I've been cruising along, doing well, had some health issues resolve, then this crazy leg cramping started, and I just don't know what to think or do. I take some minerals before bed, do some bag breathing, stretch my legs, and still have them. :roll:
 

tara

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Mar 29, 2014
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May not be relevant, but a couple of other factors I can think of:
Cold in bed making it hard for muscles to relax? I'm much more prone to cramps in feet when they are cold.
Hungry/low blood sugar making it hard for muscles to relax?
Pregnant? I've had terrible calf cramps while pregnant, and I know others who did too.
 

Livingirl

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Oct 9, 2014
Messages
21
Well, that was the only I cramping I have had since then. I don't know what was going on that night. I'm pretty positive I am not pregnant. That would be a shocker! Ha ha. I guess we will see if any more come along.
 

HDD

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Nov 1, 2012
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Just came across this in the email section-

"Thyroid is the basic regulator of blood glucose, and it causes it to be fully oxidized for energy, so that it produces ATP efficiently, on relatively few calories. If blood glucose falls, because it's being used very quickly, the body responds with stress hormones, including glucagon, adrenalin, and cortisol. They cause fat and protein to be burned for energy, while in hypothyroidism, glucose can still be used inefficiently for glycolysis, producing lactic acid, displacing bicarbonate and carbon dioxide. This causes mineral imbalances, with effects including cramps and nerve-muscle tension, which produce heat and waste energy. When you first start taking thyroid again, your tissues will need some extra magnesium, during the time when the dose is increasing, and when the mineral balance is restored your temperature and metabolic rate might decrease a little. Orange juice, milk, and coffee are good for the main minerals, while salting your food to taste."
 

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