Anyone with severe calf/foot cramps?

(Kim) #21

Libby, what brand Boron do you get? I am looking on Amazon and I see many.

(Kent) #22

ā€œI love to drink Propel water.ā€.

I put half a teaspoon of magnesium citrate in a propel water every morning and that has virtually eliminated the leg cramps when I wake up in the morning.

#23

Check the nutrition info on the Propelā€“usually those drinks have very little added electrolytes, so it might not be helping as much as you hope.

Iā€™ve lived with vicious foot cramps for years.

I take a magnesium/Vit D supplement and potassium before bed every night and drink water that I add electrolyte drops to. I use Hi Lyte, but there are other similar brands. Just be sure to check the nutrition info and get one that has more than a whisper of electrolytes. I could probably just take more supplements, but I fast on some days and me + pills on an empty stomach is no bueno. (I confess, Iā€™m not a huge fan of the ongoing use of the drops, because theyā€™re pretty expensive compared to tablets. Iā€™m hoping to eventually find another solution, but for now itā€™s working. And I want to avoid foot cramps more than I want to save 20 bucks.)

It took me a while of experimenting to get my electrolyte balance right. I did up my salt right away, but that turned out not to be the right answer for me and it just made me feel like Iā€™d spent the whole previous day eating potato chips and olives. Salt, magnesium, potassium, etc. all need to be in balance. So if youā€™ve upped one a lot and itā€™s not helping, then try the others.

(Kim) #24

Great idea, thank you. I am making me a shopping list of the items I now know I need to get and start taking. I am sure it will not be instantaneous, but Iā€™ll be on my way to less cramps soon, I hope. Fingers crossed!!

(Kim) #25

Thank you ZuleikaD for this great info. I am so impressed with the wealth of information I have received today by finally taking the chance to post my question.

#26

Dill Pickle Juice. Works wonders for me.
You can buy expensive pickle juice ā€œshotsā€, but I keep a gallon of cheap stuff in fridge and just a swig or two before bedtime helps me.

(Kim) #27

Oh boy, I think I can, I think I canā€¦ drink that. Iā€™m desperate, so thank you for this juicy tidbit.

(Jody) #28

I always forget about this! We keep pickle juice in our concession stand at the high school for the athletes during the games who fall over with cramps.

(Kim) #29

There must be something to this then. Will have to give it a try. Might even have some.

(Libby) #30

Sad to say, I just put a very scant sharp knife tip of 20 mule team borax into a mason jar of water and take an itty bitty swig every day or every few days depending on my mood. Itā€™s pure: ingredient list consists of one item. Sodium tetraborate.

If you live somewhere where it is in the soil, or eat a lot of organic vegies from southern California, maybe boron isnā€™t even an issue. But Iā€™ve stopped eating vegetables and there isnā€™t boron in the soil here and hence probably not in my well water. So thatā€™s why I decided to supplement.

The only warnings about boron have to do with pregnant/nursing persons but I never did quite understand what they were warning about precisely. However, one should know that there are warnings. Itā€™s in the article I think, along side them saying it will cure just about anything that ails you. I will vouch that it assists with magnesium absorption at least in my case. The conclusion of the article I linked sums it up nicely.

I tried to get more accurate with the dose. They mentioned 3 mg being an okay dose but my kitchen scale doesnā€™t read less than a gram so things started getting guess-ey after that. A mg is one thousands of a gram. I diluted the heck out of it, at least 1000 times and my swigs are really small.

Itā€™s the same stuff as you would buy in capsules but a lot cheaper, and no carb laden filler.

I feel like the FDA is going to get me for even mentioning this. Lol.

(Kim) #31

Ahhh your secret is safe with me. I did read most of the article you linked to, skimmed over some of it and I found it very interesting. I thank you for sharing this with me, it was a good read.

(Libby) #32

Somebody really does need to come up with The Ultimate Keto Salt Lick. Maybe on a ring, like those candy pacifiersā€¦or like those candies on a necklaceā€¦

(Jody) #33

Like a pacifier on a clip onā€¦

(Jennibc) #34

If I donā€™t drink my ā€˜gatoradeā€™ everyday I get horrible cramps in the feet and calves in the middle of the night. It never fails. I mix 20 oz of ice water 1/4 teaspoon of lite salt and tiny scoop of magnesium citrate. My guess is the scoop is half a teaspoon. I should measure it. I add a teaspoon of lemon juice to make it palatable. I drink two everyday. If I forget, I feel it!

On the bat wings, sadly, those are the worst part of my saggy skin. I donā€™t have a lot in the waist or the legs, but those hanging arms are very unfortunate. I am down almost 113 pounds and itā€™s been a very slow weight loss but I still have those wings.

I want to work on the my triceps but I have some serious nerve pain and weakness in my right arm. I just went through spinal surgery that was suppose to help, but four months later I still have the pain so I think the nerve is being compressed someone where other than the spine so I STILL canā€™t lift weights. Back to the drawing the board.

#35

I also had terrible leg cramps regularly at night for a while when I started keto. My solution was also to play around with what electrolyte levels worked best for me. I think it has more to do with salt than anything, but I do use a magnesium oil spray (originally recommended by people here and it works much better for me as it bypasses your digestive system). I take about a 1/4 teaspoon of No Salt (potassium) every other day. I liberally salt my food and thatā€™s it on days I donā€™t fast. On days I fast, I will drink a small glass of water with about 1 tsp of salt and then will munch on pink salt throughout the day.

(Ann) #36

First time here. So excuse me if I sound green behind the ears. I can totally relate to this question. I finally licked this problem for me. Iā€™ve started taking KAL Magnesium Glycinate 400
from Amazon. I heard about this from Keto Connect. It is a life saver for me. It worked the very first night I took it. Iā€™m 5ā€™1" with bodybuilders calves and I used to wake up from charlie horse
both in my calves and feet. It was so freakish watching my toes curl up.
Also, I started drinking Zippfizz which I got from Costco. One tube has 950mg of Potassium.
It has a quite bitter taste but as long as I keep diluting it all day itā€™s fine. It sure keeps me hydrated as well.
I too suffer from batwing arms. I guess this is another reason for me to do an extended fast. Iā€™m not there yet. Still dipping my toes and testing the water, though.
Good luck in finding your solution and I hope you come back here and tell us what finally worked for you.

#37

For what itā€™s worth, nearly all women have those flappy arms. Even skinny, fit movie stars (watch for Christina Applegate towards the end of this clip from The Sweetest Thing).

#38

Keep in mind those waters have negligible amounts of electrolytes in them for normal people, let alone us. Throw Ketoade in the search box up top and there will be recipes. Itā€™s typically the magnesium thatā€™s the issue with calf cramps. Glycinate and Malate are the better absorbing ones, Citrate works too, but go easy on that one.

(Jay Patten) #39

Youā€™ll just poop a lot if you ā€œoverdose.ā€

To reiterate what others have said, magnesium and potassium are key, but donā€™t just rely on tablets.

I have been Keto for 18 months now and I have gone through this as well. I recently discovered that working out gives me horrific leg and foot cramps that WONā€™T go away with tablets.

After listening to a ton ofā€¦ well, not so great advice, I started doing a lot of research into it and there are a lot of micronutrients involved in nerve pathways and cellular growth. More than just sodium, magnesium and potassium.

I have started eating a LOT more green and cruciferous vegetables to get those micronutrients, and my leg cramps have finally started going away.

If you wish to avoid veg altogether, organ meats (ie liver) are a must.

Phosphorus, vitamin k, vitamin c, sulphur, calciumā€¦ there are too many to list here. They ALL play a role, so you may want to try mixing your meals up with more veg.

As for the bat wings, nothing beats good old fashioned strength training. Yes, autophogy will likely help as well, but strength training will ā€œpull inā€ the batty wings and flabby tummy relatively quickly (if you donā€™t notice a difference in 6-8 weeks you can increase intensity).

(Kim) #40

Thank you Ann for this info. I will try to get me some KAL Mag from Amazon. Last night I took a Potassium pill and a Magnesium pill before going to bed AND I took Hyland Leg Cramps pills. I had seen a doctor
about my cramps as they have been that BAD. I can actually see the muscle or tendon protruding from the front of my calf and have to massage it down. Itā€™s that bad. Anyway, last night, no cramps. Amazing the first day I post a question and get all this
good advice and heed the advice, I was cramp free!