Leg Cramps - What to do when you've tried everything?

cramps
#41

Not sure if it’s helpful, but along with using Brenda’s Keto-Aide, with added ACV and Lemon Juice for me, she also recommended taking Calcium Tablets each night to help with leg cramps. I think we all go through them from time to time, if not like those who deal with them regularly. But it wouldn’t hurt to try. Might just have to try & see what works best. Sounds like a lot to think about per the responses above.

(traci simpson) #42

The last two nights I’ve had foot cramps. I tried some salt since I’ve been drink vinegar water for about a week at night.

(John) #43

A follow up to this. Turns out it was work stress. She quit her job and the cramps stopped.

We didn’t consider the effects that stress could have had on her body.

So keep that in mind. Not all problems are caused by keto.

(Anna ) #44

I’ve had really bad nocturnal leg cramps for many years now, and they also have gotten more frequent since I started keto 5 months ago. But yet the cramps don’t happen every night. I’ve been keeping a detailed food diary and I can’t see any foods or activities that would cause this. My mom also has nocturnal leg cramps.

I’ve tried taking high magnesium and potassium and that didn’t work. I can’t take high calcium because it makes my migraines worse. I did have a blood test done and I have very high sodium and chloride, my potassium is OK, but my calcium is very low. Magnesium was not tested.

I’ve read that taurine can help balance electrolytes in the body. It’s too early to tell, I just started taking it.

(Kirk Wolak) #45

Okay, I have TRIED EVERYTHING and nothing worked 100% Until I found SNAKE JUICE!

OMG, it’s been WEEKS without a cramp (well, ONE time, when I was too busy to start my day with it).

Honestly, this has been working for me so well… You can find Cole’s (Snake Diet/Snake Juice) online.
But I have it down to: (24 oz of water or homemade seltzer)
1/2 tsp Magnesium (I took epsom salts and ran them through the coffee grinder=>powders them)
1/2 tsp NoSalt (Really Important Potassium Source)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
Dash of Pink salt, and 3 “00” capsules of Pink salt that I pack myself.

I did NOT like the saltiness with 1/4 tsp of pink salt.

NOTE: this is 1/2 of the 1L recipe Cole Gives. I only drink ONE of these NORMALLY.

I force myself to drink this, the first thing in the morning (not all at once, it is the first drink I must finish before I have my coffee or seltzer or water, etc). Yesterday it was 4:22pm before I had my coffee, LOL.

But the lack of Cramping is AMAZING. And there are times when I do a second glass… I kinda know, or I might have gotten a “warning sign/twinge cramp” (That feeling that you could cramp)… And if I check, it’s after I did a lot of walking while fasting… Today I will walk 10 miles fasted. I will drink TWO of those, my first one is rocking already…

NOTE: I tried other things that SEEMED to work for a day or two. This has been a SOLID 4 weeks of working, since about a day after I started it… Crazy good results. And the taste… Just water it down a bit more, like I did, and it goes down pretty easy!

(Ben ) #46

I’ve started to spray a few pumps into my mouth after I spray it all over me. Real salty but you get used to it. I use a 50/50 ratio of mag flakes and distilled water. It seems to be stronger than the bottled spray. I used to wash it off after 30 min after all the mag was absorbed but have decided to leave it on so the salt stays on my skin. Will also be spraying it on my hands throughout the day.

(Sammy Roth) #47

Same issue…absolutely 100% cured in 2 days when I used the following supplements at night

  1. GABA. 750mg
  2. 5 HTP 100mg
  3. B6 250mg

I still use magnesium and potassium but these 3 right before bed allowed me to actually fall asleep within 1/2 hr of taking them rather than counting sheep for hours AND they also completely solved the leg cramp issue so rapidly I can’t even tell you. I am thrilled beyond belief!! The 5HTP was from Costco and it contains some B6 & B12 as well.
I’m not a Dr. but do try it out. Small price to pay for relief and sleep!

(Kirk Wolak) #48

A Quick Update…
Still not cramping…
I’ve had an INKLING of a morning cramp when I did not do my snake juice for a couple of days…

This is awesome. And because of this, I have reached out and bought LMNT (element) electrolytes, and having those keeps them away as well, but keep in mind, I don’t go many days without snake juice. So I could be confusing them… The snake just is SUPER cheap!

(Bob M) #49

You know, I have occasional lower leg cramps and have yet to figure out why.

#50

ctviggen Bob M. I feel ya! I came here today because since warmer weather I’ve been outside more. Recently temporarily moved to a new place that has front and back steps. Been going up and down those regularly this past week. Had a muscle cramp last night that knocked me out of bed.
I take 100mg of magnesium daily. Don’t use any potassium supplements as I’m on lisinopril BP meds. But I do make a Keto aid type drink with I use a quart jar of well water add 1/2 tsp pink salt and a pinch of Nosalt. Which I know Nosalt is potassium, but that’s what the Keto aid recipe called for(haven’t had any side effects from the Nosalt. I Then add a packet of crystal lite drink mix, just gives it a taste. I try to drink some when I’m in the frig foraging around. But I forget to drink it sometimes. I’ve never really known how much Nosalt to add? I’m afraid of potassium due to my lisinopril?
So I’m wondering today? Was the knock me out of bed cramp from all the new steps or should I drink my Keto aid? More Nosalt in my Keto aid? I’m like 98% carnivore, should I add Vegs.
Sometimes things that suddenly happen on Keto can be so confusing

#51

How MUCH potassium?

(Bob M) #52

I still haven’t figured out leg cramps. Got them the other day, while taking magnesium earlier in the day.

So, I started drinking pickle juice again, as I happened to finish the pickles. I’ve also gone back to using magnesium sprays on my legs.

The cramps have stopped, but the truth is that I have them so infrequently, there’s no pattern. I can’t say, “I took X and the cramps stopped”, because I get them too infrequently.

(David Cooke) #53

It’s all anecdotal, isn’t it? So here’s one: I used to suffer from terrible leg cramps, and this continued as I got into Keto. As I started running I thought it advisable to drink electrolytes before and during longer runs.
The last time I got cramps was in the last mile of a half marathon, about an hour after I had discovered that my second electrolyte bottle had leaked. Left leg, recover, then right leg, recover, then same thing for both feet. I have run a few long distance races and this was the first time I got stopped by cramps.
Non-sugar electrolyte drinks for runners seem to do the trick, for a long time I was just adding salt to my water.

(Bob M) #54

You might want to read this book:

In this, he shows tons of data that electrolytes in the blood go up during marathons. In fact, it used to be that marathon runners (the fast ones that win races) did not drink at all during the race.

Now, slow people probably have to drink. But he shows the amount of electrolytes in a bottle of Gatorade or whatever is actually much less concentrated than what’s in your blood. You’re actually diluting your blood (which is why if you drink too much, you can die).

I don’t know how to reconcile this data with what happens with low carb folk.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #55

When it was originally formulated, Gatorade was sugar-free and tasted nasty to anyone who was not low on electrolytes (if you needed them, it tasted fine). When Pepsi bought the formula and started selling it commercially, it added lots of sugar.

It is ironic that Dr. Noakes was the expert who first promoted hydration during running. But as he is now pointing out, the sports drink manufacturers have pushed the idea so far that runners are now ending up hospitalised, and several have died, from over-hydration. Now poor Dr. Noakes is having to caution people about the dangers of too much hydration!

If you need to drink, you will be thirsty. If you’re not thirsty, you don’t need to drink.

(Bob M) #56

That is the rule he proposes: drink when thirsty.

But obviously cramps come up so much on low carb/keto/carnivore boards, that there is something amiss. Heck, I still get them periodically. And I haven’t figured out how to combat them.

Sometimes I think magnesium cures them…and sometimes I think magnesium causes them.

I think the real “solution” (if there is one) is that there’s a complex set of electrolytes (and possibly more) that are needed. If you’re lacking in one/more, you get cramps.

Say you’re lacking in magnesium. You take magnesium, your cramps stop. You KNOW Mg helps with cramps.

But say you’re “high” in Mg, as I think I am (I took tons of Mg for years). Then I think taking too much Mg might lead to an imbalance…which might cause or at least not cure cramps.

I’ve seen salt being discussed as necessary to limit how much Mg, K, etc. are used. In other words, increasing salt intake limits/reduces your use of Mg, K, etc.

On the other hand, I’ve really been trying to increase my salt intake…but still get cramps periodically.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #57

Have you ever been tested for magnesium and potassium when having blood drawn? That might provide some indication.

(Bob M) #58

Many times. Even got a RBC (red blood cell) magnesium test. Always normal. The RBC was actually near max (6.6, 6.4), though not over.

The issue with this is that some believe your body will “leech” electrolytes out of bones, etc., just to keep the blood within normal limits. Is this true? I have no idea, as it’s impossible to test.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #59

I don’t know why there would be electrolyte leaching if sodium intake is in the right range.

(David Cooke) #60

Well, I can run quite a long way without drinking, but a drink of water really does feel refreshing, and if I have electrolytes in there then I can carry on much better. I think most super marathon runners drink during races these days.
I did say I got cramps etc but didn’t mention that it was very (36°C) hot and humid that day, so although I was getting water along the way I was really sweating out those electrolytes.
My point was that IN MY CASE a lack of electrolytes seemed to be the problem.
Another point is, as I mentioned way, way up in this discussion, was that people that don’t drink any alcohol at all suffer much less from cramps, NLC. Again, in my case, there seems to be a relation and I won’t even take my one evening beer in the week before a race.
Any relation between alcohol consumption and lack of ability to use electrolytes escapes me.