I've always had a bit of a tendency to cramps in my calves and feet and it has been worsened by LC. I take two cal-mag tablets most days, try to remember to add potassium salt to my food, yet still have twinges most nights and sometimes quite painful attacks.
A chemist recommended a product called Crampex, pills containing 20mg nicotinic acid, 200mg calcium gluconate and 0.02 mg cholecalciferol. These are brilliant, I have never had a major attack when I've taken one before bed, but you're not supposed to go on taking them indefinitely. BTW I was greatly relieved to learn that nicotinic acid is another name for niacin.
What I'm wondering is if I need to be taking more niacin? According to my book on nutrition, there's a lot of it in beef, pork and chicken and I eat lots of these.
Is there anything else that anyone out there has found useful? I'd love to hear back on this, as I can pretty well bring on a bout of cramp just by stretching the wrong way these days and after a bad bout I will have muscles that ache for days after.
Zan

I wonder if they sell this stuff over here in the US. I have suffered from leg cramps for as long as I can remember. Well, while I search for the stuff I'm going to up my niacin intake. Good post.

...This seems to have had most people stumped.
FYI, Crampex is made by Seton Healthcare Group plc, Tubiton House, Oldham, OL1 3HS, England. There is also a phone number on the packet, from the US it would be +44 161 652 2222.
There are cautions on the pack for those with heart, circulation, kidney problems or high blood pressure.
I also find it helps to sleep with a heat source by my feet, a hot water bottle or a lavender pillow.
Zan

I started taking 1000mg/500mg of calicum/magnesium about two weeks ago and my cramping is mostly gone. LCing did make it worse to the point that I was getting full on cramps instead of twinges that I had been prone to before. Now I'm back to twinges and actually quite a bit fewer of them.

The one thing my bottle says though is that you need to take the pills throughout the day (I take 2 in the morning and 2 at night) for better absorption.

;-Deb

Lavender pillow? Please explain [what it is, and the benefits]. I love lavender so if it is some type of material stuffed with lavender I'm all for it .What are the benefits (other than aroma therapy)? Gina-

...is actually lavender and wheat. It is a flat cloth tube filled with wheat grains and dried lavender, but I have seen other brands in more traditional cushion shapes.
You put it in the microwave for three minutes and it gets hot and retains the heat for a couple of hours, though not as long as a hot water bottle. Mine is this particular shape for wrapping over shoulders, but I lay it in my bed between my legs from the knees down. Reaches just past my feet.
The brand is Tisserand, a big aromatherapy brand over here. But I think one might even be able to make one's own - after all, it is literally just a bag of cloth stuffed (loosely) with wheat and lavender. Hey - at last, a good use for wheat!
The lavender smell is pretty much faded now, despite my occasionally dripping a few drops of essential oil on it, but the warmth part still works well.
Zan
ps have inceased my cal-mag dose to three daily, with meals, thanks, DebPenny. Will let you know how this works.

I've also read that if you're going to take a calcium supplement that calcium citrate is much better absorbed than the other kinds. Also be aware that high amounts of fat and fiber can interfere with calcium absorbtion, so you will need to take a bit more to get the benefits of it. Spread it out through the day so you don't get tummy upset.

I've made mine with rice. It works great. It gives off a moist heat when you heat it in the microwave. I put mine in for 2 min. on high. I have a rectangular one about 9x5 that is great for my knee and I have one shaped like a collar for around my neck and shoulders.

Also about the leg cramps when you are in bed. This sounds really silly, but I read it in Hints for Heloise and people wrote back to tell her how great it worked. She said to put a bar of soap under the sheet at about the area where your cramped leg would be. She even suggested tying a thin ribbon around the soap and pinning it to the sheet. Anyway, when you get the cramp, you just put your leg onto that bar of soap and it goes away. I am for trying anything and this, although silly sounding, is a very inexpensive thing to try.

My last pregnancy I would get leg cramps at night. Standing up on a cold floor was a quick cure. Lately, I've felt a little weak/sore in the legs and now remembered about taking a calcium/magnesium right before bed. No leg cramps yet!

Beth

Beth, my doctor told me to take the prenatal vitamins at night to avoid leg cramps when I was pregnant too. I remember all the girls in the prenatal class complaining about the leg cramps but their doctor never told them. When they started taking them at night, their cramps stopped too!

My mother, a good southern woman, has always taught me that dill (sour) pickles are an excellent remedy for leg cramps. For me they have been. I haven't had a problem in years (I used to play v-ball and always have a couple handy). I don't know the carb count of pickles but it might be worth a try.

Just my 2 cents

H

- thanks to everyone for responding. Will try the cake of soap idea and the pickles. I take my last cal/mag with my evening meal, the pill is so huge I have to swallow it with a mouthful of food, cannot do it with just water.
Another really simple thing I'm going to do is put on another layer of bedding. I have just spent a night at a friend's, and the duvet on the bed was much thicker than ours, and I did not get a twinge.
I do feel the cold a lot more since losing so much of my insulating blubber (yay!) and although my feet have not been feeling cold in bed, maybe they do get cold during the night.
I also think that spacing out the cal/mag throughout the day and adding a third one has helped but I did get cramp in both insteps during one night since starting to do this so there is more to it than that, at least for me.

One thing about the calcium/magnesium is that it didn't seem to fix my problem right away. It took a couple weeks before they were completely gone. But now it's been a couple weeks since I have had even a twinge, so I think, for me, the cal/mag has done the trick. It must the thing because it's the only thing I've done for the cramping.

;-Deb

hi all,
i think i read somewhere else on this forum that lack of sodium may also cause cramps, stiffness, aches, etc. that might explain why eating pickles help - they're very salty.
annie.

Getting my salt supplement always prevented my leg cramps - I put 1/4 teaspoon salt (sometimes a little less) under my tongue and chased it with water. Now that I've found non-sugar non-msg non-gluten Simple Girl Dry Bouillon Base, I'm good.