Topic: Leg cramps, and other areas,hand, foot etc.
Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Hi <<<<< LymeNet Researchers >>>>>,
Having some really rough cramping, legs, calves,sometimes even behind knee, feet and big toes, hand, fingers cramping, sometimes even under ribs.
Pretty sure the ABX is causing issues ,or at least not helping, the cramp situation. I am at a point of having to take ABX, [serious recurring UTI Kleb.Pneu. since Dec. 2015].
Really Painful type cramping,brings tears to my eyes.Hurts to try to walk when they hit, feet/leg area.
I take magnesium, some calcium, B-12 methylcobalamin, some electrolytes, and have beenn eating bananas for the potassium. What else can I do to ease this.
Keeping hydrated too,mostly water, I don't like what the ABX's do to me, but am running out of choices. trying to get more help from Drs [long story,it's on General board].
Meanwhile, I'd like to be able to move around without sudden cramping hitting without warning. Any tho'ts of what I might try ,to help stop this issue???
Thank you,for any tho'ts and ideas you may be willing to post!
OouchyOWooWoooo Silverwolfi here
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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posted
What kind of magnesium are you taking? I've been reading lately that a lot of people like applying magnesium topically.
Posts: 13116 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Hi <<<<< Robin' >>>>>,
I take a Vit. Shoppe brand, with Mag. Citrate, and Mag. Oxide, also has some Phosphurus and Calcium. Occasionally when we can afford it, I use Mag 64.
I was given some Topical Mag. not to long ago. I may see if that will help. I heard, to put it in a bit of oil [coconut, Olive oil etc.],as some folk get a burning feel from it.
Thanks for the tho't!!! I appreciate it.
Jus' Silverwolfi here
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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posted
What type of calcium are you taking?
Posts: 653 | From Northern Virginia | Registered: Oct 2014
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bluelyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 47170
posted
Bactrim was a doozie for me ! ?..try epsom salt bath but it may be side effects .....calcium lactate and potassium helped cramps but your sounds different...be careful silver
posted
Hylands leg cramps helped me. Also, if I had a leg cramp when I woke up, I kept Magnesium tablets in my bedside table and I would take one. Within minutes, the cramp would be gone. But the basic reason that I was getting so many leg cramps, in my case, was Calcium Displacement. I was taking
Calcium Carbonate which is poorly absorbed by the body. After I switched to Calcium Citrate, I had no more leg cramps.
Posts: 653 | From Northern Virginia | Registered: Oct 2014
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Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Hi there, my turn on laptop for a bit,
<<<<< Tulips, bluelyme, and lookup >>>>>,
Thanks for the info',link, and tho'ts! i appreciate it.
I don't have the greatest form of calcium to hand, mostly Cal'Carb'[Tums], and some Di-calcium phosphate in my Magnesium tablets. After payday,maybe we can find something a bit better.
Right now, most everything is out of pocket for us, the Medicaid, doesn't pay for supplements,etc.
I don't like the Bactrim [have an intolerance to it],and both TxCoord and I are watching my side effects very closely. I also am taking Children's Benadryl to help ease symptoms. I cannot take adult dose as it raises my BP too much [the Benadryl was idea from the Urgent Care].
I've had to use 'Floxins' in the past,and didn't connect the cramps some years back, until more recently. This cramping feels like being "floxed" as some call it.
Happened again 4:45 a.m. this morning... not fun. Well my li'l Doggy is going thru conniption fits, because it's his dinner time. So gotta go for now.
Thanks again to each replier!
Jus' Silverwolfi here
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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posted
Personally, I wouldn't take any calcium because it depletes magnesium .. however, you may need it.
Hard to say without experimenting.
Def try the OIL .. with the supplements. I have to put my oil in a spray bottle with distilled water to dilute it. I dilute to 60% water, 40% mag oil.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Hi <<<<< Lymetoo >>>>>,
I didn't know about the Calcium depleting Mag',good info'.
Lately my tummy has been grumpy,even before the Bactrim, so I take a couple 'Tums' now and then,and then there is a small amount in my Mag' tablets.
I've shrunk about 1/2 inch recently, so i probably need to find a safe calcium.
As to the Bactrim side effects, now we are adding, the run to the restroom, side effect. Aargh! Doing what I can to keep hydrated.
Jus' Silverwolfi here
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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posted
I had trouble with cramping and took magnesium to no avail!!
I started on 10,000 IU of vitamin D because I was almost depleted and WHOLA!!! no cramping AT ALL!
Vitamin D and magnesium work in tandem together. If I were you I would check your vitamin D levels.
Posts: 477 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Nov 2015
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Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Hi <<<<< foxy loxy >>>>>,
Thank you, I will increase my Vit.D for now, and see what happens.
Trying to get into my PCP, or have them recommend an ID Doc' [Not for Lyme and co's tho']. It is going slow.
I appreciate the info' and the idea, it is much appreciated!
Jus' Silverwolfi
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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posted
Just checking in to see how your cramping is doing! Having some of it and not sure why as well.
Posts: 606 | From sw suburbs of chicago, Illinois | Registered: Mar 2016
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posted
V8 juice is high in potassium and helps with cramps. Drink the low salt one because salt interferes with potassium.
Posts: 54 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Aug 2016
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TX Lyme Mom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3162
posted
I realize that this is an old topic from last year, but since there is one sure-cure, old-fashioned remedy that works instantly and dependably and because no one else has suggested it yet, it's worth mentioning also--namely, quinine sulfate, for which an Rx is required.
It used to be sold OTC, under the trade name Quinam, until somebody got worried about unmonitored over-usage of it, so now you need a prescription for it.
There are precautions about its usage, especially in elderly persons with lots of other Rx meds, so you will want to study the prescribing insert from the pharmacy and look it up on-line also just to be on the safe side, especially if kidney function is impaired.
My husband has used it for many years, including almost all of the other suggestions above, but this is the one and only remedy that works dependably... and fast too!
It works so fast, in fact, that I've often wondered if simply drinking water, without taking anything else at all, might be equally effective, but when those leg cramps hit in the middle of the night, the pain is so incapacitating that I've never suggested the idea to my husband.
We've observed that these leg cramps always hit when his bladder is full but when he's too sleepy to want to wake up to make a trip to the bathroom -- not to mention being too crippled to stand up by himself to get there.
I've also observed that these kinds of leg cramps occur mainly in the summer time after he's been outside working in the heat, so I'm convinced that dehydration is a major factor, too.
Even our family doctor is stumped in figuring out what the explanation is, but I suspect that blood sugar plays into the picture somehow also. However, the pain is so bad that stopping to check blood sugar is not convenient or practical, especially in the middle of the night.
My husband also gets hand cramps when he has been writing long-hand for several hours, trying to finish up a manuscript against a deadline -- mostly in warm weather when dehydration becomes problematic.
I suspect that vit D together with the right form of vit K could help, but my husband is not a good candidate for vit K because he takes blood thinners, and I refuse to supplement vit D without supplementing vit K also, based on the writings of Chris Masterjohn, PhD about fat-soluble vitamins found on the Weston A. Price (Nutition) Foundation website. (Google his name.)
Besides, my husband's muscle cramps generally occur during the summer time when his vit D levels are at their peak. They seldom ever occur during colder weather. We live in the sunny South where getting enough sunshine year round is never a problem, so that's another reason why I've ruled out vit D insufficiency as being a factor.
I notice that this topic was first initiated in the month of August, so again, I'm not confident that vit D could be playing a role here. I'm more inclined to suspect vit K in persons who don't consume enough leafy vegetables where vit K is plentiful.
(Chris Kresser has some nice articles on the right form of vit K to use, and I suspect that Mercola's website has similar info about vit K. Google these names plus vit K, and you'll be surprised at just how much you don't know about vit K.
Folks here will recognize that quinine sulfate has been used in combination with antibiotics for Babesia, so experienced LLMDs should all be well aware of precautions about its proper usage, especially which patients are not a good candidates for receiving it.
Quinam (quinine sulfate) used to be cheap as dirt, but it's expensive now. That's because there's only one manufacturer of it now, and you know what that means!
BTW, the homeopathic form of quinine (Hyland's) for leg and foot cramps doesn't begin to touch my husband's cramps. It's a joke when it comes to his kind of serious muscle cramping.
That's why we keep the real Rx stuff on hand beside his bed, plus a bottle of water within reach -- and sometimes even a urinal for him to pee into without getting out of bed whenever I'm out of town and can't come help him stand up. No kidding!
In other words, when I say that we've tried everything mentioned in this topic, I really mean it. We have literally decades of experience with managing nocturnal leg cramps and more rarely hand cramps too.
So take it from me and ask for an Rx for quinine sulfate -- unless your doctor says that your kidney function isn't good enough for you to risk using it. It's the one and only way to get instant relief dependably.
Then, do all of the other things suggested by others above to try to prevent the necessity for resorting to using this Rx medication too often.
Posts: 4563 | From TX | Registered: Sep 2002
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daystar1952
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3255
posted
This may seem totally unrelated but I think it can affect many of us with Lyme disease. Dr. Dwight Jennings says that in his experience 95 % of Lyme patients have TMJ issues.
From what I am reading TMJ and /or bite misalignment can cause many muscular symptoms and can play a role in Lyme, Parkinsons, Dystonia...etc. I'v heard many testimonies where people's muscle cramps go away with the proper treatment from a NEUROMUSCULAR dentist. This is just a generalized introduction that I found fascinating. There is tons on the web about this.
I am getting fitted for an appliance in a few days and am hoping it will affect my muscle cramps. I often say to myself that it seems like the cramps are somehow originating from my brain/head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_CJZi9EEawPosts: 1176 | Registered: Oct 2002
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Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Hi <<<<< All Lyme Family Repliers >>>>>,
Thanks for checking back, I still get some foot and leg cramps on occasion,and some in fingers too.
It is better thank the Lord!!! I am trying various things, but also must be careful of calcium,as my aortic area has to much built up.
Will be working on heart and other issues, as soon as we get medical insurance 'madicaid' mess straightened out. Exploring some options!
We were traveling on family estate business, so I am late to answer.Thanks again for checking in!
jus' Silverwolfi
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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