8 Weeks Pregnant and Having Horrible Leg Cramps

I usually don't comment very often on these things, but I just had my second and had the same problem. I know people are throwing these "Calcuim and banana" things at you, but that wasn't the problem with me. I just wanted to tell you that I ended up having Spider and Varicose vein problems. I went and got support hose at a pharmancy and with in a few minutes are started feeling a little better, and after a day or wearing them I felt good. If I went for a few days without wearing them, they would hurt again so I tried to wear them when I could. They're really tight, so I didn't always want to wear them. And I haven't had to wear them since I have my baby. Anyway, I just thought I would let you know that, just incase you might be struggling with the same thing. Oh and hot baths and things feel good when your in them, but make it worse when you get out because it starts your blood flowing really heavy! Good Luck with you pregnancy! And becaming a mother of two, it's quite a fun adventure! My husband is going to school and working so I know what having you husband gone a lot is like too!

1 mom found this helpful

You also need to stretch the muscle. My favorite one is getting on to all fours and stretching out your right leg until the ball of your foot comes to the ground then press the heel back, you will get such relief while doing it. Do both sides. Another great one is down dog (the yoga pose). I did both right before going to bed every night and it helped a ton! Good luck!

I used to get horrible leg cramps, too. So bad, my husband would have to pry my leg apart! Bananas helped a little--you said you tried that. I also found exercise helped, and water aerobics are the best! Find a local pool--maybe the YMCA--that offers a water aerobics class. Sometimes they even offer deep water or prenatal versions, and that's even better. They will help you feel healthier and have an easier delivery, too.

Good luck with everything!

cramps can sometimes be a result of a lack of calcium. So you might try taking an extra calcium supplement to help with the cramping.

I am glad you are staying away from the Vicodin. I am not sure why you are going to the ER and then not following up with you own GYNOB. Call your doctor and ask for his advice. You are certainly trying all the right things, bananas are really key. However, try eating a banana in the morning and one before bed and be sure drink A LOT of EXTRA water.

I had severe leg cramps with both my pregnancies where I couldn't sleep and would have to walk around for an hour in tears before the cramps would subside. My vitamins and extra bananas really helped me. Of course, the extra water was also essential.

Hang in there Mom!!! You are only starting out in this pregnancy and you really need to follow up with your own doctor. He/She will be able to help you get through this.

I do sincerely sympathize with you.

Hey K.,
If you can keep it down and it doesn't give you horrible heart burn, drinking pickle juice will get rid of muscle cramps really quickly. I know it sounds strange, but my husband's family has been using this for years and they all play volleyball, race motorcycles, etc...

I had this along with twitchy legs at night. I used Natural Calm, a magnesium supplement. They also make a calcium/magnesium blend. It is a powder you dissolve in hot water and drink like tea. It would work immediately for me. You can get it at Wild Oats or Whole Foods, or probably vitamin cottage. The liquid is better absorbed than a pill--this worked for me in 10 minutes or so. Give it a shot!

Good luck!

M.

I think lots of ladies have suggested more calcium but I didn't see anyone mention Oyster Shell calcium. I had a good friend who was in her 70's at the time recommend that to me when I was pregnant for the first time in the early 1970's...yes I am a grandmother now. *lol* But this does work, at least for me and I still at times suffer from sever cramps in my legs and feet. Best Wishes with this...and the new little one.

When I had leg cramps when I was preg. the doctor had me try eating more foods with Magnesium (sp?) For some reason my body needed more of mag. Maybe this is something that you could ask your doctor

I'm pregnant with my second and am getting them now and got them with my first.
What I do is:
Take a nice warm bath with lights down (30min or so) then get out and immediatly go to bed, I also take a dose of calcium magnesium and zinc right before bed... this seems to really help.
Another thing I've done is get those nice soft and long back and body massagers and just sleep on it. They tend to burn out sooner than they should, but hey it's worth it, I get some sleep!!
HTH,
S.

I experienced the same thing. My OB told me to "double up on my calcium pills" and voila...worked like a charm! Try it!

K.,
You may want to try a liquid calcium/magnesium supplement at night. The cal/mag helped me a lot with leg cramps and also relaxed me and made me a little sleepy...mmmmm. Also, try to be very careful about the way you stretch your legs. I tend to be a toe-pointer which led me right into excruciating cramps. Before bed and first thing in the morning, I very slowly, very gently flexed both feet a number of times. This helps to lengthen the calf muscles instead of shortening them as with pointing the toe. Good luck, and remember, this too shall pass.
Jen
P.S. I hate to mention this, but the leg cramping tends to worsen through the course of the pregnancy. I hope that with these steps, you can get it under control before it gets any worse!

have you tried stretching your leg?

K.,
My dad swears by this... put regular bar soap under the sheets with you when you go to bed. lol I know sounds crazy, but my dad said he had continues leg cramps and someone told him to try it and he did and to his believe, NO more cramps. It's simple and worth a try. :)
Good Luck!

Dear Kelly,

Most likely your leg cramps are from lack of enough calcium. Get you some Citrical or some other good source of calcium supplement.

Eat bananas and do mild calf stretches. Otherwise, you just have to endure this as one of the "costs" of having beautiful children! I "feel your pain"!

I had the same trouble when I was pregnant. I talked to my doctor and she said my body was low on some minerals. I started take a calcium and mineral supplement along with my prenatal vitamin and that helped alot. Also as impossible as it sounds, try to rest and put your feet up whenever possible and wear comfortable shoes, no heels! Good luck.

Tums is cheap, easily absorbed, and isn't too nasty. I popped them and it took away my leg cramps. I'd get them in the front and back of my legs at the same time. ARGH!

I had sciatica when I was preg. & it sounds similar to what you are going through.....can't get comfortable, interferes w/sleep, etc. The ONLY thing that helped was being adjusted by my fabulous chiropractor. He would adjust my hips & that helped to take the pressure off of the sciatic nerve (which runs down your leg). Good luck...let me know if you need a good chiro. :0)

Leg cramps are almost always a sign of dehydration and lack of GOOD minerals. Plain and simple. Minerals cause proper muscle contraction but you have to take one that is bio-available and very absorbable and assimilated well in the body. My holisitc physician tests me on his computer for the best vitamins he has and I take those that are a perfect match for my body. Cheap minerals don't do the job. PLUS, you have to drink like there is no tomorrow. The rule of thumb is: Take your body weight and divide it in half and that is how many ounces you need to drink of water daily. Example: I weigh 140pounds so I need to drink 70 ounces of water daily. This should help you! Rose :o)

I had bad leg cramps with all my pregnancies...when they would start, it was time to eat bananas and that always took care of them!

My friend who has had 7 children all naturally at home(she is awesome) the youngest is 4 months. For the 6 babies before this last one she had horrible leg cramps among other things.She took a whole food organic liquid supplement and some liquid calcium and had the best pregnancy and delivery ever. It also helped with her depression and other things. Nutrition is VERY VERY important.If you want more details or information please let me know, there is no reason to suffer. I am committed to helping people with their health.
All the best to you.
J.

Hi,
You say you've tried vitamins--but not sure if you mean calcium supplements. I think leg cramps can often be helped with calcium supplements.
L.

Stretch, stretch, stretch, and then stretch a little more.

Hi K.,

Congrats on the pregnancy! Sorry about the leg cramps, I sympathize as I had them horribly when preggers with my daughter. The doctor had me take Folic Acid tablets (sold by the vitamins). It really REALLY helped! But please check with your doctor before you take anything and good luck! :)

hello I had the same issues! I would wake up screaming in the middle of the night because my leg and foot would cramp up so bad and I had it all through my pregnancy!! I was told to just drink lots of water and try to change my position while it happened but man they hurt! I also did acupuncture and it worked very well! and try bananas they kinda help to. but it is hard when yr kid is already sitting on yr nerves LOL! good luck=)

I hated getting leg cramps! But I read in 'What to Expect When You're Expecting', to flex your ankle and toes up. Personally when I first read that I thought that sounded painful. But when the next cramp hit, I thought 'Well it's worth a try'. And it worked pretty well. I was surprised. I hope this helps you.

Hi K.!

I am sorry you are experiencing this pain! You might try calcium- it is a natural muscle relaxant and can help with these issues. I take Shaklee's Osteomatrix (which can be found at http://www.shaklee.net/startahealthylife/product/Calcium Also, have you tried acupuncture or a deep muscle massage? If you do go to either one of those, make sure the person doing the work is experienced with pregnancy, there are certain areas they need to stay away from so as to not trigger contractions.

I hope you find relief soon! Conratulations on your pregnancy!
H. Gaitten
www.naturalchoices4baby.com

I recently read an article on leg cramps. It said that the only scientifically proven way to prevent or help leg cramps is lots & lots of stretching of the muscle. If you get them in the middle of the night on a regular basis, stretch your legs really well before you go to sleep. Hang in there!

So many responses, shows how common of a problem this can be! I recommend yoga, daily. There are great basic books out there, you can find routines online or a "pregnancy yoga" class would be great. The stretching should really help. Also, calcium citrate (citrate helps your body absorb it) and taken separately from other vitamins. Lastly, epsom salt baths are great right before bed! Good luck!

Hi Kelly,

When I was pregnant with my daughter I experienced the same thing- and I read in a book to stand bare foot on a cold tile floor or stand in some cold bath water. This seemed to help. Congratulations on your second child. I hope this was helpful.

A little about me:

Single mother of a beautiful, vibrant, 3 year old girl.

I know a lot of people have already mentioned taking calcium and magnesium, but I have some possibly crucial information to add to that. I am pregnant and have been dealing with the severe leg cramps myself. As stated before, the calcium will only help if you have enough magnesium. (The Natural Calm by Peter Gillhelm is highly recommended and you can get it half price online at www.vitacost.com) BUT you won't be able to absorb the calcium or magnesium if you are low in iron. I found out that my issue was anemia. So no matter how much cal/mag I took, it did practically nothing for the cramps. You can go get tested by your doctor, or you can just get a high quality liquid iron supplement from your health food store (liquid and plant based are recommended. Floradix is a good brand.). If this issue is due to a lack of calcium, this will help. Good luck!
M.

K.,

The cal-mag supplements really helped me, BUT, be sure that you buy a high-quality supplement, preferrably a liquid. Most calcium pills are made of such low-quality mineral-based calcium that your body can't use them and they simply get flushed down the toilet. A high-quality liquid supplement is more likely to be absorbed, and therefore to be useful to your body. I would talk to one of the vitamin experts at a local health food store. I like Vitamin Cottage and Sunflower. You also might try bumping up your intake of high-calcium foods, which include but are not limited to dairy products.

Best of luck,
S.

Been there and nothing really helped. My second also sat the entire time on my nerve on the right leg. I basically stood in a lounge most of the time to relieve the pain...and sleeping just didn't work too well. alsa, talk to your OB about Calcium with Magnesium suppliments. Also my father in law sweres a bar of regular soap at the bottom of the bed helps him. Try sitting on a donut if you still have it from your first pregnancy...or pillow. Also do yoga the best you can. Mine would shift a little then and I would get relief. But in the end, I usually got up in the middle of the night with both of mine, actually and stood at the table stretching my legs...I completed puzzles.

My midwife had me switch from iodized salt to sea salt. When I had leg cramps, I just put a little on my tongue and they would pass.

Try quinine water. Works great. Oh, by the way you have to drink it.

Hi K.,

I recommend trying a good liquid calcium/magnesium supplement. I have one that I use that I HIGHLY recommend. I used it during both of my pregnancies (along w/Body Balance which is a liquid whole food nutritional made from aloe and sea vegetation) and had none of the symptoms many people experience. I turn all of my doula clients on to these products and I've seen people be relieved of morning sickness, leg cramps, heartburn, and insomnia, just to name a few! Please let me know if you'd like more info...

You can also visit this site and click on 'Products' and then go to 'OsteoProCare' or 'OsteoMegaCare' for the calcium or 'Body Balance' to learn about the aloe/sea veggie drink. Because these are in liquid form, they are highly absorbable so they work really well (the calcium used in these products is calcium oratate which is the most absorbable form of calcium there is). Here's the site: http://www.LifeForceSuccess.com.

These products have a money-back guarantee so you can actually drink the whole bottle and if it doesn't help you, you can get your $ back!

Please also feel free to call me if you have questions. ###-###-####.

Hope this helps...

A.

With my last pregnancy I had to cut out almost all dairy because of leg cramps. The phosphates in the milk can do that. I hope it gets better soon! And watch out on the Vicodin. I got addicted to it after surgery once.

Start taking Calcium. They will go away. If you continue to get them up your intake dose. I promise they will go away. I got them and my mother told me to take more calcium. They went away the very next day. Hope this helps.

S.

The only advice I got for my middle-of-the-night cramps was to drink plenty of water and rest on your left side for maximum circulation. You can also take acetaminophen.

The supplements are a good idea, but they never completely worked for me. I just had to flex my muscle as well and massage the knotted area really hard. If your husband is in town, he could help too - mine started to know to massage the second I started cramping up and it helped a lot because at the end it was difficult to even reach my calves!

Kelly,
Sorry that this response is a little late, I just got back from vacation. First of all has your doctor or did the ER check your potassium levels? Potassium affects literally every muscle function in your body and being low in potassium causes muscle cramps. You cannot buy supplements in over 100mg and the RDA is 3500+ a day. Everyone thinks that bananas are a great source, but they really aren't. Buy yourself some "No-Salt" salt substitute, it is potassium chloride and use it in place of salt. Also V-8 (low sodium) is a GREAT source...one 12 oz. can provides 1180mg of potassium, 34% of the RDA. I feel for you, I had leg cramps too when I was pregnant, and sometimes they were excruciating. I didn't know about the potassium deficiency then, but believe me, I do now. It is also very good for your heart and brain, and if you're like me, the PG brain can be rather ditzy. Best of luck to you and take care of yourself. PS. doctors don't always know what to do for low potassium other than prescribe drugs...my friend a veterinarian told me about the "No-Salt"...you will find it beside the salt in the spice/baking isle. J.

YOu are calcium deficient. And need to dring a lot of water. stay away from soda altogether because they actually make things worse. I suggest getting a calcium suppliment of at least 1500 mg of calcium citrate. Take it at night and you should sleep better also. Do not put drugs into your body because your liver will be affected with possible permanant damage. which means diabetes later on. Vitamins and minerals are essential to your well being and that of your baby. Anything that comes from the earth before anything man made. Good Luck with your new one.

I also had leg cramps with my first pregnancy and my doctor told me that I needed more calcium,I am lactose intolerant and couldn't drink milk, but more importantly drink more water. I added a calcium supplement and a lot more water and the cramps went away. Hope that helps.

I took muscle relaxants my last pregnancy and was assured they were absolutely fine. Of course, you need to follow your own dr's advice. My baby turned out fine!

Calcium/Magnesium with vitamin D BEFORE BED is better absorbed.

Don't buy cheap vitamins- you get what U pay for. Cheap calcium can be made from sources such as ground up oyster shells- which the human body can't absorb.

Pharmaca's brand is good & affordable.

Plus drink more water. Stretch & massage. It does pass- I thought I was doomed but eventually it went away.

All I know is what helped me. I went to my local health food store and bought some coral calcium in pill form along with a vitamin A and D supplement. I was constantly dehydrated from being sick, so I had to make myself drink a lot of water. If you aren't sick, you might want to keep in mind that for every hundred pounds you are, you need approx. a gallon of water a day(it can be done). Not only did the calcium help with the leg cramps, it helped pain in my hips and lowered my blood pressure. Ask your doctor of course.

hi, I have freguent leg cramps. what has always helped me was a warm glass of milk. sometimes leg cramps happen because we are not getting enough dairy. also i walk around and stretch the muscles.