It started when I was pregnant and has yet to give up. I wake up a few nights a week with terrible charlie horses in my legs and/or feet. It is so painful to the point that I am in tears, praying not to wake my little one. I try walking around and that seems to do absolutely nothing for the pain. Is there anything that I can try to get rid of them?
Thanks everyone for all of the advice. I have been taking some vitamins and eating bananas more and trying to drink more milk and so far so good!
A friend of mine just told me about this one a couple of days ago. Her son has been having them for quite a while and she was told to give him pickle juice!! She gave him some the other night instead of a motrin and then asked him the next morning if it worked..., and his response was " well I fell asleep so it must of worked" lol. I guess it's an old time remedy, but really I have no idea if it works or not.
Charlie Horses are usually due to deficiencies in Calcium and/or potassium. I have gotten them at various points in my life, but got them frequently while pregnant until I started taking a calcium supplement before bed. After that I only got them when I forgot to take the supplement for a couple of days. Taking potassium or eating something potassium-rich,like bananas, can help prevent them as well.
As for coping when you have them, I began to use the relaxation techniques I was learning in my childbirth and prenatal yoga classes. I would take deep breaths and consciously relax my, muscles. This actually made the pain stop and was great practice for childbirth! (of course I much preferred preventing them).
Good Luck!
i've had those all my life, but a LOT when i was pregnant. they are commonly caused from a calcium deficiency. my cnm recommends taking a calcium citrate supplement preferably with magnesium which helps the body absorb the calcium. it helped me a lot. if i was having one i would flex my foot as hard as i could and they would usually stop pretty quick (don't point or they get worse). hope this helps you too!!
All the response are all great ways to strech the cramps out but to avoid them completely is to eat banana's several time a day. When I was pregnant I was getting leg cramps nearly everyday and the Dr.gave me the idea of banana's.
Charlie horse cramps usually mean you are deficient in calcium and magnesium or you are dehydrated. also, stretching your hamstrings before bed can help. But I also found when I was pregnant that stretching and pointing my toes could bring them on in the morning. Hope they go away soon!
Drink milk and eat bananas to prevent them.
I started strethching every night before bed and that really help a lot. -E.
add a banana in your diet ever day
Hi L.,
I had realy bad charlie horses when I was pregnant. My doctor told me to eat a banana a day and they stopped. You might want to try that before takign any medication. Then if the banana doesn't work, talk to your doctor before taking any medication.
Hi L.,
I agree with the women that said eat bananas. I never got charlie horses until I became pregnant and then got them a lot. I was told to eat bananas and started eating them at least once a day and they stopped completely. Good luck.
Chris
I am an occupational therapist and massage therapist. I would highly recommend finding a John Barnes Myofascial release therapist in your area. You can go to www.johnbarnesmyofascialrelease.com they have a chat line where you can find a therapist in your area.
Start taking a Calcium and Magnesium supplement before bed.
at least 1200mg of cal and 400 of Mag.
The Calcium will help with muscle pain's/cramps and the magnesium will help you relax.
Corny as it sounds, when a cramp hits, pinch the spot between your nose and upper lip, hard! It usually subsides the pain. As a real cure, though, my husband started taking Magnesium supplements and his cramps have all but stopped. Maybe run it past your doc?
Good luck!
Flex your foot-heel down toes up towards you (don't point your toe, that hurts worse!) and the pain should go away. This actually works better than even getting up and walking on it. Hope this helps, I know how painful they can be!
J. M.
I have the same thing happening to me. To try and prevent them I have been drinking a glass of water before bed. The charlie horses are apparently associated to not enough water in the system. Also I have heard that eating bananas is good too! good luck!
Eat a banana every day & it will go away. (Not tring to rhyme!!) LOL!
That helped me when I was pregnant & my ob/gyn told me to cut DOWN on my dairy. I was having a yogurt, 1-2 glasses of milk, cheese & Tums every day and she said TOO much Calcium could cause it - although there is no research on that! If it continues, I'd call the dr. I think they should stop after you have the baby.
Feel better soon!
