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AIBU?

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Original poster

Struggling- please read.

30 replies

Symmetricalsquares · 25/04/2023 14:19

My young adult daughter has been suffering with horrendous leg cramps recently. To the extent she is left screaming in pain. She said the pain is behind her calves and it comes and goes. She’s also been getting weakness and tingles in her legs and feet too.

does anyone know what could be causing this? GP wasn’t concerned and said likely stress. It started 3 months ago in one leg but now she said it happens in both

OP posts:
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Mirabai · 26/04/2023 17:49

All that can be said from the tests is that she was clear of everything for which she was tested.

  • Was she tested for diabetes. (Does she have any weight loss or thirst?)
  • Was her thyroid tested?
  • Was she sent for neurological tests?

She needs to ring the surgery talk to the reception and find out precisely what she was tested for.

Then she needs to go back and ask to be tested for any of the above she wasn’t tested for. If she’s been tested for all of those things and the results were negative, she needs to ask to be referred to a chronic fatigue syndrome unit.

Has she had Covid recently?

mightymam · 26/04/2023 01:52

Has she had her thyroid levels checked? I can feel like your daughter when my medication is too low.

Original poster
Symmetricalsquares · 26/04/2023 00:45

She didn’t have blood tests for this specifically, but she had some not long before it for exhaustion. She can’t go a day without napping for at least 1-2 hours. I don’t know the details but she got a print out of her results and everything was well within range. They tested vitamin D too as she was absolutely exhausted. Her level was easily in the normal range, she wasn’t on the low end of anything.

so when she returned for the leg cramping and weakness, she was told it was just stress as her recent blood test was completely clear

OP posts:
clockwatcher247 · 25/04/2023 23:58

Could it be growing pains. My son used to get these.

Mirabai · 25/04/2023 23:50

Tell her to go back and don’t let herself be fobbed off with “stress”. Go with her if you can, young women are often dismissed.

NeatCompactSleeper · 25/04/2023 23:41

Has she had blood tests OP?

I had exactly the same as your DD and it turned out I had a very underactive thyroid.

I had no other symptoms though, not even weight gain.

L1ttledrummergirl · 25/04/2023 23:39

My legs used to cramp up when I hadn't had enough salt, I'd pretty much stopped having it at all. They got better when I reintroduced the recommended amount (whatever that was at the time). Obviously too much is also bad for you...Confused

Murdoch1949 · 25/04/2023 23:29

Footballers drink pickle juice for cramp.

Cheapcookies · 25/04/2023 21:10

I used to have this as a young adult. How old is she?

Taking supplements (magnesium, iron, vit d) helped as well as massively increasing fluid intake. Also regular calf massages (at home with a massive ball or roller) to release lactic acid.

Is she active in her job or quite sedentary?

Moving92 · 25/04/2023 20:41

Have they tried quinine tablets?
I had horrendous nights cramps for months as a teen and had a couple of weeks of these tablets and never had it so bad again.
If you can't get these tablets, try giving her tonic water (make sure the ingredients include quinine) it may help

HappyMe6 · 25/04/2023 20:16

Is she a diabetic

Helenahandkart · 25/04/2023 20:10

Leg cramps sometimes occur on a low carb diet. Is she dieting atm?

existentialpain · 25/04/2023 20:06

Unbelievable that her gp fobbed her off!

Tell her to see another one and ask for a full blood panel including vit d, b12 and magnesium. She shouldn't be suffering like this!

Scarfweather · 25/04/2023 20:03

Sorry - just saw you said adult DD - prob not Sever’s in that case!

Scarfweather · 25/04/2023 20:02

Have you considered Sever’s disease? ‘Disease’ makes it sound awful, but to memory (my DD had this a few years ago) I think it’s actually to do with uneven growth and while it’s more about the Achilles/heel, it can cause significant calf pain.
Just a thought, anyway, as it hasn’t been mentioned.

ittakes2 · 25/04/2023 19:51

I put salt on my tongue when I get leg cramps and they go immediately

TomatoSandwiches · 25/04/2023 19:49

Sounds similar to my peripheral neuropathy which is agonising.
I would take her back and request a full panel blood test to check for deficiencies, HbA1c for Blood sugar levels and possibly a neuro referral/ IPASS clinic.

aintnothinbutagstring · 25/04/2023 19:43

Calf cramp can be absolutely excruciating - tell her when she feels a twinge of cramp coming on - to immediately point toes upwards (if lying down) and keep leg dead straight until feeling passes. That should avoid the severe pain. It sounds like there could be an underlying issue with the tingling/weakness though severe cramp can cause a couple of hours of soreness/weakness afterwards.

Wishitsnows · 25/04/2023 19:42

That’s terrible that the gp fobbed her off like that. Did the dr even bother with blood tests?

Everley · 25/04/2023 19:40

My mum had similar when her vitamin D levels were drastically low.

FatAgainItsLettuceTime · 25/04/2023 19:34

Is she deficient in any vitamins/minerals? Does she have a generally good diet?

As someone said above magnesium deficiency can cause leg cramps and can be as easy to solve as eating a banana every day.

Original poster
Symmetricalsquares · 25/04/2023 19:21

Walkacrossthesand · 25/04/2023 14:41

Does the pain come on when she's walking, @Symmetricalsquares ?

its difficult to say for sure- sometimes the cramping will come on when she's walking and other times it comes on at rest. Ditto with the weakness and tingling, it sometimes seems to come on when she is doing everyday things (walking, standing) and other times comes on when she moves.

OP posts:
Walkacrossthesand · 25/04/2023 14:41

Does the pain come on when she's walking, @Symmetricalsquares ?

Orangesandlemons77 · 25/04/2023 14:30

Is she taking the pill? I would be concerned about a DVT. Maybe ring 111 and see what they say?

Aquamarine1029 · 25/04/2023 14:24

While you wait to see the GP, I would get her magnesium oil spray for her legs and magnesium glycinate oral supplement immediately. Have her apply the spray to her legs twice a day. The spray may make her skin itch and burn slightly, but this is completely normal and will cease to happen after using the spray several times.