Night-time leg cramps

[Aparecium]

They’re getting so bad that after I’ve had one I’m afraid of going to sleep for the next few nights. I need to do something - but what?

The cramp is always on the inside of my right thigh. Standing up and walking relieves it within seconds, though it remains as a niggle and I have to sleep the rest of the night with my leg straight, otherwise it cramps again. In recent months the cramp has extended all the way around my thigh and up into my side. It’s agonising, and incredibly difficult to stand up to relieve the cramp. I have a permanent DOMS-like ache deep in my inner thigh.

I’m post-menopause, on HRT and do weights with a trainer once a week. The cramps started well before I started exercising. I take protein and creatine supplements.

What can I do? The pain is unbearable. And the fear of the pain is making my already bad sleep even worse.

This happened to me during my pregnancies. I sprayed Magnesium oil from Holland & Barrett before bed and that seemed to solve the issue.

Magnesium should fix it

Definitely take magnesium.

I'm also recommending the spray.
A blood test revealed my magnesium was low. I tried oral magnesium glycinate but it didn't agree with me.
The spray definitely helps.

Another yes to magnesium.
But did this start after taking extra protein?
You might be taking too much or if it's whey powder you might have some intolerance?

Could it really be that straightforward?!

I’ve got some magnesium tablets that I tried for my insomnia (they did nothing for it). Is it the same formulation , or do I need something different?

The cramps pre-date the protein supplement. The escalation may be since I added creatine.

I’ve already discovered the hard way that I cannot take whey protein with a mild lactose intolerance. I take a beef collagen powder.

There are different varieties of magnesium but it is glycinate that assists with sleep and cramps. If the tablets don't cause any side effects then you could take them and use the spray.
I did some research and it seems that most people got relief from the spray as better absorbed.

Magnesium is good but the only thing that works for me with cramps in my feet and calves is a hot water bottle. GP recommended.

If magnesium hasn't worked @Aparecium see the docs for a blood test. You could be low on your "salts"/electrolytes or you might need quinine

I take 2 Magnesium glycinate from Geeks and that helps me sleep. I was taking store brands which didn’t help at all

I use Better You Magnesium spray. I can literally feel my muscles relaxing once I have rubbed it in. It has helped with cramp and restless legs.

Unfortunately the only Magnesium spray I could find that did not have additives was the BetterYou magnesium citrate. It said it was good for muscles, so I bought it. All the other magnesium sprays had various essential oils added. I am allergic to certain fragrance chemicals and I have to be really careful about essential oils as they can trigger dermatitis.

Another bastard cramp last night. I’ve taken 200mg of magnesium bisglycinate every evening,and rubbed on 5-10 sprays of magnesium citrate every evening for the last four nights.

Another broken night struggling to fall asleep again, and to stay asleep.

I’m a life long sufferer of night time leg cramps…I haven’t found a cure but dehydration plays a big part so need to make sure I’m hydrated. Also caffeine in the afternoon or evening almost certainly will result in leg cramps for me so I avoid. Weirdly a banana in the afternoon seems to help but I always wonder if that is a placebo. Things like quinine, magnesium supplements etc I haven’t found to be particularly effective.

Take a good dose of magnesium glycinate.

You need 3-400mg of elemental magnesium and this will make a massive difference.

I buy mine on amazon. It's not the size or weight of the capsule it's the elemental you need to check for.

I quite often get night cramps in my inner thigh. I almost scream with the pain, it's so excruciating.

When they happen, I drink a small can of Fevertree Indian Tonic Water (for the quinine) and it usually helps.

I always heard bananas cured leg cramps so you could be right, I was going to suggest them to OP. Surprised it's dehydration related as I never drank enough for years but only got these cramps rarely. The couple times I did get them I looked into what helps as the pain was so bad. For me it's just from stretching my leg a bit too much in bed I think. But yeah, I always remember bananas for them!

Potassium & Magnesium: These minerals help muscles contract and relax properly, lowering the likelihood of painful spasms.

Keep a bottle of tonic water by your bed. The quinine in it will cure your cramp. Take a few swigs and see how your cramp is doing. Take a few more if no improvement.

You also need to make sure you are very warm in your bed, not hunched against the chill.

I also find if I don’t drink enough water in the evening I’m more likely to get cramps.

I have suffered from this for years and I hear you on the fear of nodding off. It's horrific. I have had cramps so bad I have bruised from them. Tonic water didn't help - I was prescribed quinine for mine in much higher doses than you'd get in tonic water. I have tried everything over the years, bananas, magnesium etc. Avoiding alcohol helps but on the flip side of that, the smallest amount of red wine can help prevent or stop a bout of cramp for me. I'm talking 50ml or less and more is not better. Might be worth a try for you.

Have you had your ferritin checked? I’m under neurology for various issues but they advised ferritin need to be at least 70 for this (and other issues). GPs tend to go with NICE guidelines of anything over 30 being ok but you can continue to take iron tablets even if it’s 30. Mine was 6 and iron tablets only got it to 18 so neurology arranged an iron infusion and they’ve stopped since then

I'll try adding a nightly banana.

I'll increase the oral Mg. I'm struggling with the spray. It makes my skin tingle so badly that I want to scratch it off, and the irritation persists after I shower the following morning.

Hadn't thought about iron. I do have chronic fatigue (thanks, Long Covid) but anaemia was ruled out before I was diagnosed with LC. I can't find the blood test results from then.

I'm not dehydrated at night.

I'm not sure tonic water has much quinihe these days. Maybe the decent stuff does?
When I dive I always have a banana to ward off cramp. No idea if it works or not, but a lot of divers do it.