Terrible calf cramps at night - help

[udar]

I'm 22/23 weeks pregnant and have been having terrible calf cramps almost every night which wake me up and leave my calf feeling bruised in the morning. It seems to alternate from one to the other each night. I eat about 2 bananas a day, drink tons of water and am not sure of any other way I can stop these from happening. They have been going on continually for about 2 weeks. Anyone ideas?

Udar - I had some cramps, but nothing like as many as you're having. When you feel one coming on, bending your foot upwards (towards your shin) sometimes can help, especially if you waggle it lots. Do you find you can hardly walk in the morning because the muscle is so tight?

We had one comedy moment, when dh and I woke up simultaneously in the middle of the night, and both yelled and leapt out of bed, hopping round the room. He had got cramp at exactly the same moment as I had. I have no explanation for this at all other than really weird coincidence! If there had been a big brother style camera it would have made hilarious viewing!

It happened to me when I stretched and pointed my toes. I actually trained myself to stretch not pointing my toes - pulling my foot back the other way IYSWIM. It did work - I still stretch like that! HTH?

udar
i was with a friend yesterday who had an altenative medicine book for pregnancy, both of us are, and for leg cramps which iget too, raspberry tea and nettle tea are good, plenty of minerals etc, and the book suggests if you alternte them week in week out it supoosingly helps.

hope so as i am about to start on them.
the cramps would put you crazy.

i use to get up and have a drink of milk when it happened last time and stretch.

udar I am 27 weeks pregnant too and I know exactly where you are comming from. I suffer from calf cramps every single morning that leave me bruised. It is quite painful and I have to rub it vigorously almost screaming in agony. I drink tons of water too, but apparently my chemist has told me to drink a small bottle of tonic water a day and that should cure it. To tell you the truth, I haven't tried it, but I exercise every week and my midwife exercise teacher has told me to stand with legs about a foot apart and go up onto tip toe about 20 times every night before I go to bed. Hold on to something so you don't loose your balance and it helps to circulate the blood. I haven't tried this either but that is me being lazy, but I think I will start trying it now as I am fed up too. Let me know how you get on, and visa-versa!!!

My mum used to get this and she drinks a G&T every night and that seems to sort it out - it's the quinine in the tonic I think. Or maybe she's just so p*ssed that she sleeps through it!!!

(only kidding she just has one!)

BTW am not suggesting you drink the gin bit, just the tonic!

Thanks for this. It is really hard when you wake up with it as you have no idea what has brought it on. I does go away quite quickly but then you feel the effects in the morning. I'm terrified of nailing dh somewhere delicate in the night when I get one. Isn't it too early in my pregnancy for me to have rasberry tea?

I think that's raspberry LEAF tea. Check with health food shop but i'm pretty sure rasp tea is different

Ooh I did forget to mention that I do go to the gym at least 3 times a week but don't work hard enough to generate lactic acid. Will go out and buy some tonic water - and something to drink with it, maybe a lime or lemon. See how I go tonight.

I had bad leg cramps in each of my 3 pregnancies but I found they eased off if I went swimming - the more the better. At least twice a week made a huge difference.

My cramps eased a lot after I started to do some exercises that I read about in the bumph that the health visitor had given me. The exeecises were very basic and quick to do - it was just rotating each foot in circles about 10-15 times clockwise and then anti-clockwise and I had to do them daily. HTH

I had terrible leg cramps when I was pregnant and my mum told me to set my foot down on a cold floor, as our bedroom has wooden floorboards I would just hop out of bed and put my foot down as quickly as possible. It did hurt for a second but it really worked in easing the cramp away.

If the cramps are in the calf it might help to do regular stretches of the specific muscles (and keep on drinking lots of water). To stretch your calf muscles (after walking/exercise and maybe before going to bed?) you can try putting one foot about a metre forward and leaning into the stride; your front leg should make a right angle (hold onto something for balance if you are as uncoordinated as I am!) and your behind leg, which is being stretched, should stay straight. Hard to explain without pictures... I'm not an expert but used to do this after jogging. As for drinking raspberry leaf tea, I've been told it does relax muscles but also that it relaxes the cervix and uterus and shouldn't be drunk until the end of pregnancy.

ouch - i remember those! jumping up and standing in the cold bath!!! first time scared the life out of me - though ihad a blood clot or something.
i heard it could be a calcium deficiency not a major one but i would drink a glass of milk before going to bed, lie on my back (briefly for the exercise( raise one leg up, straight and pull it into you, then rotate your ankle in both directions and flex it a few times, do to both legs and put them back on the bed and give them a good shake. Also in yoga we would lie on the grouns, pillow supporting your lower back with your legs up flat against the wall (your body almost at 90 degree angle)lift one leg off the wall at a time, straighten it and flex it a few times, lower to the wall and do the other. The exercises really helped, as good circulation reduces cramps. hope this helps!

I thought cramps were to do with salt deficiency?

I do know that I don't get them as much in this preg as the last one and I haven't been watching my salt intake this time (I cut down last time).

Oh, I'd forgotten about them. To think I'm trying to put myself through this again!

No advice, just sympathy!

I've had them too, though only ever in left leg, don't know why. I don't have much advice except for the flexing your foot thing (toes towards knees). Wednesday evening I ran for a busnot advisable at 37 weeks pregnant and particularly frustrating when the bastard driver drives off just as you get to the point where you can bang on the side of the bus as it drives awayanyway, this left me, apart from cursing bus drivers, with a really horrible cramp. I was limping for the rest of the evening and felt like I'd torn a muscle in the middle of my calf. It was OK the next morning though.