I get muscle cramps, mostly at night when I sleep. I have been taking baclofen. The cramps seem to be getting worse. I am wondering if anyone knows of or uses any natural remedies to ease this problem?
Yes I tend to get muscle cramps. There are a few natural things that I do now that seem to work for me. 1. I have more water (I know that sounds funny but I was told by my Dr. water helps other people not get as many).
My Yoga instructor told me that the muscle is alerting me that it needs oxygen in that area and strech it out more it's getting tight from not using it as much as I should (and I can tell you that is when I get a cramp when I don't move as much).
Charlie horse cramps in both of my calves work me up 4 nights ago. I immediately put Arnica gel on. (I purchase mine at Whole Foods but Amazon has it also. (Most drug stores seem to carry it now) I massaged allot in kinda hard(I massage it in harder to get through the layers of skin). 20 mins later yes it took some pain and tightness way but man they were still tight so I did it again. Within 20 mins they were still a little tight but allot less. But it was enough that I was able to stretch them out and I worked on stretching thought the day when I felt the tightened up again but not as bad as the charlie horse tight.
So to prevent this most of the time that is, I eat a Banana each morning for potassium. I make sure to drink 6-8 glasses of water thought the day. I have a routeen now, I regularly do Yoga stretches on my legs every morning .
That said I was told by my Dr. to use Bacolofin(sp?) if I stay tight for 3-4 days to break that cycle.
I hope that helps you some. Everyone is different even having the same ataxia. So it's trial and error. Good luck and let me know how it's going for you or if you found other things that help too. :0)
Try taking Magnesium before you go to sleep. I take Magnesium glycinate 6 each 120 mg tablets from Pure Encapsulations but the amount you can tolerate may very. You might need to work up to this.
I too have muscle cramps at night. They are in my legs but primarily in my feet. I take magnesium daily for relief. It seems to take at least 500-800mg before I get consistent relief. This level can be a little high and will cause me to have to stay close to a restroom in the morning. When this happens, I reduce the dosage for a couple of days until things settle down. It seems to take the higher dosage than recommended to keep the cramps under control! My neurologist ( Dr. Chris Gomez) told me the magnesium works along similar pathways as the Bacoflen and that I may eventually have to go to that if the magnesium is no longer enough. For now, it seems to do the trick as long as I’m willing to put up with the side effects every morning!
Hi,
Bananas are good for muscle cramps (potassium). I can’t use Baclofen, because it gives me more balance problems. If you can use Baclofen, it should improve your muscle cramps (muscle relaxation). Since I can’t use Baclofen, I am trying acupuncture each three weeks. I started a section a week, but I got the same balance problems.
Ana (SCA7 patient)
Magnesium (I take Sandra Cabots as it has a good mix of magnesium in it) and Vitamin D. Epsom Salts in a bath, or a foot bath before bed also gives you a hit of magnesium transdermally and is a nice way to relax before sleep.
I reckon it will work pretty quickly, tell us how you go?
Lucy
hi CeCe my son was having terrible cramps in his legs, I got him magenesium tablets, as his doctor said that maybe his magnesium levels were down, he tells me that his cramps are quite less at night time now when he sleeps, maybe you could try them can get at health store or chemist
I read on here about taking magnesium for muscle burning and since taking that, which has eased the burning in my thigh, I havent had night cramps in my calf muscle. I do take baclofen in the late afternoon and try to drink lots of water.
I also get severe muscle cramps. They can waken me up 4 or more times a night. When they first started - water, bananas, stretching, and quinine (prescription) all helped. But not anymore. They seem to be aggravated by the changing seasons and cold. If I stand in a warm shower they go away (but who wants to do that at 2am?). For a while I was taking some over the counter leg cramp pills but like you said my cramps seemed to get worse. I recently discovered things that work for me. As mentioned before 'ARNICA' an over the counter pain cream helps. The problem with 'ARNICA' is that it has no transdermal delivery system. Our skin is built to only allow certain things through it's many layers. I found that if I apply a pain cream with transdermal properties to my legs before bed (calfs and hamstrings), it reduces both the frequency and the severity. What products are transdermal? 'EMU OIL' is one that I know of. So apply a thin layer of 'EMU OIL' then rub 'ARNICA' over that or get a pain relief cream that has 'EMU OIL' in it. Google things like 'transdermal', 'emu oil' ', 'arnica', etc. I don't want to recommend a specific product on a public forum because we are all built different. What works for me may need a little tweaking to work for you. If you want me to recommend a product we could have a private conversation. This info should get you started.
Yes, I also get muscle cramping really bad and I take valium, gabapentin, and zanaflex, which are suppose to relax my muscle, I try to walk everyday if I can and do stretches, I also have neuropathy and have pain in my feet , I was also told to drink more water, but with the zanaflex you would think I would not feel anything , but those cramps just keep popping up. I would tell your Neurologist what is going on just to make sure it is not something else .
yes Bananas, water and stretching is all good - also Magnesium.
Exercise and stretching help my legs, but also get them under my chin and neck and nothing seems to work for those.
try requip works some folks
You may want to investigate talking to your doctor about slightly low potasium levels. When I would get cramps in my legs I would eat a banana a day for about 3 days and then would be fine. Now I no longer walk (only for very short distances with assistance) as I can not move my legs on my own.
I discussed the problem of night leg cramps with my primary dr. Up to that time, the only relief I got was to apply hot wash cloths to the area where the cramp began and after a few minutes the problem receded. As one person said, 'who wants to do that at 3 in the morning!". So, at my dr. appt. she went over my meds, and suggested I stop taking HCT (hemachlorathorizide -Sp.?), as one of the side effects was leg cramps!
The HCT was for Hypertension.
Low and behold, the cramps have virtually stopped!
I still experience some neuropathy pain, but at least there has been some overall improvement.
So, on the chance that you might have the same situation, I offer my story.
Umigal,
I believe HCT is Hydrochlorothiazide - I tried it about 10 year ago. Didn't get leg cramps but it caused problems with my Diabetes - raised blood sugar to over 200.
Nancy J
Umigal said:
I discussed the problem of night leg cramps with my primary dr. Up to that time, the only relief I got was to apply hot wash cloths to the area where the cramp began and after a few minutes the problem receded. As one person said, 'who wants to do that at 3 in the morning!". So, at my dr. appt. she went over my meds, and suggested I stop taking HCT (hemachlorathorizide -Sp.?), as one of the side effects was leg cramps!
The HCT was for Hypertension.
Low and behold, the cramps have virtually stopped!
I still experience some neuropathy pain, but at least there has been some overall improvement.
So, on the chance that you might have the same situation, I offer my story.
I see many have found things that work for them. I feel the first thing to check out would be any medications you take now may be your cause. At one time I was taken allergy medication with pheudaphedrine. Once I stopped taking anything with that drug in it the cramps stopped totally. The cramps were so bad they would cause me to wake up screaming in pain. No more. I feel great!!
Wow! This has been an interesting and informative section. I, too, get those leg cramps. I have tried most of the items with varied successes. Cramps usually come from one and/or two different causes. Those of us who over exercize, may find the body electrolytes are tooo depleted or diluted. The body has electric types of circitry to signal muscles to contract. These signals must pass a conductive fluid (electrolyte). When you perspire, you lose some of this conductive fluid and the signals may not allow the muscles to operate properly. This would be depleted electrolyte. You can improve this by drinking water. However, you also need other chemicals to keep the fluid properly balanced. The main chemicals are potasium, magnesium, and sodium. The markets are loaded with such products, but you have to have an experiment of one to somehow figure out your own needs. I have taken a sports capsule called "salt stick". Fair. Also, bananas, potasium, magnesium, and various sports drinks. All are just "fair". I have also tried dill pickle juice, quinine water, caffine, and otc.pain and cramp pills and salves, like Blue Emu or salicylates (avoid asprin). Stretching before and especially after is also beneficial. A heavy massage may set off an opposite reaction. However, there is a muscle rolling device called "the stick" that can be used to restore elasticity. It is still a mystery. So what? Well, start by drinking plenty of water before and for several hours after. Add electrolytes on experiment. Now, my own thing is to add about a qtr. tsp. salt between lower lip and gum to be absorbed, and take 100-200mg. of quinnine. That stuff used to be an RX item but now they do not even make it in US Check out google for all these subjects. They are involved.
Now, here is one that has not been mentioned: COMPRESSION HOSE/OR SOCKS. These are very hot among runners now. My cramps are worse in evening after recovery. Older people tend toward diminished return pressure. The result may be puddled blood--BAD. The athletic pressures are varried being stronger at the bottom. Do some light exercize with legs in the air before sleep, and wear the compressures to bed. Thanks. Silkybill
Hi hun.years ago I had cramps which were very painful. From last year I started to take Mg citrate with vit Bre6 and help alot. Not getting painful cramps anymore. I am taking 4 capsuls a day.Still getting cramps but very rare when I do exsercises, they are not that paiful and durable.
Take a look at your shoes. A couple pairs of my shoes will cause leg cramps while wearing them and then at night....all night. I have used Quinine Sulfate prescribed by my doctor in the past. It works great but can cause stomach upset. I'm not sure this prescription is still available or contraindicated for Ataxia but it worked great!