My Legs continue to cramp though I take 99 MG's Potassium and eat 1 Banana daily.Several times recently the back of both Knees have popped,and my L Leg around the Knee is painful.
my legs cramp up when I dont drink enough water, or when I drink soda...might be worth checking into. how much water do you drink a day? what is your diet like?
__________________ God is and all is well
~John Greenleaf Whittier~
One of the most common causes of leg cramps is being deficient in magnesium.
Once in a while I do get them and I use a product called Calabsorb when it happens. Now it comes from kind of spendy vitamin company and I purchased 2 jars about 7 years ago. I don't use it a lot but I have found that it works really fast! Much faster than any magnesium pill I have taken. Its a powder that you stir into water. Its got magnesium citrate and calcium citrate in it. If you get leg cramps a lot you might what to use this supplement for a while till things even out then maybe just once or twice a week. Great American Products
Then here's another way to try to tackle the problem...
I've met people who really like this product. It will help you to utilize the minerals that you do have in a better way. I haven't used it but it is well liked by some. Lot's of health food stores sell this. Hyland's Homeopathic - Leg Cramps with Quinine
Then there is another option for magnesium supplementation and that is through the skin. Something as simple as epsom salt baths can do it. 2 heaping cups per tub of hot water...
My Legs continue to cramp though I take 99 MG's Potassium and eat 1 Banana daily.Several times recently the back of both Knees have popped,and my L Leg around the Knee is painful.
I agree with Arrowwind about magnesium. We don't get leg cramps too often, but when we do, a topical application of magnesium oil does the trick in seconds! The oil we use now was from Globallight, and has lasted forever. Next purchase we make will be the spray mag oil from Swanson, may be less messy to apply
I concur with the information about magnesium - actually calcium and magnesium are both needed for proper muscle functioning.
"The best way to understand the cause of painful cramps, then, is to realize that when either calcium or magnesium is in short supply, or when the two minerals are not in the correct proportion, cramps occur.
The remedy is to ensure adequate supplies of these vital minerals. My approach is to follow the dietary guidelines in Nourishing Traditions, making sure that the diet contains adequate calcium and magnesium with plentiful whole dairy products, bone broths and lightly cooked green vegetables along with certain nutrient-dense animal products such as butter, organ meats and shellfish. These will provide a calcium- and magnesium-rich diet as well as the fat-soluble vitamins necessary for their absorption."
I personally take a calcium-magnesium drink, either homemade from the recipe in the book "Clear Mind, Clear Body" or a powder that health stores carry, some called "Cal-Max."
Calcium/magnesium supplementation is awesome for alleviating menstrual cramps too!
I also enjoy baths with epsom salts for general muscle relaxation - as Arrowwind mentioned, epsom salts are a great source of magnesium.
I agree with Arrowwind about magnesium. We don't get leg cramps too often, but when we do, a topical application of magnesium oil does the trick in seconds! The oil we use now was from Globallight, and has lasted forever. Next purchase we make will be the spray mag oil from Swanson, may be less messy to apply
The few times that I had a leg cramp, typically in the middle of the night when I rolled over and twist my leg into some strange position. Or how to become wide awake in seconds. If I had the magnesium oil I can assure you the last thing I would have been concerned about was that it might have been a little messy.
It might sound strange, but very often when I eat candy or other foods with a lot of sugar I get leg cramps, especially if just before bedtime. I know...it's not allowed...but I gave up most of all my other bad habits. Does sugar deplete the system of magnesium? I also use magnesium oil and a multi-mineral capsules with calcium. Bananas are recommended for potassium and I always thought potassium was good for leg cramps, but many times I have gotten cramps right after eating a banana...again, it may have to do with sugar.
The FDA limits potassium supplements to 99 mg which is only 2% of your daily need. You can get much more from food, such as a baked potato with the skin, or half a small canteloup, I believe.
Here's a link to a chart for potassium rich foods: (it doesn't mention canteloup, but I still believe that's right.)
Just me,
I usually drink plenty Water,yet lately slacked off some.For unknown reasons I lately have a craving for Decaffeinated Coffee and Non-Dairy Creamer.I can drink 2-3 Pots Daily!My Diet is healthy.
Arrowwind09,
I mix 1 t (450 MG) NOW Magnesium Citrate 100% Pure Powder in my Organic Yogurt along with 1 cut up Banana Daily.I take 1 99 MG Potassium Daily too.When I was 9 and 1 Year before starting my Period,I had horrible Leg Cramps.I chalked them off as growing pains.They went away just like they came on.I spoke with a Doctor I was taken when having the Leg Cramps.He told me he had lifelong Leg Cramps and took Quinine.I can't do the Epsom Salt Baths as I don't have a Bath Tub.My Aunt told me of an Article she read in Dr. Peter Gott about drinking Pickle Juice for Leg Cramps.Pickle Juice contains Electrolytes.At a recent Emergency visit,it states on the Nurse Triage Medical Records Potential Fluid Volume deficit and Doctor's Notes Electrolyte abnormality.The Nurse or Doctor never made mention,and I don't have a clue why they suspected.
Bbmartin,
The only Calcium I get in my Diet is Low-Fat or Fat-Free Cottage Cheese,Fat-Free Plain Organic Yogurt and Cultured Low-Fat Buttermilk.I love Greens,so eat a variety.Probably majorly lacking Calcium,Magnesium and Potassium!
I also use three quinine tablets called Leg Cramps dissolved under my tongue for leg cramps. It worked for a long time, but lately, not always, since the cramps are worse. It is a homopathic remedy by Hylands and available in most drug stores.
At a recent Emergency visit,it states on the Nurse Triage Medical Records Potential Fluid Volume deficit and Doctor's Notes Electrolyte abnormality.The Nurse or Doctor never made mention,and I don't have a clue why they suspected.
Whilst at Emergency an ABG,Arterial Blood Gas was performed.All levels were normal except my HCO3-#,which I believe is Bicarbonate.Mine was elevated at 25.20 MMOL/L.Normal range is 18.00-23.00 MMOL/L.
I read on wikipedia,"Hyperbicarbonatemia is an Electrolyte disturbance in which there is an abnormally elevated level of Bicarbonate in the Blood.This is associated with Alkalosis,Hypercapnia."
I'm wondering if this elevation of Bicarbonate is playing a role in my Myalgia or Muscle Cramps.Nothing I seem to be doing is easing my discomfort.
Wikipedia lists four compounds that make up HCO3, which makes me believe that any one of them could cause the imbalance. If it involves fluids, it's probably an excess of sodium or a lack of potassium. This is just a guess on my part. I wonder if this isn't a condition caused by not drinking enough water to flush toxins out of the system?
Leg cramps
If I had the magnesium oil I can assure you the last thing I would have been concerned about was that it might have been a little messy. 
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