Unexplained severe cramping.

[heartm8]

I'm  currently suffering the second bout of chronic severe cramping of this type. Its a repeat of two years ago, beginning with Chronic inflammatory asthma, unresponsive to treatment with inhaled steroids and antibiotics, and a month or so later severe chronic cramping. Normal EKG,  My CK is elevated 800 and my GLU, 120 fasting. I think the GLU is from the stress,  but I do have a strong history of DM in my family, and I'm obese.  My HCT was 50, but I speculate this was because I had been walking around for months with a Oxygen Sat of 92-96%,  my body compensating with more RBC's.  All other electrolytes K+ Mg++, phosphate are normal. My thyroid levels are normal. None of my docs seem to have a grasp of how severe I'm cramping. I have a high tolerance for pain, and if I go the Hospital, I'm in severe distress.

My CK in the ER was 800. Now down to 250. Having gone through this before, I took aggresive steps to treat my symptoms to protect my kidneys. I'm not getting better even if my labs make it appear that I am.

Fortunately I had the same ER doc, and this time we started the testing with a CK. I had five liters dripped in, followed by three more at home.  I am drinking tons of Pedialyte and taking oral Slo-Mag and Calcium supplements and keeping ins and outs balanced. I'm monitoring the color and volume of my urine, which has remained clear.  I had some kidney dysfunction the first time and I don't want to go through that again. These cramps can be distinguished from regular cramps, they are much more severe, I would say 20x the pain.

Basically at any given time, a muscle group will begin spasming and lock up, incapacitating me or waking me up. The pain is akin to being stabbed by a needle, having it twisted. The pain is intense. If they're in my stomach, I think I'm having my appendix burst lol.  There appears to be no reason to the location, and it could be a side stich, back of my neck, throat-under the chin, what feels like my diaphragm in the center of my back (heart attack simulation), tops of my ankles (the worst), feet, hands, lower abdomen. After subsiding, they leave a pain in the area similar to a painful immunization shot, where your arm is sore for days. Basically my body is sore inside all over.  The only way I'm coping is massive amounts of fluids, but I can't keep drinking this much every day.

The first time I had these cramps was  two years ago, and I visited the ER three times before being admitted.

The common thread between the two attacks appears to be several months of asthama/bronchitis, treated with antibiotics (quinilones) and steroids (advair).  It has been speculated that I have tetanus, hypothyroidism, low electrolytes, reaction to asthma, reaction to asthma medicine, and there is support in the literature for this, but not a way to differentiate it. I have not had a recent tetanus shot, and that has me worried. This has put me to an unusual decision, do I continue with my asthma meds? I cut them back a bit, hedging my bets until I find out what's wrong. I need them badly to get over this. My asthma is basically asymptomatic for long stretches, where I need no treatment, and flare ups where I get bronchitis for a few months.

So back to the beginning. I was having waves of cramps,  where opposing muscle groups were in total tetany. I could do nothing but lie on the floor and take it. After 5-10 minutes or so, they would stop for 45 minutes. I thought this must be what its like to die, because I stopped fighting the pain after a while. I wondered if I should call an ambulance when it stopped, but when a wave subsided, I drove in quickly.

They thought I was having an appendicitis, then kidney stone, so I got x-rayed, then they thought I might  have pancreatitis, so they did an echo on my belly. They started fluid each time I visited, which helped my symptoms, but temporarily masked the problem, so I got sent home. The third time, as I was getting up, both my feet locked up and my abdomen seized up, I dropped to the floor and they said "you didn't say the cramps were that bad,... you're getting admitted".  My CK was in the 600's and I got IV fluids for two days. Upon discharge, a few days later, I became unable to urinate and when I pushed, a large clot worked its way out of my urethra. Over the next few days my urine was slow but got back to normal.

[heartm8]

Mint Tea? Are you serious? I was dying and could have gone into kidney failure. I was having a severe allergic reaction to Advair discus inhaler. I quit taking it and my cramps went away, but my asthma got worse. I'm slowly recovering, and my asthma is taking longer to recover from too, without the steroids.  I'd rather not breathe well than suffer that again. I was so desperate I posted on here.

[ottawamarc577]

my doctor suggested MINT tea for cramps, worked for me. Hope it helps!!