toe and foot cramping while I lay down...

Hey.. this has been happening for years.. whenever I lay down.. or sleep.. I will wake up to my toes cramping up.. I will look down and see my big toe and the one next to it spreading apart.. it hurts really bad for probably about 20 to 30 seconds.. it does it multiple times if I dont get up from my sleep.. lately its been the whole foot doing it.. when its happening I feel my foot and the muscles feel like they are folding and bending on top of eachother.. its really painful.. and again that lasts like 20 to 30 seconds.. what is going on here? it makes it for I cant sleep sometimes.. is there something going majorly wrong with my body? I am also diabetic and I hate to admit it but.. I dont have my blood sugar under control.. I sometimes dont even take my insulin.. could the cramps be happening cause of that?

[gman2004]

i dont know, but i get cramps like that all the time. even before i was a diabetic.

[JDRF-Team-sgg]

I am not a doctor, but am a well-read type 1 diabetic, so please check out any information I give you with your own physician. I did some research on foot cramps and can tell you what I have found out.  I do not know your age, but cramps in the feet while sleeping at night is apparently fairly common as people grow older. It is believed that this is sometimes caused by poor circulation in the feet, and is more common in diabetics than in other people. If you are younger than the middle years, then perhaps it could be a result of damage to blood vessels because of diabetes not properly controlled.

Normally, neuropathy is noticed with tingling or burning sensations in feet, and this is what most diabetics look out for and fear. However, diabetes can be very damaging to small blood vessels when glucose is high for long periods of time, and this could affect the circulation in your lower legs and feet. I would strongly advise you to make an appointment with your endocrinologist to get checked for other possible causes, and also perhaps to be checked for the beginnings of neuropathy, for if blood vessels are indeed being damaged and this is causing the cramps, then nerves are probably being damaged too. Nerve daamge can also cause cramping. And of course you would want to know at the very beginning of anything like this starting to happen so you can tighten up your glucose control to protect yourself.

There are other possible causes of cramps at night, but of course the possibility of complications from poor control of diabetes would be the most important one to check out and hopefully either rule out completely or treat before serious damage is done. Your body may be warning you, and a wise person would heed the warnings and get to the doctor for some tests. You will be glad you did. I hope it turns out to be nothing more serious than messed up electrolytes in your case and that you can rest easier after a check-up.

[xinside]

Thank you for replying so fast.. Im going to go as soon as possible.. im 22.. and my blood sugar is high alot.. Im going to start taking care of myself..

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Xinside,
I'm not a physician, but my suggestion is that you accept the fact that you have diabetes, take your medication, test test test.  Diabetics are at risk for neuropathy, and our risk escalates at an enormous rate when we don't take good care of ourselves.

You've made a good first step ... to admit that you've been lax.  Please take the next step.  Call you endocrinologist or diabetes specialist and tell him/her about your foot cramping.  What you describe could be due to nerve damage and/or loss of circulation to that area.  Whatever "it" is, it is not something to take lightly, especially since you seem to be experiencing increasingly severe symptoms.  Your body is pleading for some good TLC.

While our bodies are remarkably able to recover & restore itself to better health, we must do our part to help it along.  Please see your physician and please take as good care of YOU as you would take care of a loved one.  You deserve that good care and nurturing.  

Let us know how you're doing.

[Chris000]

JDRF-Team-LRS

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JDRF-Team-LRS
Member since Jul 2003

  Thks for the info i    am i having these same foot/toe cramps  i'm 23   and i   do  take my insalin   and lantus  but  not at the right times  and   sometimes probley not even the right dose  if i  eat  a meal like  how i used pre-diabetes  i'll   take a 15 unit shot at  some point   but to be honoest lately i'm not feeling strong anymore i feeel like  i'm rotting from the inside out.... i get  depressed   tears  fled to my eyes alil when i started to type this  i have no medicail insurrance anymore  i  got diabetes  3 years ago it  is labled  juvinile they said it  was triggured  by something.  i need to know   how i can eat  as well the food nuetiralist  they  gave me at the hospital wasn't  so good  and the in home nurse i  had  only  came by a day because i  logged  what i ate and said i was doing fine...i'm 6'1  174lbs i install boilers for a living  it's a tough job but it keeps me in  ok shape.       i really dont know  what i should do  money is tight atm but i  can buy my lantus  and  insalin just   doctor visists  cost alot   and i  can't go to the hospital  unless i want to owe 5,000$

[charstamm]

I also am not a doctor but suffer with the same thing.  I totally agree that it is prudent to see a doctor and try to get the sugars in line.  I ignored them for a while and only lead to many problems.  My husband was diabetic since he was 29 and because he did not take care of the sugar carefully he died at 60.

I've only been diabetic for 14 years and most time it was controlled -- then I got lax.   I had a different health problem in 2007 and they switched me to insulin from medication.  I lost weight and my BGs are very good.  It has paid off...Believe it or not my eyesight has improved to the point I don't have to wear my glasses for distance.  In fact, I can almost tell when my sugars are boucy because my eyesight got better.  Just an example of how much damage this disease can cause.

About your leg cramps -----In my case it can be caused by three different things -- sometimes sugar is out of wack (although it is most often controlled), sometimes it is electrolytes and all I have to do is eat more potatssium like bananas.  Sometimes it is my back.  I have had 5 back surgeries and I find it it's not the other two causes, and I do my exercises, it will relieve the cramping.

charstam

[Seandc]

I agree with charstamm, I've had this problem with the cramps in my feet as well, and sometimes it has been due to a high blood sugar, or lack of potassium or electrolytes.  Whenever it happens I've had success with testing my sugar to see if it's from a high sugar, if that, then i just get insulin to bring it to where it belongs, if not then i simply eat a banana and drink a gatorade and I don't need to deal with the problem again for a long while.

[sonyac]

I am a 48 year old female and I have had leg cramps for about 5 years.  I take potassium and magnusuim every night, I only drink 2 cups of coffee a day and no soft drinks no tea.  I only drink water, juice, vit. water and milk.  My cramps are in the top of my feet and back of my legs.  There are severe.  Everytime I go to move or stretch at night, I am up hopping or walking them out.  It is so bad that I am sore the next day!  I have mentioned to my doc. but she tells me to just drink more water, which I do.  It seems I have the urge to stretch my feet during the night and them bam, I am in tears about 5 or  6 times a ngiht.  any help

[Labzter]

I am 25 and regularly have cramps in my toes. Initially I thought it had something to do with being dehydrated, but after asking around I was told that wasn’t the cause.
The cramps are caused by wearing high heels, tight shoes and sometimes a lack of calcium. The worst cramps I got were during a yoga class.
There are 2 types of exercises that help.
- Try lifting a pencil or marbles with your toes and placing them in a different spot, repeat that exercise a few times.
- Lift yourself on the tips of your toes and slowly lower yourself down.

[dee609]

I have severe foot cramps near the arch. Especially when I'm trying to sleep.  I'm not a diabetic, what  could be the problem

[park32]

would alchol cause feet cramps? i am a diabetic tablet controlled and am fine, but had a few glasses of wine the other night and the next day had realy bad foot cramp

[wrkoutxprt]

Alcohol is a dehydrator, and can cause muscle cramps. From what I've read dehydration, lack of electrolytes (potassium and magnesium), wearing high heels for several hours when you're not used to it, and not stretching are all contributors to muscle cramps. I am also a type 1 diabetic for 40 yeas (age 51 now) and find that keeping my bloodsugar as close to normal, exercising daily and drinking alot of water helps, as does taking a potassium/magnesium supplement.