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leg cramps

Can Hepatitis C cause severe leg cramps at night and if so what vitamin or over the counter medicine can help this? We are currently taking Milkthistle 2000 mgs a day.
21 Responses
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1431734 tn?1421011671
i have had leg cramps for years and tried everything including the soap remedy which helped btw. since tx i rarely get them. if my fluid intake is low and i do not exercise they surface mildly but nothing like the screaming pain pre tx. wow maybe I'm cured of that too. tx, babs824
Helpful - 0
766573 tn?1365166466
You should start a new post. You click on the orange box where it says, "Post a Question." That way you can ask about your hand cramps and treating the disease with underlying conditions. Lost of bipolar people treat the virus and clear it. Do you know the level of fibrosis you have?
Helpful - 0
1116669 tn?1269143266
I have had the cramps from hell in the middle of the night intermittently for years - It became worse as I developed cirrhosis. Interestingly it has ceased since I have been on triple therapy (finishing this week). Personally (I state it this way because other sufferers experiences are other sufferers experience) I have not read or spoke to a doctor that could i.d. the exact mechanism behind HCV caused cramps. I also do not think the majority of offered solutions are "a solution" although I envy those that have developed methods (from heat to soap rubs to minerals, etc) to mitigate this curse. I do not believe that all my challenges at all times are relative to HCV however the alleviation of these cramps while on treatment (thus far undetectable) does seem to establish a "cause and effect". d
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Please start a new post with your questions. This is an old post you are on and many folks may miss your post.
If I understand you correctly, you said your doctors don't want to treat you for hep. c because they think it may make you suicidal. If that is the case, please see another doctor, a hepatologist (liver specialist) for a second opinion.
I too had severe muscle cramping. I took calcium and vitamin D, but it is not until my 2nd month of being undetected (through treatment, of course) that it has stopped.
It is very important that you consult with a liver specialist.
All the best to you.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i have hep c x intensly severe muscle cramps all over.
i didn't know the 2 were related till just now.
i thought it might have 2 do w/my liver, so i googled it x unfortunately, here it is. i'm not in a interferon program, as i have bi-polar disorder x my drs think it could make me suicidal, which i've NEVER been.  what are your thoughts?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Would like to talk to you more please email me at ***@****. We have a lot of similar medical conditions.  I am in end stage liver disease with cirrhosis.  My email may not be working so please call if you don't get a response.  
Thank you,
Jason
Helpful - 0
163305 tn?1333668571
My hepatologist told me to drink tonic water when I had them.
I also found magnesium helps. I take calcium and I have to take the right amount of mag to balance it out or I get cramps.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I get the leg (and feet) cramps too. I love that about the bar of soap! It may not sound rational, but if it helps or just makes my sheets smell good, it is well worth a try.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I was diagnosed with hep c in november 2011. I get severe muscle spasms in my legs, arms, shoulders and back. I will be going for a liver biopsy in March.
I'm scared, I don't know how I contacted the disease. I have chronic Hep c. I might have had the disease for at least 30 years.

Houston, Tx
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565061 tn?1314241091
soap only works wen i rap tinfoil around my head and im making puppy slippers in the paw paw pach
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565061 tn?1314241091
the leg cramps every night im afraid to wiggle toes hands arms stretching and exersize make it worse  Motrin causes to many problems with shout liver i get a foot and leg massage almost every day and it really helps i wish i can get them in the evenings
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
leg cramps at night are not uncommon in people as they get to be seniors.  adequate water intake will help a great deal.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have been suffering for years with leg cramps. I have end stage liver disease from Hep C. Want to answer alot of questions. Nsaids thin your blood, and that is why they do not recommend them your spleen will become enlarged from the liver disease and that will start to eat your platelets and your platelet count will drop, Mine has been as low as 20,000 Normal is in the hundredths of thousands, so I bleed easily and for a prolonged time, so that is the problem with Nsaids. Tylenol is recommended at a certain dosage 500 mg twice a day. I save mine for night time so I can try to control pain at night. I have been through the drugs for hep c, 3 times. INterferon****pedalated interferon and I was a nonresponder. I also experience severe muscle cramps all over my body. I take 2000 mg mangnesium a day, zinc, vitamin d, vitamin c, I drink diet tonic water with quinine. And I still suffer, some days are good but most days I have cramps. And no doctor wants you to take narcotics to control pain, your liver cannot process certain things. For those who just was diagnosed. Go to a gastroenterologist. I have a great one. Dr. Kevin Westra in Harrisburg PA. I am also on the list for a liver at the Hershey Medical Center, but most people never make it to transplant. There are alot of things for you to find out. Research, never stop researching and finding out everything. They are soon coming out with a new treatment, I'm not sure I know it is an interferon based drug, and even though they will never put my Hep C in remission, I will probably try it just to releive symptoms. Anybody who have questions can contact me at ***@****. I will try to help you.

Joyce
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
thought I was really falling apart when my thighs were acting like I climbed Mt. everest.....  thigh cramps at night are not nice...  But I dont understand the bar of soap.....? it has salt, but ya'll aren't EATING it are youLOL // what do you do with it?? I will be calling my doc this week and if i learn anything new i will definitely share it with you guys.; thanks.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Ha-Ha, I do the bar of soap thing in my bed, too.!!   Read about it in an advice column.  Also, I periodically take a supplemental zinc, as that was recommended, too.  I don't take the zinc daily, just whenever the cramps start up again and then, it's only like, 1 pill of it.  I get plenty enough potassium and magnesium as my blood tests have shown, so I must be eating enough of it in my diet.

Susan400
Helpful - 0
691935 tn?1421027090
I've had bad leg cramps for years.  Actually, muscle cramps all over.  I had no idea it could have been related to the HepC.  Anyway, I took potassium only when I started cramping.  It worked like an asprin, in 20 min.  But, that was before tx.  I try not to take much of anything while on tx.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
This sounds crazy however it does work and everyone I know who I have told this to has tryed it and it works.
Put a bar of soap any kind in bed with you down by your legs .
I don't know if the sodium( yes lots of sodium in soap) in the soap or what it helps.
The Meds. from tx can cause cramps...and the soap still helps
A very old wives tale yep and isn't that better than drugs.
And it makes you sheets smell good

Let me know after you try what you think.
Good Luck
Hopeful51

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Go to mayo clinic and type in leg cramps. There are many different things that can cause leg cramps or it could be nothing at all. You need to be evaluated for the cause.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I was just diagnosed last week with hepC but have had leg cramps, usually at night, for years. I take 500mg of Magnesium at night before I go to bed and have no problems with cramps til sometime in the early am so I take another dose and I'm pretty much cramp free.
Until I read these postings I had no idea there was a connection between cramping and the liver.
Hope this is helpful

kconn
Helpful - 0
634590 tn?1293774093
leg cramps is common caused byHCV. in jan-2003 i started feeling leg cramps and tiredness. Finally dr was able to detect HCV positive. I continuousely felt leg cramps and tiredness through out 6 years. Dont put yourself on self medication. Go to dr and let him to decide what is to give you.
Helpful - 0
547836 tn?1302832832
i haven't heard of that before.  but i do feel like i have restless leg syndrome just randomly when i'm at rest.  it goes away after a short time so not a big bother.  i take Stresstabs
Helpful - 0
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