Severe Thigh Cramps

[Lynn178]

I am a 49 year old lady in meanopause.  Rather than have hormone replacement my doctor has put me on a mild anti-depressant.  He clearly is unable to stop the hot flashes but he feels we can control them and other symptoms by taking a mild dose of  Citalopram.  I have been getting SEVERE!! thigh cramps.  Most times in the night but I have also had them hit me out of the blue while sitting.  I feel like I have been kicked by a horse as it hurts so bad and continues to be sore for weeks afterwards.  I fear these cramps so much that if I feel the slightest hint of it coming on I fly out of bed and stand on that leg (not easy to do..lol)  For someone who has never had a thigh cramp...it paralyzes you.  The pain is intense and my husband bless him...gets up with me and tries to soothe me.  I scream and cry until it passes.  With the hot summer days here I drink as much as I can due to the heat and the hot flashes to try and replenish my fluid.  If I drink much more I will float away and as it is, I am up 4-5 times a night to empty my bladder.  In hind-sight, drinking the amount of fluids I am it cannot be related to dehydration...any help or suggestions would be appreciated.  I find I am holding myself in a tense manner for fear another thigh cramp will hit me.  I get them in my toes too when I retire for the night.

I am tired and emotional with this menopause and just want to not have these THIGH CRAMPS!!!

So...what do you think?

[SimplyStar]

may i suggest you find a sports clinic  / massage theraptist/ maybe take a muscle relaxer/  i also have the cramping , severe at times and have found the sports clinic i go to works wonders for me, mine is caused by post polio syndrome, i also do the mind control, using a method of sending a signal to each muscle to relax, by fighting the muscle torsion you are increasing the tension and the nerve jangling.  research body relaxing.  even now with my arm and leg both in casts i am able to control the spasems by complete  relaxation signals.  good luck

[loralai]

Your pain sounds awful! It must be worse not getting a proper nights sleep on top of it all. I used to get charlie horse in middle of night in my calves all the time and too would be woken up out of bed sensing it coming on. Yours sounds even worse. Have you tried stretching? I was having bad back pain and started some light exercise and it actually helped. Also, I always try the heat pad. This is not easy when you have hot flashes too but it helped my back pain also. I hope this goes away for you soon and you get some good ZZzzz's. Be well! Sorry...my advice seems lame but you never know!

[chookey]

Hi l all suffer leg cramps l bite my bottum lip gently it seems to help just dont bite to hard and yes l walk for 30 minutes a day helps with the hot flashes and mood swings all the best

[Best59]

Hi,
You may have LOW Potassium in your system.

If you have frequent and severe leg cramps at night, talk to your doctor. Treatment results vary. But the most effective treatments based on current research are:
? Vitamin B-12
? Gabapentin

If you do get a leg cramp, you may be able to make it go away by:
? Walking on the affected leg
? Massaging the affected muscle
? Straightening your leg and flexing your foot toward your knee until you feel the calf muscles stretch
? Applying a cold pack to the affected muscle
? Taking a hot bath
To help prevent night leg cramps:
? Drink plenty of fluids during the day.
? Stretch your leg muscles before bedtime.
? Get adequate potassium in your diet.

Do not take:
? Certain medications, such as albuterol, niacin, diuretics, and some calcium channel blockers and antipsychotic medications
? Alcohol use

[Lynn178]

I wanted to say thanks to all of you for taking the time to give me your thoughts.  I am going to go to the doctor and see what he can do for me.  It is 11:05 and I am afraid to go to bed for fear of a cramp in my thigh..lol.  It is already so very sore.  Thanks again and I will let you know what my doc says.  Thankfully he has a good sense of humor..lol

[penmarko]

I suffer from Charley Horse cramps as well.  They are always in the inner thigh and at night.  The pain is so severe I have to walk for sometimes 15 minutes around the house and after the pain subsides, the aftermath of the pain remains in the thigh for sometimes a couple weeks.  Last year I was told that my blood pressure was slightly high and the test said my potassium level was very low.  I was put on a medication called triamterene 37.5MG/Hctz 25 MG.  I too had to urinate 5 to 6 time a night and the doctor said I was urinating all my potassium out and that this pill would keep the potassium from leaving my system.  When I take the medication right, I do not have Charlie Horses as often.  So to the lady that has to urinate all night, you might be urinating all your potassium out and need some kind of supplement, if not medication.  The medication is not expensive, aroung 14.00 a month.

[swissbird]

I have searched for "severe leg cramps" before and never found anything until I added "severe inner thigh cramps" and found all these interesting tips on this page. It made me realize I've been having these for about the same length of time I've been on triamterine! I now have new ammunition when I return to my doctor. She didn't have a clue when I explained the symptoms (same as Lynn and Penmarko). I will certainly keep a bottle of potassium on hand and hopefully this will help. The cramps seem to be increasing (formerly maybe once a year, now up to 4-5 times a year....and once I have one, it's easy to get another and another over 2-3 days, and the pain afterwards is pretty bad, too. Thanks to all of you for your answers (and symptoms....I thought I was the only one!)....and I hope all your pain goes away.

[Seamyst]

This was my second inner thigh cramp good lord they are painful.  Until reading here I thought I was having a significant problem.  I want to share a quick fast remedy to assist at the time you get a cramp anywhere.... Please belive me it works like a charm...
pull down hard on the opposite ear lobe and do not stop until the muscles have relaxed.  Naturally get out of bed and get your feet on a cool flat surface if necessary and I found this helpful hold onto the back of a chair or piece of furniture and increase the amount of pressure to your feet then when things are subsiding start to walk around... Keep ahold of that ear lobe always applying pressure it relieves a significant amount of pain and helps you move through the process a whole lot quicker.  I am getting me some bananas today I agree that if you dont have a good dose of potassium in your body it leads to this last week I ate a banana every morning this week I had not boughten any and I have had cramps daily.  Good Luck!

[swissbird]

The cramps I have are like yours exactly. I'm so sorry - people just don't understand the horror of it. Be sure to have your doctor check ALL your meds, and don't have too many of them that draw water out of your system (for instance, diuretics -  in my case, triamterine for high BP, and also Miralax because of all the other meds I take!). I take potassium any time I have even an inkling that a cramp might be coming. Be sure to follow guidelines by BEST59. Since I read that, I haven't had a cramp in quite some time, knock wood. Best of luck to you, and much thanks to all on this board, especially BEST59!

[Thomasina]

I've finally discovered that putting both hands on the thigh and using them to jiggle it back and forth seems to work better than anything else I've tried. Deep massage just seems to make it worse. Sometimes I'll take a muscle relaxant before bed if I've been getting them frequently.

[mikeswife01]

I have suffered form severe inner thigh cramps form 20 plus years and they have been so bad that I have actually passed out from the pain! Im glad Im not alone and crazy. I guess I will tell my doctor about this I thought it was just me thanks for all your comments From Little01

[lydiam9]

wow i thought i was the only one having this pain. i have had this for years but now i notice since i have been doing the atkins diet for the last month they are coming more frequent.I use to get 1 inner thigh cramp and then maybe couple of days later the other one but lately its both at the same time and its driving me crazy and in tears  and not getting any sleep is killing me i will try some of the remedies hopefully will help.. by lydia

[lydiam9]

You are an angel Best59!!! i happened to have a inner thigh cramp on sunday morning(june 28) about 2am i thought about how you said to flex your foot up and that help immensely!! and my thigh isn't sore either...i also had another cramp on the other thigh today(july 1st) did the same thing that helps alot if i only can get rid of those inner thigh cramps all together!! i have boost up my potassium intake which is helping now i will go to the health food store and purchase some b12 vitamins so stay tune.....
  

[Sandy808]

For leg cramps I found that drinking a small glass of tonic water or diet tonic water each day cuts out the cramps.  Mine were mostly while on Atkins diet and either leg cramp hylands homeopathic or tonic water, both of which have a small amount of quinine were the only things that helped for mine.  I hope you're able to find what helps for yours.

[raybov1]

I am a new reader for this and it has really helped me to know that I am not alone with these thigh cramps, I expirenced this for the very first time ever and I agree Lord have mercy, its aweful and I truly believe in my case its not enough fluids and my potassium is low, this happen on a Friday night and I had to get up out of my bed I couldn't run nor stand that well the pain is so bad that you are in tears, my husband tried to rub but I thanked him for his concern but I to try whatever I could to help me. I have had the cramps in the calf and I thought that was bad but I feel better to know you all have shed much light on this situation, I  going to get some bananas and take my potassium and I'll let you know how it goes, thanks for this moment. RAYBOV1  

[judye]

I get severe inner thigh cramps and cramps in other parts of my body that no one I know has ever had. My doctor has suggested I drink tonic water for the quinine but there has to be a better idea. I drink plenty of fluid and take calcium

[ConE726]

I too have these horrible cramps.  I have always attributed to the cause of dehydration but have noticed lately that there is no way that is the problem.  I drink water all the time.  I think it has more to do with potassium.  Anyway, not that its a cure but it helps the pain go away faster, take a teaspoon of yellow mustard.  Tastes nasty but the cramps will go away really quickly. Of course if you have reflux it doesn't do too much for that but I can deal with that a lot easier than cramps that cause me to cry.