Leg cramps

[Jenge]

Does anyone els get leg cramps. Is there anything to help with this? Already drinking tons of water.
Ty, jen

[FaithforHealing]

My platelets were on the low side years before I was dx'd with HCV and I was told to stay away from quinine.....no more tonic water with my vodka or gin, LOL. Just google "quinine and low platelets" for a plethora of hits.

[BoceprevirGal]

I had ALOT of cramping, right before treatment, when my ALT/AST WAS 400/500.
   Two weeks into treatment, no more cramps, and my blood test came back, showing my enzymes had almost returned to normal. At 4 weeks blood test, my VL was UND and my ALT/AST were in the normal range, and now I never get cramps.
   But I really think those cramps were an indication that my liver was in big trouble!

[yodennis]

That was very helpful. Thank you. d

[flcyclist]

yodennis, your theory might be correct.  The second link goes into further detail.

https://online.epocrates.com/u/2923569/Muscle+cramps/Basics/Epidemiology


"In conclusion, our data suggest that a causal relationship rather than a simple association may exist between cirrhosis and muscle cramps. The cirrhosis induced arterial underfilling may play a role in the pathogenesis
of cramps. Weekly infusion of human albumin solution is effective in the treatment of cramps in cirrhosis by improving effective circulating volume."

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hep.510230211/pdf


http://books.google.com/books?id=o9RmVXWAkKQC&pg=PA325&lpg=PA325&dq=muscle+cramps+liver+disease+kobayashi&source=bl&ots=fBQOq-B5B8&sig=O1iVzhU4A8OG0fQN_-ZqaCn_HLg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Uat8T6erNuTY0QHT3viODA&ved=0CGAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=muscle%20cramps%20liver%20disease%20kobayashi&f=false
Contains a caution that quinine should be avoided if liver disease present.

[yodennis]

Personally I do not think they are catalyzed by an electrolyte imbalance when so many with HCV complain of them. So if cirrhosis is associated with cramping (and perhaps HCV in general) has anyone ever been told exactly why they occur: many symptoms that are cirrhosis related can be traced to increased portal pressure: But what is the catalyst for these cramps that are secondary to liver disease? Waking up panicked about the intractability of leg cramps just compounds the physical pain by adding mystery and powerlessness! d

[FaithforHealing]

Regardless of the underlying medical issue, when you get them you need an immediate solution. About a year ago I started having this happen in the middle of the night so I increased water, potassium, etc. One bout woke me up from a sound sleep and I was literally paralyzed by the pain, could not move. It crossed my mind that it was worse than a kidney stone (of which I have had three); I could at least keep quiet and get help.
When I finally was able to grab my laptop I ended up at one site and followed the directions for immediate relief: "Stand about three feet from the wall on flat feet and lean forward to place your hands on the wall. Keep the feet firmly planted on the floor to feel stretching along the backs of the legs." It may sound crazy, but it worked. If it hadn't, I wasn't sure of what I was going to do; it was an out of control situation. For some reason, I stopped having them as suddenly as I started having them, and I could never pinpoint what I had changed to start them or end them.

[nygirl7]

Sports drinks only contain about 1% of your needed potassium a day.
When my heart acted up because of zero potassium they had to give me shots...man they burn.  Eat the fruits FLcyclist mentionned but dont worry too much about any Gatorade type stuff...not enough to make a difference really.

[orphanedhawk]

My leg cramps were clearly related to cirrhosis.

[flcyclist]

Leg cramps can also be caused by a lack of potassium in your diet.  Muscle cramping can actually be a big problem while cycling on a long ride.  Fruits such as bananas, kiwis and melons are high in potassium. Dried apricots, figs and raisins also contain potassium

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/537967-potassium-help-with-leg-cramps/#ixzz1r5SU4joM

[BoceprevirGal]

I was having severe muscle cramps, right before I got into treatment. I noticed when I took a tylenol, for a flu I was coming down with, that brought it on. My Doctor had mentioned that the cramps are sometimes caused by medicines prescribed to us.
   I hardly ever get them, now that I have begun treatment, but I always keep a few sports waters around, that have electrolyte balance in them (and they have these handy packets of them also) and I always make sure I have bananas around, (in case it is from low pottasium) so I eat about 3 bananas thu-out the day.
  Sometimes, the electrolyte balance can be thrown off, by too much water, it's called "water-overload", so rather then chugging our water, it works better, and is safer, to sip the water all thru-out the day (and I do this at night also, even though I have to get up all night because of)
  Having the cramps is rly scarey, I have had them go from one leg, to another, even to my abdomen, so I have also found relief from jumping into a warm bath, full of epsom salts~

[orphanedhawk]

I used to.
Nygirl is right.Tonic water helps.
And you have to force yourself out of bed and get moving to get rid of them.

[nygirl7]

My doctor had me drink a glass of tonic water every night before bed. It helped me alot. I've stopped doing it and now sometimes I get them - I hate that jumping out of bed to jump up and down on the cramped leg too!

Oh and they have zero calorie tonic water that works just as well.....

[Bill1954]

If you’re getting labs frequently review the metabolic panel to ensure your electrolytes are in reference range; potassium/sodium imbalance can result in muscle cramps.

I spoke with my doctor about this very thing yesterday; he suggested treating cramps with small amounts of tonic water. It contains quinine and that can help manage this apparently, although he said don’t overdo it; large amounts of quinine can affect platelets/coagulopathy.

It’s miserable having to jump out of bed in the middle of the night to straighten the muscles out, isn’t it?

Good luck,

--Bill