Among Friends

[qvc chick]

I occasionaly get charley horses in my leg.  They usually are very painful but only last like 30 seconds.

Well, last night I had what I think is a charley horse in my thigh!  It was very painful, it was on the thigh area, and subsided  just a little bit, but actually lasted about 15 minutes.  I was frightened because it was very painful and really was not stopping.

When I got out of bed, and tried to walk, it then started getting better.

Anyone ever have this pain in their thigh??  Not sure if it was a charley horse, or something else.

Thanks in advance

[sidsmom]

I've had them, time to time, but they were usually exercise induced & lower leg/foot.

Question:  Your previous occasions...were they in the lower leg & NOW they've moved to the upper leg?   That might be concerning...and would warrant a dr visit just in case it's not a blood clot moving.   Of course this is the worst case, but more than likely it's caused either by exercise and/or diet.   Keep us posted! 😊

[Q4u]

Muscle Cramps and "Charley Horses" can occur in any muscle and the reasons can be varied.  Lack of potassium/electrolytes, being generally dehydrated, etc.  I would get muscle cramps until I learned to drink 8 - 10oz of a (diet) sportsdrink before I excercised. When I started doing that, I never had another one during all the years I took and taught Karate.  I started doing that when I had the worst Charlie Horse in my history!  I ended up having to use crutches for a few days it was so bad (even though I was gently trying to get the muscle going again.)  Hurt!!  Wow.....

Where I live now is even drier and I've had cramps in the middle of the night until I again started my routine of drinking the sports drink and upping my water consumption.  

I don't know anything about the possibility of blood clots, but calling your doctor might be an excellent idea if only to rule it out....

[Chrystaltree2]

I had them, mine were so bad that they brought me to tears and lasted several minutes.  After several doctors and many tests; they thought my muscle contractions (that's what they are) were related to the vitamin D supplements I was taking.  I had been severely vitamin D defficient and I was taking 4000 units a day.  So, they told me to stop all the vitamin D and just take one multivitam that had D in it and 3 Citrical that also has D in it.  They must have been right because the muscle cramping stopped.   

[fortune]

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@qvc chick wrote:

I occasionaly get charley horses in my leg.  They usually are very painful but only last like 30 seconds.

Well, last night I had what I think is a charley horse in my thigh!  It was very painful, it was on the thigh area, and subsided  just a little bit, but actually lasted about 15 minutes.  I was frightened because it was very painful and really was not stopping.

When I got out of bed, and tried to walk, it then started getting better.

Anyone ever have this pain in their thigh??  Not sure if it was a charley horse, or something else.

Thanks in advance

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You might want to give your doctor's office a call.  Meanwhile, here is a site to visit:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/night-leg-cramps/basics/causes/sym-20050813

[colliegirls]

I have had leg cramps off and on for most of my life.  The thigh ones hurt much worse than the calf ones and are harder to walk off.

[jlkz]

had an ultrasound to determine if the leg cramps were due to DVT ( deep vein thrombosis or blood clot ).  Not the problem.

So, I analyzed when they occurred:  most of the time it was because of the bent knee position.  Once when I fell asleep on the sectional sofa with both knees bent and crammed into a tiny space, I awoke to double cramps in the inside of the upper thighs.  WOW, I never had that happen before and I never want it again, so I don't fall asleep there.  The pain was so bad that I could not stand up to walk and stayed on the floor for a few minutes.  When I did get up, I walked and walked throughout the house until the pain ebbed.  Both thighs were very sore for a few days.

General cramping: calf, outer thigh, foot, toe.  Few minutes to walk it off.  No residual pain the next day.

[hckynutjohn]

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@qvc chick wrote:

I occasionaly get charley horses in my leg.  They usually are very painful but only last like 30 seconds.

Well, last night I had what I think is a charley horse in my thigh!  It was very painful, it was on the thigh area, and subsided  just a little bit, but actually lasted about 15 minutes.  I was frightened because it was very painful and really was not stopping.

When I got out of bed, and tried to walk, it then started getting better.

Anyone ever have this pain in their thigh??  Not sure if it was a charley horse, or something else.

Thanks in advance

---

A charley horse is basically a "muscle spasm" and there are a myriad of different causes.  You say "thigh" so I am assuming this above your knee. The muscles on the front(top side) of your legs are the quadriceps muscles. The ones on  the back side are the "thigh biceps (aka: Hamstring muscles)".  

The first thing to do with "any muscle spasm/cramp" is to "STRETCH/ELONGATE" that muscle/muscle group. Understand this might INCREASE the level of pain, but will break/loosen the contraction, which puts the muscle in the Extension stage  

The sooner the spasm is broken, the less residual muscle tissue will be involved, thus reducing the chance of extending the muscle(s) healing. If you have not had a complete blood draw/workup done recently, I suggest you do so.

Most of the time these spasms are not a serious issue, but then there is DVT, which can be a deadly serious issue. It is up to you to decide what  to do in relation to the source/cause of this issue. I know what I would do if I had not had a full blood workup for a long time.

hckynut(john)

[ID2]

Whenever I suffer with a charlie horse I just get up and walk around a bit, its all gone in no time.

[Moonchilde]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I had them, mine were so bad that they brought me to tears and lasted several minutes.  After several doctors and many tests; they thought my muscle contractions (that's what they are) were related to the vitamin D supplements I was taking.  I had been severely vitamin D defficient and I was taking 4000 units a day.  So, they told me to stop all the vitamin D and just take one multivitam that had D in it and 3 Citrical that also has D in it.  They must have been right because the muscle cramping stopped.   

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Wow. This could be me. I'm glad I saw your post. I too was severely deficient in vitamin D, got up to speed, and have been taking 5000 units a day since then. And I definitely have extremely painful thigh (as well as foot and leg) cramps or contractions. I started taking magnesium & calcium about a month ago and the cramps largely stopped. But I had twinges tonight. And I'm also frequently dehydrated, bad me (but definitely not today). Very interesting to read another possible cause. Maybe I'll start taking the vit D every other day.