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Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,111
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I've been plagued by leg and ankle cramps in recent years.  The type that wake you up yelping in the middle of the night.  I have tried many, many things.  Some help a bit, but never completely.  Finally, I think I might have found something that is working......cherry juice.  I drink a glass of it each evening and have not had leg cramps since I've been drinking it.  Not sure if it works for everyone, but so far, so good for me (fingers crossed!).  

 

My thanks belong to one of my Trader Joes employees who mentioned it at checkout one day.  So I thought I'd pass this info on to others who might find it helpful.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 34,519
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

@Krimpette

 

Does the cherry juice need to be the unsweetened type?  TIA

~Have a Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit~
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,733
Registered: ‎06-25-2014

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

i suffered for years with such leg and foot cramps.  finally discovered (because they could not draw blood one time at the blood bank) that i was dehydrated!  who knew?   so, at once i started drinking  32-40 oz of water every day and guess what.   never have had a leg/foot cramp at night since. (except when i do not drink my total daily amount!)

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,833
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

[ Edited ]

Years ago we read in a "Doctor's Column" in the Baton Rouge paper that if you put a bar of soap between the sheets where your legs can sometimes touch it (in other words, not below the sheets), it will stop leg cramps. DH, who is in his 90's had horrible cramps every night and would stand by the bed almost screaming in pain.  So we tried it. Ivory was the only soap we had on hand.

 

From the first night that soap was in our bed, he had no cramps. It's been nine years now and he still has no leg cramps.  Nor have I.  I have no idea how this works, and I really don't care.  IT WORKS.  THAT'S WHAT COUNTS!

 

It's an inexpensive, non-invasive thing to do. So I suggest you try it and see if this works for you. If it doesn't, no loss. You can just bathe with the soap later. Meanwhile, you haven't taken any meds and you haven't lost any money on anything fancy.  Good luck.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,310
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

I also have heard that quinine water helps with leg issues. I think tonic water quinine. Just a glass full befor bedtime. As for the cherry juice--I believe it must be sour cherry juice, not black cherry juice and it is tart so if you may  need to sweeten it with something. Also cherry juice has got alot of natural sugar so if you have sugar issues read up on it first. I used cherry juice in spakrling water at night to help with sleep. Did pretty good.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,111
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

I've slept with a bar of soap in my bed for several years now.  It has clearly helped me with foot cramps, but doesn't seem to do anything for leg and ankle cramps.  I've even tried rubbing those areas with a bar of soap, but nothing.

 

The cherry juice I've been drinking is from Trader Joe's.  It says it's 100% cherry juice from concentrate.  No artificial flavors or preservatives.  I don't sweeten it.  I drink it straight.  Not my favorite beverage, but it's not too bad.  Hope it keeps working for me!  It's wonderful to be able to sleep through the night!!!

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Posts: 5,354
Registered: ‎11-24-2011

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

Mine seemed to come in spurts, maybe 3 nights in a row then I wouldn't get them again for a month or more. The ones that start in the foot and then move into the toes and ankles and calves can be wickedly painful. At someones suggestion I bought pills on Amazon called Leg Cramps PM. As soon as I feel that first twinge starting I'm out of bed and take 3 of them then keep them bedside with a glass of water and continue taking 3 before going to bed for 3 or 4 nights in a row. They've helped a whole lot.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 39,554
Registered: ‎08-23-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps


@Perkup wrote:

Years ago we read in a "Doctor's Column" in the Baton Rouge paper that if you put a bar of soap between the sheets where your legs can sometimes touch it (in other words, not below the sheets), it will stop leg cramps. DH, who is in his 90's had horrible cramps every night and would stand by the bed almost screaming in pain.  So we tried it. Ivory was the only soap we had on hand.

 

From the first night that soap was in our bed, he had no cramps. It's been nine years now and he still has no leg cramps anymore.  Nor have I.  I have no idea how this works, and I really don't care.  IT WORKS.  THAT'S WHAT COUNTS!

 

It's an inexpensive, non-invasive thing to do. So I suggest you try it and see if this works for you. If it doesn't, no loss. You can just bathe with the soap later. Meanwhile, you haven't taken any meds and you haven't lost any money on anything fancy.  Good luck.


This sounds incredibly dumb, but  IT  WORKS .... my stepmother had leg cramp problems for years, and we found some information on this ..... supposedly it has to be IVORY SOAP.    

 

The only remotely  "scientific" theory that made any sense was that the alkaline "environment" the Ivory bar provided inside the sheets helped cancel out the "electrical spark" of the muscles in the middle of the night.   She never went without a bar of Ivory soap in her sheets for the last 8 years of her life and never had another leg cramp attack.   Hey, it worked.

 

Strange but true.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,767
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

potassium supplements work for me

♥Surface of the Sun♥
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Posts: 2,733
Registered: ‎06-25-2014

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

funny.  i tried both the bar of ivory soap and the quinine.  neither one worked for me.