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Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,415
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

I take one of these every night.  It does the trick.

                                       

                               

[was Homegirl] Love to be home . . . thus the screen name. Joined 2003.
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Posts: 5,291
Registered: ‎06-15-2015

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps


@Krimpette wrote:

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!


 

 

Always like people sharing info that may help others. Want to clarify that with: "as long as it can cause no harm". I doubt cherry juice would cause harm to anyone, unless they have underlying other health issue.

 

Nice of you to share what seems to have helped you, and I hope it continues to do so.

 

 

hckynut(john)

hckynut(john)
Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,420
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps


@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

@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.


My father was an old time family doctor.  For the last 15 years of his life, he shared his bed with a bar of Ivory soap. On the rare occasion he was away from home, he frequently experienced what he called Charley Horses in his calf or foot.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 28,707
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

[ Edited ]

@Desertdi wrote:

potassium supplements work for me


You can also try drinking lots of Low Sodium V8 juice, that is loaded with potassium instead of sodium.

Super Contributor
Posts: 309
Registered: ‎04-19-2012

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

I take potassium also........works like a charm.

~~66 and owned by cats and dogs.~~
Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,519
Registered: ‎09-01-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

I suffer with leg cramps, as does my mom and brother.   Each of us had a different deficiency, which included dehydration and calcium for my mom, potassium and magnesium for my brother, and I have a calcium deficiency.  Our issues were simple fixes once we knew exactly what we were dealing with.   

Super Contributor
Posts: 309
Registered: ‎03-20-2015

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

My friend was advised by her doctor to drink non-sweetened cherry juice for her gout.  To the OP, I hope you find relief. Leg and foot cramps are unbelievably painful.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,095
Registered: ‎03-17-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

I got into the habit of drinking about 8 - 10oz of a sports drink (unsweetened) that seems to replenish the minerals and electrolytes, when I was teaching Karate.  You lose so many important minerals & electrolytes while sweating.  But now I'm in a drier climate and when I don't drink as much as I should I get horrific leg cramps....   but the Gatorade/Power0 really solved the problem for me.....

*~"Never eat more than you can lift......" Miss Piggy~*
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,504
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps


@fancy pantsy wrote:

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!)


 

I have started taking calcium and magnesium, but suspect dehydration is part of it for me, too.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,882
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: For sufferers of leg cramps

So you are talking true cramps (like Charley Horses)?  And not Restless Leg Syndrome.

 

It does have a lot to do with dehydration (the Charley Horse pains) as people who take diuretics get these and are told to drink tonic water (has the quinine in it). 

 

I know that some people get the RLS that is that horrible feeling of the urge needing to stretch your legs, and they also get cramps at night and sometimes have a creepy crawler feeling, too.  For that I've read the bar of soap, magnesium or potassium, and making sure by night time you've already had enough water during the day.

 

Glad you found something that works for you.  Never heard of cherry juice before and now you hear about that and the tart cherry juice.