Cramps!

[trayne91]

Has anyone noticed cramps brought on my certain conditions. Sometimes I do okay, but other days - like last night and this morning - I am in agony. I wake up just to feel my legs cramping like heck and brings tears to my eyes. What a way to start the day. I do remember even having leg cramps as a child and my family having to rub my legs as I cried in bed all night. Dr. said growing pains. I wonder when you get fibro? Did I have it since childhood and it masks itself behind other conditions? At any rate, the cramps move around from one part of the body to another - legs, back, upper thigh, back of leg, arms. You just never know where it's going to be and for how long and how bad. I wondered if anyone noticed that certain things make them worse or flare up. I'm a bit new to this and I certainly want to avoid anything that will hurt me if I can. I can't even walk right. Thanks.

 

[tracy45]

Hi Trayne91, cramps was my first symptom about 7 years ago. I get them all over too but more often in my ribs - front and back. I would rather have the nerve pain that seems to come and go as the cramps can be very painful. I have even had my tongue cramp and thought I was going to choke. My doctor put me on a low dose of thyroid medication - even though my tests showed my thyroid levels were in the normal range. I still get muscle cramps but not near as often. I can go a whole week without one. I find if I go from a warm room to a cold one or outside, then I shiver just a little and that will start muscle cramps. Before the thyroid meds, if I just reached across the table for the salt shaker would be enough to get them started so I found it also prevented me from doing any exercising or stretching. Now I am able to all kinds of exercising which has helped me overall. I read somewhere that it takes more energy for our muscles to stay relaxed, so if we are having energy problems like most with fibro, our muscles will cramp.

 

[denipink]

i get bad stomach cramps. feels like my bowels are about to drop! very sore and really limits my activities. all i want to do is lay down. i have no idea what is causing this but i betcha foods have something to do with this.

 

[Trellum]

Sorry to hear you are going tru this I also get cramps (legs mostly) but they are not as bad as you described. Sometimes it happens when I'm sitting or lying down, sometimes I get cramps for no aparent reason. It's been like that since I was little, my mom often said I must have circulation issues. I have never told a doctor about this, because I thought it was normal. Now that I think about it my dad gets very bad cramps too, some days he can't walk at all

 

[1sweed]

Sometimes changes in the weather can cause cramping in the muscles. I get bad leg cramps sometimes, mostly during the winter months. The thing that works best for me is keeping my body warm. I throw a extra blanket on over my lower legs and feet at night which keeps them warmer, but I don't get cramps.

Sometimes it is possible to get bad cramps when we are dehydrated. Be sure to drink lots of water or juices, or drinks like gateraide or vitamin water to stay hydrated.

Also heat rub cremes can help prevent muscle cramping. Wear longjohns in the winter is another idea. Massages can help relax muscles, and prevent cramps from forming.

 

[kmpisces]

I get various types of cramps as well. Sometimes I have abdominal type cramps for no reason. I suffer from cramps in my legs a lot at night. They can be quite painful too.

 

[trayne91]

I've been putting big thick fuzzy slipper socks on and slippers on top of it and covering with a comforter all day and so far it has helped. Don't know if I'm just have a good last few days or if keeping my feet warm is actually helping. I'll keep you posted on that.

Sorry, you all have cramps, too. Yes, my legs are the Worst! I got have abdominal cramps a lot, too, as many of you have, but I thought it was unrelated. My thighs and arms cramp sometimes, too. I was waking up in tears every morning to the leg cramps. It has eased and I am hoping it's this doubling up on keeping the feet hot all day.

 

[mrlondon]

Try taking more calcium. I recently started getting major cramps in my legs, when I cut back on my calcium supplementation. As soon as I started taking more calcium (an additional 250mg), I've had no more cramps since then.

 

[denipink]

i do get my share of cramps but mostly in my stomach and sometimes accompanied by diarrhea. they can be very bad and make me feel very sick and i end up in bed taking Gravol and Imodium. i am just waking up and having my usual: coffee and a smoke. what a lovely way to start a day, huh? i just don't feel well most of the time i need to nix the stupid smokes and possibly even my beloved coffee. my only saving grace right now is i am a larger lady and i am losing weight. lost 2 dress sizes now and my clothes are falling off me. this is one problem that is nice to have. i sure need to wake up and adopt a better more healthy lifestyle or i will just have to settle for being sick all the time.

 

[fibrowolf]

Oops, I had just posted a similar thread before I saw this one. My cramps sound a lot like the original poster.

I rarely experience allodynia, but I have tremendous pain from muscles that repeatedly cramp up. Massage, even deep tissue massage, or self-massage with a hard tool usually provides significant relief for the acute pain. These cramps pop up all over my body. Pretty much whenever I use a muscle group a modest amount in a repetitive way, a cramp will form there. So the muscles I massage get very little break between cramps sometimes. This affects my postural muscles particularly. I just recently graduated college. It was touch and go for a while; I was uncertain if I could function well enough to meet the demands, but two things helped me in particular. 1) The Disabilities Services Office was FANTASTIC at helping me get accommodations. 2) I stopped caring that I drew people's attention when I would have to stand up or move around in class (though I touched base with the prof. first); it wasn't until my third year (of five) in college that I realized to take better care of myself and be less embarrassed.
I also smile a lot. That means cramps in my cheeks quite often. I often joke that "I smile so much, it hurts!"

 

[mrlondon]

Cramps can be a sign of small fiber neuropathy:


And that form of neuropathy small-fiber polneuropathy has been found to be prevalent in many people with fibromyalgia:


- Mark

Do your own web search about these forms of neuropathy.

 

[love2travel]

My chronic pain doctor put me on a high dose of magnesium glycinate for the severe leg cramps. It makes a world of difference! If only it would be that simple for other aches and pains...

 

[Witchelli]

Lately my worst cramping is my upper back and across my chest, it got so bad one night I went to the ER fearing a heart attack. After they ruled out any cardiac event, they sent me home, with no relief. I also have RA with sever pain in hips and back so I haven't been able to lie flat or sleep in a bed for years. I sleep in my recliner, its the only way I can rest. I am also post thyroid CA and had a total thyroidectomy and removal of parathyroids and some lymph nodes. I'm wondering if my thyroid levels are off again and its exacerbating the cramping? I also may need to up my calcium intake again as I have fallen off keeping up with that lately. I think the really cold weather aggravates the cramping too. Hope you find some relief from yours.

 

[dorann]

There are so many different things that can cause cramps. You are right that growing pains can be one of those things. However, changes in the weather and also nutrients lacking in my diet are two things that cause me to really cramp and be achy.

 

[Whyfor]

I tend to get foot cramps more than anything else, myself. They usually begin in the arch of my foot, and pull my big toe down. Unfortunately, while they happen, there's nothing I can do for it. Even trying to hold the toe in place so that it doesn't curl under doesn't seem to stop the pain. I just have to wait it out. What's funny though is that I only ever get them in my right foot! Never my left! It's so weird.

The best I can do is up my magnesium ingestion, which seems to lessen how frequently I get these cramps. It's really the only remedy I've tried that has any real effect on how often this happens, though I've heard some people absolutely swear by drinking tonic water every day to prevent cramps. Supposedly, it's the "quinine" in the water that can stop cramping before it starts, and I think you can actually get quinine as a prescription if your doctor is savvy to its effects.