For years, I have been dealing with night cramps in my calves. I wake up with my calf sieziing up and have to jump out of bed to make it go away. As soon as I would hit the floor, these would stop at least for a while.
Then in August of 2009 it seems that cramping became even more of an issue. I started getting whole leg cramps after intense exercise. Not during but after and most times a couple of hours later. Standing up and straightening my leg give no relief at all and believe me when I say that they are eeexxxxcrruuciating.
I have been told that it has to be hydration, yet I drink a lot of fluid every day. Enough so that my body does not seem to feel the need to conserve (in other words, urination is a regular part of my life)
I have been told that it is electrolite shortage, yet I take high quality electrolite supplements on a daily basis, use a high quality endurance formulated electrolite tab while exercising. Eat all the right stuff (bananas, spinich, liquid chlorophyll) Yet still these cramps persist.
Sometimes after workouts that are not even that intense (duration less than 90 minutes, intensity level 7 on a 1-10 scale) I usually know that these bouts are coming on because my hands will start to cramp first and my thumbs will move uncontrolably back (BTW I don’t do any hand exercises at all… ever :))
graduated compression tights, offer some releif in most cases (once I can get them on) but last week after my weekly hill ride (I have done this ride almost every week since March) I had a whole night of cramps and even the tights did not seem to help.
Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this? I really would like to figure this one out.
Thanks
Michael
I too have cramps during the day and night - in my thighs, calves, feet - sometimes all at once! I even get it in my hands. I too am stumped as to what it is all about. I did get it a lot while I was in the hospital (before diabetes diagnosis - already had it but it was not picked up for another 4 years.
On that occassion they gave me pottassium via a drip - aka banana juice - and it did seem to help for some time! It was called banana juice because it was bright yellow - and bananas contain a lot of pottassium so perhaps you could try eating more bananas if you are not allergic to them. Unfortunately I cannot take them because bananas make me wheeze, but you could try having a couple a day. Obviously you would need a blood test to see if you are actually low in pottassium if you find after a while you get better and when you stop the bananas the cramps come back. Pottassium (so I was told) helps with muscles, heart rate (I was having a lot of palpitations, tachycardias and arrythmias at the time, but they too settled down.
Just my penny worth.
I believe Crampex might help - as might cranberry juice.
Have you ever talked to your doctor about this? If it is repeatable, you could exercise and then go to the doctor for a set of labs to directly measure your electrolyte levels after exercise. I suspect that your problem is electrolytes. While you may eat and drink sources of electrolytes that are sufficient (and they actually might not be), your body may have a problem regulating your electrolytes. If you have any renal insufficiency, that can cause these sorts of problems. Certain levels of things like magnesium and sodium also end up being critical. And performing endurance exercise can also require levels of electrolytes far beyond the RDA.
Why don’t you try the doctor thing. I bet you quickly figure out what is going on.
I mentioned it to my endo a couple of times and he said “hmm… that’s sttrange” Wrong doctor perhaps 
Good thought, sometimes the obvious things are right in front of us (grin)
In particular, b vitamin absorption and consumption can be an issue with diabetes. There are so many of them, and with multi-vitamins, you could be short of a full b complex. I suggest taking a b complex supplement in conjunction with a multi-vitamin if you are already taking one. B vitamins, (unlike vitamin A), are very hard to over-do, so its ok to stack with other vitamin supplements. Just to put it in perspective, many energy drinks have upwards of 2000% of the RDA of b12.
I was told by my endo that the insulin we take can decrease you potassium level.
He told me to take whatever electrolytes I needed and I would just ■■■■ out what I don’t use.
Now I take a lot when I exercise in the heat or do a long bike ride, still cramp once in awhile but not too often anymore. I was told 3 things will make you cramp.
- Not enough water
- Not enough electrolytes
- Overworking your muscles
Yeah, polydipsia and polyuria both take a toll on vitamin and nutrient retention and absorption. Its not just electrolytes though. B6 in particular plays a key role in nervous system health. Malabsorption of b6 can lead to all sorts of weird neuro-muscular craziness.
I’ve experienced the same cramping in my calves, but not since I went for 3-4 months with undiagnosed T1 diabetes. They can be caused by low levels of vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, or potassium. They also are signs of dehydration, which you know, and are common after strenuous exercise. I’ve read that night cramps in the calves also may have no clear cause at all. The exercise supplements you take may not be high in Vit D or Ca, so maybe that’s the cause?
Good luck!
I appreciate all the great replys
So far finding the right DR might be key, but I am going to try increasing B vitamins right away
I can only imagine what 37 years of insulin dependance has done for me
BTW - I had heard the same 3 things cause cramps and researched etc…
- Not enough water - yee god man, how much water do I have to drink??? I hydrate all the time in and out of workouts
- Not enough electrolytes - as explained before, I take way more than it should take
- Overworking your muscles - still happening after relatively mild workouts and this is really a recent phenomina so I have a great base and have not all of a sudden started doing something out of the ordinary… other than getting older (grin)
Apparently it’s not that simple or I would have put this to rest.(I am reasonably intelligent in spite of my buffoonish appearance)
FTR I have found a number of non diabetic people with the same issue who are about my same age - so the not absorbing thing could definitely come in to play - and the B vitamin thing too.
I really appreciate the input, it has given me somewhere to go and I felt like I was at a dead end.
Thanks again everyone
Michael
Hi MikelCycle: I also get leg cramps at night, and I do exercise a good amount. I take calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium to deal with the leg cramps (a doctor friend who is a cyclist said that she takes magnesium to deal with the leg cramps she gets). Another doctor recommended a homeopathic remedy, cuprum metallicum, available at Whole Foods. I am not usually one to go for homeopathic remedies, but I use this, and it may have helped (hey, I don’t care if it is the placebo effect, whatever it takes). I also do lots of calf stretching.
Not sure if you’re taking lantus, but botit caused me to develop muscle cramps. I was told it’s a somewhat rare side effect of lantus, especially among people who are very active (which I am). Could that be the cause?
I had problems w/ some pretty severe cramps last summer and got some Zensah compression sleeve things to wear that seem to help. I also like to do ankle rotations, where you sit on the ground and use your toes to put your ankle through the full range of motion, spinning in a circle in each direction. This seems to help loosen my calf/ shin muscles. Lately no problems but that’s what I did in the past? I agree too that electrolytes are useful. I’ve stretched out my longer runs and stopped using straight water, replacing it with Gatorade.
