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Bad leg cramps

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rattle

Guest
bad leg cramps

I play golf ( when i can) i do get very tired afterwards, but it helps my spine to keep from seizing up even more. I get nervous when i am going to play all the normal things we go through with IBD will i need the loo ? you know what i mean.I hate that uncertainty when you go anywhere wheres the nearest toilet,Have i got some anti poo tablets (as the wife calls them) am i going to have a serious flare up.
Unless you have some form of IBD people dont understand the stress side of the illness.Although my Crohns flares up quite often i have more problems (most of the time) with the med side affects and secondry complications of Crohns.Anyway my point of this thread is i get really bad calf muscle cramps.After golf it is much worse but i play to a high level even with Crohns so i still want to keep playing as long as i can.No one has ever explained why i get this cramps.Does anyone else get this sort of thing ? and have the docs explained why !
 
it is possible that your potassium level is low. it is common for Crohn's sufferers to go into the ER with extremely low potassium levels when they are having a bad flare. i have to have IV potassium at one point and talk about burning your veins.. also, calcium is essential for proper muscle contractions and you could be low on this too. when you goto the doctor next get him to do some bloodwork and see what your levels are.
 
R

rattle

Guest
Brando said:
it is possible that your potassium level is low. it is common for Crohn's sufferers to go into the ER with extremely low potassium levels when they are having a bad flare. i have to have IV potassium at one point and talk about burning your veins.. also, calcium is essential for proper muscle contractions and you could be low on this too. when you goto the doctor next get him to do some bloodwork and see what your levels are.
Hi
Thanks for the reply.I have just had blood test done last week.Hence the nice black bruise on my arm.I dont know what the results are yet.Doc said i may have a blood sugar problem as well as everything else thats wrong.I get a bit unsteady and have had a few falls ended up in AE a couple of times.
 
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tinglebell

Guest
Have you also had your B12 checked? I get cramps in my legs and other places if I stretch, especially during the night or early morning. Mine started as a direct result of B12 def. Even tho my levels are higher now, I still get them, not as much, but don't want to add any more meds to the list. Ambien did help.
 
I don't get cramps, but I get very persistant leg pains all over my legs, from my lower pback to me feet. More like muscle pains. Could this also be some vitamin or mineral deficiency? or is it a med side effect?
 
T

tinglebell

Guest
Mazen, I also have pain/discomfort in my low back and down both legs esp when I sit too long, stand too long etc. Mine is from nerve damage due to vit b12 def, but they thought it was a disc problem at first.
 
E

Evagation

Guest
Well, it stinks that we all have these symptoms of CD but... I had thought I was the only one with the leg-cramp thing! Ah, the power and wonder of the internet.

For me, it's my calf muscles (usually). It always hit when I'm in bed, usually in the middle of the night, or early morning, and it basically feels like my entire calf muscle has decided that it wants to turn into a ball of muscle, and it hurts like MAD. Once I got married, and had someone to share a bed with, my husband would try to help me through the major cramp by massaging it. Sometimes that helps.

I wasn't a golfer but I was taking a lot of dance classes at the time. Once I scaled back on the dance classes, and got back into doing yoga on a daily basis, the leg cramps have almost completely gone away. Unless I forget about them and accidentally do that first-thing-in-the-morning stretch (you know, the one where you are just waking up, so you stretch your arms, and legs, a whole lot like a cat does when they are waking up, and instead of it feeling good, your cold, sore muscles rebel and start cramping up). If I stretch my legs before getting out of bed, then I'm just asking for some major leg cramps.

Didn't know that they could be related to b12, or potassium, deficiencies. My arthritis doc has always told me that I just need to do some more yoga before going to bed. Glad to know that it might be more than just me forgetting to do my yoga.

Katie.
 
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