Greetings. Make sure she has enough potassium in her body. Not to less and not to much. Ask a Doctor and then hopefully he or she will prescribe some potassium pills to help.
It can be low potassium, so if Mom is on diuretics it is time to check the blood potassium. If this is familial, then up to walk helps. No alcohol which makes it worse. Some medications are used for this including a mild anti depressive medication that is an old one; but it is not uncommon for elders.
Oh yeah, that also works for keeping them at bay. Dill pickle juice is what we have tried, because we love it.
It just needs to be advised that anyone with the requirement of a low sodium diet should talk with their doctor to ensure they get baseline levels done 1st, just my opinion because it is so high in sodium.
Your Mom has diabetes. Be very careful with her medications, ask her doctor. Really not safe to add even supplements unless you get advice.
I am reading "Diabetes without Drugs" by Suzy Cohen, Rph; called America's Pharmacist. 2010 She describes in her book how "drug muggers" deplete things like magnesium.
I knew someone who's diabetes went away following the recommendations in this book.
This has been the best solution that we have ever found.
When you feel a cramp starting, grab a pinch of cinnamon and place it on your tongue. Just let it sit there and absorb from your saliva. It stops the cramp within seconds. I do recommend that you invest in a good quality cinnamon, generic brands are awful tasting. We use Saigon cinnamon from Costco, just FYI.
This works every time and we have been using it for a couple of decades now. Amazing.
My mom uses a 10s or Tens unit, which gives electrical stimulation and relieves pain. You can buy it at CVS or Walgreens, and her husband even took it to the hospital and asked permission and they approved of him using it on her. Make sure there isn't an underlying condition, like poor circulation. Tell her Dr. But it helped my mom get relief.
HOw about "Natural Calm" of course, it's a supplement. Don't know if it's the right thing.. magnesium... but potassium too needs to be in place? elevate her legs while laying down.. they have "wedges" for this, or if you can find any... a package of paper towels, to raise the legs.. and when done, use them for what they are meant to be used...
Could be the circulation in her legs as well. Tell her PCP and he may order Doppler studies of her veins & arteries to assess the flow.
I am never too quick to advise supplements without having recent lab work as baseline. It is best for mom to check with her doctor before giving her anything she isn’t prescribed due to possible electrolyte imbalance. I am not a doctor thus unqualified to provide any suggestions without lab work.
Cramping in the LE can also be a sign of dehydration. If she is on furosemide (Lasix) she may well be dehydrated.
Work with her PCP for evaluation. Many practices are doing telemed or still seeing patients that are not sick.
Not only Statins, but other meds act to deplete the body's necessary nutrients to keep us balanced. I think the G.E.R.D. meds cause this cramping too, and even can cause falls. So I did stop the statins. Not an expert here, but I take 500 mg. of Chelated Magnesium, and 1000 mg. of Vit D3. Adding probiotics also help me because there is a definite association going on with our gut and our brain.
That is what I take for the cramping. And do not forget to hydrate (drink water).
For pain and cramping caused by over-exertion that day, I take Bromelain, or eat fresh pineapple. (same enzyme).
I cannot advise you about your Mom, but I think it is okay to say what I take. You can check with an alternative practioner or nutritionist to learn more about mega-dosing vitamin supplements or concentrated food sources to help with cramping.
You can also gently massage her legs when this is happening. And learn to pull the toes up, have her get up and walk it out, do not point her toes or have heavy covers on her feet. imo.
Bed socks. She has all my sympathy - this happens to me sometimes and it's extremely painful. The cramps can actually leave you with pulled muscles!
It came up in discussion in the medical gossip column of one of our more respectable newspapers not so very long ago, I'll see if I can find it - various suggestions were made, and there was an explanation from a learned physician, too. Bear with me!
P.S. I'm not on statins, but Igloo's reply is spot on too.
If you Google statins and leg cramps, just a ton of articles. If your female, thin & on statins, the camps can be very super intense. There’s like 7 main RXs for statins. 2 of them seem to do this less.... pitavastin & fluvovastin. Talk with her MD about switching to another. My hubs was on Simvastin and had cramping, switched to atrovastin... no change; then pitavastin and he’s good. she needs the statin for her cholesterol & heart health, so not a good idea to just stop it.
Sounds crazy but try putting a bar of soap under the sheets! My mom suffers from leg cramps during the night too and keeps a bar of soap in the bed LOL!
If it helps her, it helps her! - what can you say?
I had a great aunt who believed that sitting on sheets of newspaper in the car stopped her being car sick. As long as she did, she wasn't car sick. What could we say?
Try a soak in Epsom Salts before bed to increase her magnesium levels. Also, make sure she's eating foods rich in potassium like baked potato, banana, broccoli. Coconut water has a lot of good properties, too. I wouldn't put her on any supplements without a doctor's advice.
Thank you for for suggestions. Actually, she is on potassium and magnesium supplements and her lab reports indicate she's in normal range. Maybe I should increase the dosage.
I personally found that my leg cramps (experienced only rarely) didn't occur when I made sure to eat potassium based foods. A banana was always a treat.
Was told this many years ago by an elderly lady who learned it from her PT.
It just needs to be advised that anyone with the requirement of a low sodium diet should talk with their doctor to ensure they get baseline levels done 1st, just my opinion because it is so high in sodium.
Be very careful with her medications, ask her doctor. Really not safe to add even supplements unless you get advice.
I am reading "Diabetes without Drugs" by Suzy Cohen, Rph;
called America's Pharmacist. 2010
She describes in her book how "drug muggers" deplete things like magnesium.
I knew someone who's diabetes went away following the recommendations in this book.
When you feel a cramp starting, grab a pinch of cinnamon and place it on your tongue. Just let it sit there and absorb from your saliva. It stops the cramp within seconds. I do recommend that you invest in a good quality cinnamon, generic brands are awful tasting. We use Saigon cinnamon from Costco, just FYI.
This works every time and we have been using it for a couple of decades now. Amazing.
Reading: Cinnamon acts to lower one's blood sugar.
Make sure there isn't an underlying condition, like poor circulation. Tell her Dr. But it helped my mom get relief.
elevate her legs while laying down.. they have "wedges" for this, or if you can find any... a package of paper towels, to raise the legs.. and when done, use them for what they are meant to be used...
I am never too quick to advise supplements without having recent lab work as baseline. It is best for mom to check with her doctor before giving her anything she isn’t prescribed due to possible electrolyte imbalance. I am not a doctor thus unqualified to provide any suggestions without lab work.
Cramping in the LE can also be a sign of dehydration. If she is on furosemide (Lasix) she may well be dehydrated.
Work with her PCP for evaluation. Many practices are doing telemed or still seeing patients that are not sick.
Not an expert here, but I take 500 mg. of Chelated Magnesium, and 1000 mg. of Vit D3. Adding probiotics also help me because there is a definite association going on with our gut and our brain.
That is what I take for the cramping. And do not forget to hydrate
(drink water).
For pain and cramping caused by over-exertion that day, I take
Bromelain, or eat fresh pineapple. (same enzyme).
I cannot advise you about your Mom, but I think it is okay to say what I take. You can check with an alternative practioner or nutritionist to learn more about mega-dosing vitamin supplements or concentrated food sources to help with cramping.
You can also gently massage her legs when this is happening.
And learn to pull the toes up, have her get up and walk it out, do not point her toes or have heavy covers on her feet. imo.
It came up in discussion in the medical gossip column of one of our more respectable newspapers not so very long ago, I'll see if I can find it - various suggestions were made, and there was an explanation from a learned physician, too. Bear with me!
P.S. I'm not on statins, but Igloo's reply is spot on too.
she needs the statin for her cholesterol & heart health, so not a good idea to just stop it.
I had a great aunt who believed that sitting on sheets of newspaper in the car stopped her being car sick. As long as she did, she wasn't car sick. What could we say?
I personally found that my leg cramps (experienced only rarely) didn't occur when I made sure to eat potassium based foods. A banana was always a treat.
I've read that this is sometimes the result of an potassium deficiency. Is she getting a less varied diet due to Covd 19?
She eats very small portions but she is on potassium and magnesium supplements.
I'll start monitoring her fluid intake.
Yes, she is on pravastatin.