Since I was about 13, I’ve been getting this thing: it’s this incredibly painful muscle spasm in the calf of my leg. Nine times out of ten it happens at night, wakes me up out of a cold, dead sleep. It feels like someone is squeezing a pair of pliers on my calf muscle. It lasts for up to five or six excruciating minutes, comes back several times before it goes away, and I’m frozen and can’t move the leg for a while afterwards, and I’m sore the next day. It’s horrible. I’ve asked doctors; the closest we ever got was a “potassium deficiency.” Someone told me once it was a charlie horse, but someone else told me that only happens in your back. I searched on it, only to yield conflicting results. Can anybody tell me:
a) What it is
b) Why it happens
c) How to stop it or make it better
Fresh in my mind since it just happened (ouch!). Thanks…
(Man, this is at least the third time I’ve addressed this issue since I joined the board. Who knew that my “useless” knowledge on this subject would prove so useful?)
First, I don’t think what you’ve got is technically a “Charley Horse.” I think it’s usually called “night leg cramps,” or in its twitching form, “nervous legs.” (And, there have been previous threads about this; search under “charlie horse,” “charley horse” and “leg cramps”.)
Anyway, I used to work at a small ad agency whose client was Q-vel, an over the counter “remedy” for what you describe. It contained Quinine Sulfate and Vitamin E, two ingredients that have given many folks the relief you seek. I won’t promise that it will do the trick 100% of the time, but we had many very satisfied customers who swore by the stuff.
(BTW, it was common knowledge that sufferers who did not want to pay the high price for Q-vel, simply bought the two ingredients separately, and took them straight. Seemed to work just as well, IIRC.)
Good luck.
Actually, potassium deficiency may not be so far from the truth as you believe. It often causes that sort of muscle spasms… try eating more bananas or taking a potassium supplement.
IANAD.
LL
I used to have this problem all the time. Since I’ve gone to a more well-balanced and healthier diet, it’s stopped. You may also want to try taking a daily multivitamin. Can’t hurt.
My wife has something very similar - she uses the Q-Vel and it seems to help.