Since my late teens I have occasionally gotten some strange cramps in my calves. I was describing them to a co-worker, who mentioned she’s never had a cramp like the one I decribed. So it made me wonder if this is an unusual thing. Usually it happens when I am asleep, and it is so sudden and severe it wakes me straight up out of bed. The severe-ish pain subsides within 10-30 minutes and hurts moderately for the next 24 hours or so. I have had them in both legs at once before, but usually it happens in one leg at a time. And the pain is very localized, and seems to be centered around a vein that is especially visible. I specifically remember an increase in the number of cramps I got about five or six years ago when I was waiting tables part-time in the evenings. Does anyone know about this kind of cramp?
I had friends, in my teens, who also got these.
I have never had one.
I’ve gotten these since I was about 12. I think they’re charlie horses, but honestly, I don’t know if that’s what they really are. They got worse during pregnancy.
I’ve found that increasing my potassium intake (eating more bananas is one way) helps a lot. They hurt like a bitch when they happen (usually while I’m sleeping, like you), and then my leg’s sore for another day or so.
E.
I have had those cramps in the past and still very occasionally get them in my feet.
I credit the improvement to either (a) yoga or (b) magnesium supplements, both of which are said to help such things, and both of which I took up around the time that the cramps started going away.
I used to get them all the time.
The doctor told me that when they happened I should bring my toes up to stretch it out and rub where it hurt (stretching my toes down on the other hand just made it worse). They would go away faster that way.
Not sure why they stopped, but I can’t recall the last time I had one. It’s been a number of years at least.
Any chance that vein might be varicose?
I found this sympton description when I checked google.
I’m in the eat more potassium camp.
I used to have a lot of nighttime calf cramps (charley-horses) throughout childhood & teen years. I haven’t had any trouble since mid-teens when I started taking vitamins regularly, particularly calcium-magnesium supplements. Obligatory disclaimer: we are all just words on the interweb 
Check with your doc to ensure there are no underlying medical issues.
When I got leg cramps like this it always helped to get up and slowly walk around the room (gently stretching the leg out).
If you let it go away on it’s own it takes forever and the pain lasts after.
With charley horses (or at least what I’ve always thought of as charley horses) the affected muscle gets really hard - if the charley hoses subsides for a little bit and then returns, and you are massaging the area when it returns, you can feel the muscle swell up like a balloon (but rock hard).
The next day it aches just as any muscle that has gotten a tough work-out will ache.
Does this sound like your experience at all?
I used to get calf cramps all the time. Mine sound a bit different, since I’ve never noticed any particular vein. For me, the whole damn muscle gets involved.
I’ve learned to sleep without ever pointing my toes. (This seems to happen during a stretch or a yawn-stretch.)
I also stretch by putting a forefoot on a phonebook, or something of similar dimension (I use a half step in my house), with the other leg behind me. I lean over the book/step with my knee slightly bent. Repeat with the other leg. This has done wonders for me.
I used to get them when I was sleeping - mostly when I had been drinking (too much) alcohol. I associate it with being dehydrated. IANAD though. I now drink considerably less and can’t remember when I last had a cramp like this.
I’m not really sure what charley horses are either, or if it’s just a generic term for a muscle cramp/spasm. Hmm, not looking forward to more of them when pregnancy comes along.
Hmm, might try that. And the potassium too.
Yes, pointing the toes downward feels AWFUL. I try to gently stretch it by putting my toes against the wall, similar to what it sounds like SlowMindThinking is describing.
Hmm, never realized you could have just one varicose vein. Something to consider, because it really is in one specific location every time. Diameter roughly 2 inches, as opposed to the whole muscle.
I haven’t noticed the hardness so much, but I haven’t checked. I do notice an indentation where the pain seems to be located.
Don’t drink much, but the dehydration might be something.
Thanks for all of the good advice everyone. 
Of course you could always ask your doctor.
My mom gets woken up by leg cramps. She never used to, now it’s a regular thing. I think she started getting them when she went into menopause (when all hell breaks loose!)
I had read in one of those “People’s Pharmacy” columns in the newspaper that people report having a teaspoon of yellow mustard helped the cramps subside. The guy who wrote the column suggested that the vinegar was the ingredient that helped, citing the fact that some college track coaches have their runners drink pickle juice when they get a cramp (vinegar AND salt - salt to replace electrolytes).
Now, this is just offhand “advice” from a silly “medical” column in the paper BUT unless you’re allergic to mustard or pickle juice, it wouldn’t hurt to try.
You can also try Gatorade or Pedialyte, which have electrolytes to help overcome dehydration.
IANAD, but I’m wondering if you are on any sort of RX medications?
My husband takes blood pressure meds and one of the side effects is a potassium deficiency. He has to take a potassium supplement because he has horrible cramps, especially at night, in his legs.
Also, bananas are a great source of potassium, so if you like them you might want to stock up and make them your late evening snack. He does this sometimes too and it helps.
Seconding HelloKitty, I am on duiretics for a heart problem and occasionally get these. My doctor has me on potassium suppliments, and when I get a cramp it’s a sign I need more potassium. Orange Juice, potatoes, peas, apricots and avacados are all high in potassium.
Increased potassium and stretching don’t work for me. I used to get the hard muscle cramps every night, several times a night. Now I take prescription quinine and it works like a charm. I haven’t had more than one every few months for a few years.
These are horrid. I’ve only had a few in my life, but I hate them.
This completely solved the problem for my husband. He takes 200 mg of potassium a day, and never gets them anymore. It doesn’t work for everybody, but it sure worked for him.
And if you do want to ask a medical professional but don’t want to pony up for the doctor visit, go ask a pharmacist. They can often help with common minor ailments, for free.
Potassium and calcium are the ticket. I had these also and my doctor told me to take a calcium supplement (I don’t do much dairy) and to eat bananas. I actually have slacked horribly on the calcium supplement, so I think potassium is the thing you really need. But you should check with your doctor–pain in the calf muscle can be a signal of a blood clot.
These damn things hurt. I take a blood pressure med and a kidney stone med, BOTH of which can cause these. And due to a back injury I’m both partly paralyzed in one lower leg and unable to reach my foot easily. That’s where they hit most often, and I can’t bend it to a better position without jumping out of bed to push it against something hard. Frigging Christ on crutches, does this hurt! Drs say no easy fix for this…