Lots of charlie horses in early am hours

I am aware in the morning hours of the tendency to flex my foot, which at times leads to charlie horses (many more lately). So I end up half conscious of starting to flex my foot, and stopping myself before the charlie horse kicks in fully. Not exactly deep sleeping here!

Could the increase in calf cramps have anything to do with my lowish-carb diet? I am on 400mg of magnesium oxide at night, and labs don't suggest magnesium is a problem.

cramps can indicate the leg muscles not getting enough oxygen. being on cpap does not always mean you are getting proper oxygen or that it is being properly distributed. if it persists, ask the doc. it could simply be diet and vitamins or it could be some bigger medical problem not yet diagnosed.

SU - I've been getting charlie horses long before going low-carb, so I don't believe that's a cause.

I did quite a bit of reading on leg cramps and it seems there MAY be an underlying cause, or there may NOT. Nothing in my labs indicate a lack in any minerals, and with CKD I have quite extensive labs at least every 6-months.

What I do find prevents leg cramps is a glass of tonic water at night. It seems accumulative too, so if I have it for a few nights then miss a couple of nights, I'm OK, but missing more than 2 nights and the cramps return. I've experimented with this many times over several decades and FOR ME, it works consistently every time. Now I drink diet tonic water, but it's the tiny amount of quinine that does the trick.

Cheers,
xena

Low POTASSIUM is always the cause for me. Eat a banana or some raw baby leaf spinach before you go to bed. (spinach has more K+ than bananas). There are no K+ supplements available without a prescription. Taking too much can be fatal. But if you get it from food, you can't overdose.

What meds are you taking, my wife was taking Actonel and had to quite because of leg cramps. She'd jump up out of bed some nights and have to walk the cramp off.

I'm sure there are many causes but one of the main ones is lack of hydration. Do you drink much water?

The exact same thing use to happen to me. I would be coming out of sleep or even awake sometimes in the early morning and I would stretch out my feet and BAM my calves would seize up in pain! It would hurt so bad I couldn't even walk on them.

Since starting cpap I have switched to only drinking water and nothing else and I haven't had it happen yet. I feel much more hydrated and I no longer get muscle spasms. I feel much better to and have been eating less than I use to. You can even use a little crystal light which is no sugar or carbs and only 5 calories. It also helps take out calories from your diet by only drinking water.

More water, potassium, or tonic water.. OK, this gives me some ideas. Thanks!

Regarding water - I drink one gallon of water per day, and still get charlie horses without the tonic water. Due to the CKD, been drinking water this way since childhood, but always have the last drink of anything at least an hour before bedtime so I'm not up for a bathroom visit shortly after falling asleep.

cheers,
xena

A gallon?! I am lucky if I can force myself to drink a couple glasses of water a day!!

LOL, yes it seems a lot, but been drinking more or less this amount for years - less when I was younger and smaller, but always proportional. I do add a little lemon juice or Crystal Lite sometimes, but I really like water.

I have a 32oz water bottle at work that I fill 4 times - it's amazing how easy it is to get through that many if it's right in front of you all day. Weekends can sometimes be 'iffy' depending on what I'm doing, but I still try to keep another identical bottle full and on hand.

Cheers,
xena

Beware water intoxication!

As another poster mentioned, low potassium can cause cramps. A low carb diet can definitely lead to low potassium.

Could just be muscular/structural. As simple as it sounds, sometimes it's just a matter of stretching. I had similar issues in the past and found that by stretching my calves, my CH's went away. I would also wake up with tight arches prior.
I purchased the dual version of these:

http://www.fitnessmarket.com.au/shop/ca ... tcher.html

And the problem went away. Just a thought.

-Z

The diet quinine water has worked well for me;
The Schweppes brand is sweetened with saccharine--YUCK!.
The Wal Mart brand is sweetened with much better stuff--not bad, especially with some lime juice--
particularly Nellie and Joe's famous Key West lime juice.
Add a bit of José, and I'm ready for nighty night.

I have a tendency to have leg cramps. If I make it a point to drink no less then 8 - 8 ounce glasses of liquid a day it stops them at least for me.