Help

tamijoy2000 · Post by **tamijoy2000** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:41 pm

Anyone has any advice for muscle spasms. I keep having them at nite in my calf part. Is there anything out there that can help. I love to hear anything. so I can sleep a good nite sleep at nite and not be waking almost every 2 or 3 hours with one.

Courtney · Post by **Courtney** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:27 pm

I have no idea if they're related to MC, but I sometimes have cramps in my calves at night. I've heard that sometimes this can be caused by low potassium, so keep eating those bananas! Also, you might try doing some stretches before you go to bed. FWIW.

Courtney

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:30 pm

Hi Tami,

I use heat patches when I get muscle spasms in my back. I think it soothes the muscle and allows it to relax. I'm not sure if a heat patch will work for your calf. I've always considered pain in my legs to be cramps or nerve problems rather than muscle spasms and I've never used a heat patch on them because I can't ever pinpoint the origin of the pain.

I feel for you - I've spent many a night unable to sleep because of leg cramps. I hope it gets better soon.

Gloria

Carol Arnett · Post by **Carol Arnett** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:32 pm

Tami, if you are dehydrated from having D you probably need electrolites....Gator Aid. My SILs doc, who has IBS (SIL) told her to drink 8 ozs. of tonic water once a day for muscle spasms. I tried it when I was so dehydrated and it worked very well for me. If you don`t like the taste, try it in some juice. I did that twice a day. It contains Quinine so I called my pharmacist to ask about that and he said there wasn`t enough to worry about. It did not make her IBS any worse. My feet would actually curl into a ball so I know the pain you are enduring.
Hugs and good luck, Carol PS, I bet Tex comes along and says "don`t do that". I would trust him over anyone else.

tamijoy2000 · Post by **tamijoy2000** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:33 pm

thanks. i'm getting muscle spasm due to taking prednisone for a good while. i gotta go to the store tomorrow and get more bananas. i was reading that apple cider vinegar is good to drink with honey and it will help prevent them i'm gonna go see if i have any to use.

and looking on the web for more home rememdies.

thanks all

Post by **tex** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:44 pm

Carol is right. If you have been having D, you should be drinking Gatorade, or Pedialyte, or something of that sort in order to restore your electrolytes. Also, drink plenty of water - you may just be dehydrated. Muscle spasms, cramps, charley horses, etc., are fairly common among people with MC. There can be various causes, but for people with diarrhea, a common cause is potassium deficiency. If eating a banana every day didn't stop the muscle cramps, then it may be due to a low blood level of calcium or magnesium. There are other possibilities, of course, but muscle cramps are a common problem for those of us who are subject to MC reactions, because the MC can cause a malabsorption problem, which makes it harder for the body to extract the nutrients that it needs from the food that we eat.

Tex

P S Apple cider vinegar works because it is rich in potassium.