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Severe, immobilizing charley horses in inner thigh.

Hi.  I am a 34 year old female.  I suffer from extreme leg cramps.  It is almost a constant pain.  I have the worst of the at night but will also have them all throughout the day.  The worst of them are the ones that occur in my inner thigh almost always on my right side.  When these occur I can hardley move.  It sends me straight into tears.  It starts in my thigh and them feels like it wraps around to my hip and outside of my leg.  I have had magnesium and potassium levels checked.  Potass was medium to low so they prescribed a low dose of potass.  This seems to have helped slightly but has no where near taken care of the problem or made it any easier to sleep.  Please help me!  I have no idea what to do next!  Thanks so much!
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Avatar universal
I get them too. Excruciating!!!
Use unsweetened cranberry juice. I buy it from Trader Joe's. It contains 160mg of patasium for every 8oz. When I have an attack I drink two large gulps and chase it with a glass of water and in 3-5 mins it gone.

Good Luck
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Gatorade works for me when I get these painful upper thigh cramps.   Still very painful, but last a shorter amount of time!
Avatar universal
Does it work for Charley horses in the stomach?  I get horrible Charley horses in my stomach ever since I had my surgery.  My husband says he gets them because of dehydration, but I know that this is not the case for me.  Ever since my surgery I drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. A never drink anything carbonated, 1 cup of coffee a day, but I do have to take Miralax every other day.  If I sneeze or cough or try using my stomach muscles it will cause horrible seizing Charley horses so bad I can't stand it.  It would be nice to figure out how to prevent them also if you know how I would really appreciate it from happening or from happening so often.  Thank you so much for any information you have.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
You may want to go to a yoga studio and do some gentle yoga before or after work (if you work) 2-3 times a week.
Serum magnesium levels are kinda meaningless, since they have very little to do with tissue magnesium, which is low in most people.
Maybe try transdermal magnesium oil -just look it up online- and see if this makes any difference in a few weeks. You would need to do it every other day.
Oral magnesium has a very low absorption rate and is known for its laxative effects!
Low tissue magnesium would affect your potassium, as magnesium is necessary to transport calcium and potassium ions across cell membranes, thus facilitating
healthy functioning of your cells.
When magnesium is low, much of your potassium is excreted in urine.
Try to consume foods rich in magnesium & potassium daily,
besides your supplementation and the transdermal magnesium (if you choose to do it)
Consume coffee and alcohol in moderation
Vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption, so you need to make sure
your Vit.D levels are good.
Avatar universal
Keep pickle juice around. Drink 1/4 cup as quickly as you can, then stand up and walk asap even though it hurts like all hell. This is the only way I can stop the inner thigh Charley horse.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
sometimes i think i'm loosing my mind i hurt so bad from Charlie Horses i also have restless legs i  take several meds for restless and i sometime wonder if it might be causing the charlie horses the worst one are in my inner thigh and groin area i can't sleep at night because of these i wish there was help some where for this problem what i would give for a good nights sleep
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
I know what you mean! I have a fairly high pain tolerance and these inner thigh Charley Horses are SO painful that I writhe in pain, scream, cry and yell for help to whosever around! I cannot stand or even move without falling or intensifying the pain. The only fairly quick relief I can get is by spraying or rubbing the over-the-counter mentholated pain relief for joint pain used by arthritis sufferers (I also have RA). I also sent away for some cream specifically for relief of Charley Horses and it helps within a few minutes. I ordered it from a catalog such as Carol Wright or Harriet Carter (or one such type catalog). Hope it will work for all who suffer from these, they're horrible to endure. I panic, get very warm, get nauseous and nearly pass out as soon as they start. Good luck!
Avatar universal
I too get extremely painful inner thigh charley horses. There is something that gets rid of the cramp.  Run a hot shallow bath and sit in it. Moving and stretching helps the heat work. It has to be really hot.

Good luck

Young4myage
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Deep breathing-get oxygen to the muscles-seems to help me. I'm thinking about wearing the compression stockings I got when I had my hips replaced to increase circulation too. Regular yoga practice would probably help as well.
Helpful - 0
1193998 tn?1265117597
I used to get those when I was a child and first battling RA - they ARE painful and it's true, there's nothing you can do but wait for it to ease up on its own.

Along with the advice above, make sure you're getting enough fluids. Sounds odd, but I remember that sometimes drinking orange juice helped the spasms ease up quicker. I don't know if it was the fluids, or something in the juice, but it helped!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I feel your pain as I too suffer from immobilizing charley horses, mine are from my groin/thigh down entire right leg.  When it happens there is nothing you can do, mine have lasted for hours until I sometime lost feeling in my toes up to my knee. Do you also have pain in the buttock, hip and groin area as well?  If so it could be your SI Joint.  I just got a cortisone injection in it today and I pray it will help.  The doctor says it may take up to 5 days before getting full relief.  If you have the other symptoms I've mentioned, read up on sacroilitis and si joint syndrom, then see a pain mangement doctor as they are only ones that understand this problem and will be able to help.
Helpful - 0
483733 tn?1326798446
Have they tested you for anything auto-immune?  You could try a muscle relaxant.
Helpful - 0
620923 tn?1452915648
Hi...I know all to well about these...they can really hurt, and not just while the cramping is happening but for days later...ouch...
Have u had ur Vit D levels checked too?...B12?....these in addition to magnesium and potassium are important when it comes to having issues like this.
Good luck

"selma"
Helpful - 0
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