About 7 am this morning I was begging the God Lord to please help me! I got a Charlie Horse in my calf and I was in agony! This has happen only one time before. I KNOW that it is an effect of the diet ( I have been on Induction for 5 days 6 pounds gone) I am thinking that I am lacking a certain Vitamin, am I correct to think that it is vitamin C? Moderator would love to hear your input on this one too please. Along with everyone else that might have experienced the awfully painful unpleasant wake up call. And the whole day it has been uncomfortable and feels very tense and tight. I have very strong high calves as it is and they are solid and very shapely. I am clueless if that has anything to do with it though.

When I was reading my copy of Low Carb Energy this month there is an advertisement for a pill that is designed specifically for the low carb dieter for leg cramps. So obviously someone out there is wake up unhappy too!??
If you have experienced this, I would love to hear what preventative measures you might have taken to make this NEVER =\ occurr again.

SOS
PQ

potassium, actually i think is the culprit...i think dandr said potassium mostly and zinc. i started taking a multivitamin early on and it took care of this problem for me.

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

Yep, its lack of potassium, you may want to add it in your supplements, and if youre working out you might to make sure u do your stretches before and after your workouts. i know if i dont stretch daily, even the days i dont go to the gym, i have terrible cramps.

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Started LC 1-10-04

302/199/160, 103lbs down, 39 to go, simply remarkable.

Restart- 8-19-07
242/226/160


405 points to date ( HOLIDAY CHALLENGE )

I've heard calcium, I've heard potassium, so I take calcium supplements AND I eat avocados every week! You can also use salt substitute which is a good source of potassium. It doesn't take much, I think 1/4 tsp. is the recommended amount.

Be careful not to over-do potassium though as it's a critical element in the regulation of heart activity and other bodily functions. This is NOT a "more is better" thing!

I suffered those cramps twice and I agree, they are PAINFUL! My boss, who is an MD, told me when that happens, to point your toes towards your knees - it lengthens that calf muscle and helps alleviate the cramping.

I also try to watch how I sleep - the bedsheets have a tendency to pull your toes DOWN, which shortens up the calf muscle and makes it more susceptible to cramping - so I try to lie on my sides and not on my back. Barring that, you can purchase a device that keeps the covers lifted off your feet. That wouldn't work for me, my feet would be TOO COLD! LOL!

Char

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Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.

Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!

if that happens again put your foot on the floor and apply pressure and the pain will go right away. When the cramping stops walk slowly on it until it feels better. I know this works because the last time I had one I tried it and it worked like a charm. It sure beats laying there in agony.

Someone told me ages ago ( I think a grandparent) how to rid of them. But, my entire leg from the knee cap down was spazuming so bad that I couldn't straighten my leg out and pull my toes up. That is why I was thrashing around the bed because I couldn't even move bc it was like locked. And I don't wake up early in the mornings so I didn't get up I feel back to sleep. This is the second day and today I can barely walk on that leg it is so uncomfortable and tense and tight. My dh says to stretch it out...but I am fearful that the muscle will just go into another charile horse, it is so bad that I couldn't even get on my tip toes without being in pain??

I remember these just not this bad though. I am going to take a multi-vitamin and see.
I don't exercise and most likely won't until half of the weight that I want gone is....gone. (about 30 pounds is half or so)
This morning I am down 7.5 pounds and today is day 6 on Induction. ( I will remain on Induction as long as I can) 52.5 pounds to go!! (lol)

Thanks for the help, I welcome anyone that has anything to say about this!
PQ

I suffer from these from time to time. And then, I step on the scale................................1-2 pounds vanish!!!!! I have seen a correlation between loss and cramping the ENTIRE time I have been doing this (for a little over a year now) I get a cramp (usually in the middle of the night around 2 or 3 am.) Then a day or so later, the pounds are gone. So, I actually don't mind getting them (after the pain is gone, LOL) because I know it signals a weight loss. I usually end up upping my Morton's Low Salt which is largely potassium. I am taking a multi diligently, so I think the potassium intake is critical. But you DO need to watch your intake. I can't remember what's recommended, but I think I read here somewhere that it takes an awful lot to get it up there where it can cause some heart problems. For some reason, 90mgs sticks in my mind as a normal dose. It's always better to take a calcium, magnesium, potassium combo suppliment. They all work synergistically together, and they need each other in order to be absorbed efficiently.

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Potassium is usuallyt he culprit. A couple of things can help a lot--sleep on your side--get a body pillow and keep your hips and knees aligned with it--stretch the heel down and the toes up no matter how badly it hurts that has to be done--it not only stretches out the calf muscle but helps keep it from coming back/bothering you all day by pulling it out as it starts or just after--otherwise that muscle can tear itself partially and leave you with more problems. Drink some extra water and get a potassium supplement with about 80 mgs in it and eat potassium rich foods--since bananas and potatos are out--try things like avacado. Make sure you are drinking enough--cramps can also be a sign of dehydration.

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

Thanks everyone! I am going to get into the water the next few days. I do drink water, just lately I haven't had the umph to drink it like I usually do and I know that this program can be very dehyrating.
Thanks for the input. =]

ps: Huskers your stats are fab!! Great job!

Protein Queen--thank you--I have been working really hard at it since 5 January! I have made great progress thanks to all here who put up with my whining and fussing and destressing--teaching 500 kids a week has that effect on me most of the time anyway. I have also lost over 30 inches off my body since the fourth week--didn't measure before that. I am actually interested in getting my bloodwork done now to see if it is better/different than it had been over the past couple of years. I am certain it will be.

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

Great accomplishment! Keep it up!

everyone has their own theory -- mine is, it's a mineral imbalance

there is a fine line to keep them in check --

many moons ago -- someone told me i needed MORE potassium, so i took more and that is what gave me the charlie horses... so what i did was, go back to my normal dose of potassium and added a cal/mag/zinc in the evening, and they went away.

now, i just make sure i get plenty of greens and i havent had them in years.

OH yes -- and i have to agree with the hydration part of what Husker said

water, water, and more water

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My LC web site
LCE Member since 2000

I've gotten them several times before starting LC WOE and haven't gotten any yet (thank God!!) Luckily I have a DH who knows when I get them A) I don't wake up enough to do anything about them on my own and B) I'll whine in mysleep till I'm darn near crying and he massages them out for me. (it beat the alternative... I go back to a deep sleep quicker and he won't be kept awake by me crying it hurts I have a VERY low pain tolerance)

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:butterfly NikkyLee :butterfly

230/207/160

I never had a leg cramp in my life until I started LC eating. Actually, I've only had maybe two or three in 17 months on this eating plan. If I recall, I would only get them sometimes after a day when I perspired a lot. After the first couple of cramps, I tried to be much more careful about getting more potassium-rich foods in my diet. Thankfully, the nighttime leg cramps stopped.

Sometimes, I use a little salt substitute (Morton's) in place of salt. Salt substitute is potassium chloride, and it's much, much less expensive than buying potassium supplement tablets. By law, potassium supplement tablets are limited to 99 mg, which is hardly enough to do any good at all unless you take them by the handful. Of course, if you have any heart problems or are on medication, you should check with your medical provider before adding potassium supplements to your diet.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Thanks! The pain has finally subsided today and I can walk properly. I hope I never get another. The water drinking has really helped. =]
Thanks Again!