[JustaRedGirl]

They are horrible. And for those of us who have them, they are not your typical little calf cramp. I’ve found taking calcium in the AM (something I’ve never done before) and magnesium glycinate in the PM, making sure my vitamin D level is up above 70, getting enough potassium and sodium (sea salt or pink Himalayan with an electrolyte powder in my water), taking greens DAILY (green smoothie or large dark greens salad), and some ACV daily has helped. If I don’t do this they are horrific. Mine got way worse after CV. I know others who did as well. I think there is a connection to these horrible cramps and it makes sense from a medical standpoint due to depletion of minerals (we know CV does this) as well as the amyloidogenic aspect of the spike protein.

[Cathail]

Years ago, our family doctor (GP, in the family) told me when I was getting horrible .. throw ya off the bed at 4am cramps, to take quinine sulfate. At the time it was still OTC but behind the counter.. ya had to ask for it. Now that the FDA got involved, tonic water that has quinine in it makes them let go real fast. I keep some in the house as part of the medical stash

[JustaRedGirl]

Yes! This too! I keep a high quality quinine water in the house and go to that when all else fails. Maybe cuz I hate the taste. 😄

[Aelrik]

I had severe cramping in calves, a few years ago; it turned out to be sciatica (pinched nerve in lower back), it required surgery to ‘free up’ the nerve. I went home the same day and now I walk @ 4 miles in the morning frequently; which incidentally also helped me lose 40lbs. Don’t know if this helps, but that’s my story.

[JustaRedGirl]

This absolutely can be a factor, especially in calves cramping.

[Cathail]

I find that unless I need it, it does taste vile.. if my body wants it, it’s refreshing.

[BiggKidd]

I lived with god awful cramps for over 35 years. Went to countless doctors and specialists to no avail in those 35+ years and they tried everything including heavy duty muscle relaxers. Nothing actually helped until about a year ago. When I realized salt was the actual issue or rather lack of salt was the issue. It turned out all I needed was to eat more salt. I always thought I ate to much salt but I was wrong. Turns out active people who work hard and sweat a lot need a LOT more salt in their diet than people who sit.

The really interesting part for me was how I found out I needed more salt. I was sitting here at this table cramping so bad in my chest I thought sure I was going to die. I had my .45 out knocking the dust off from where I carry it everyday. When another round of muscle lockdown started and I’m thinking to myself what the hell do I do now I can NOT keep living like this! I had cramps so bad you could almost see the bones bend. That’s when I heard or sensed or something I need salt. So I picked up the salt grinder and ground some in my hand and put it in my mouth and added water from my glass swished it around and swallowed it down. Within a minute the cramps were easing then they were gone another minute later. Half hour to an hour later they were back with a vengeance. So I did the salt thing again and again in a minute or so and they were easing right off and a minute after that they were gone. So I started googling and figured out salt or lack of salt was the root cause. Since then I eat as much salt as I can stand and hardly ever even get a mild cramp anymore. I did a lot more googling and found out salt with other minerals was best and now only eat pink salt or sea salt.

So to all you folks who listen to your doctors and hardly eat any salt but have a ton of cramps eat some damn salt. I’ll bet your problem will go away like mine did.

After 35 or so years of living with bone bending cramps everyday of my life I found out I just needed to keep eating more salt. I have no idea what it did to my blood pressure and I really do not care. I can live and do things without the excruciating pain anymore as long as I eat plenty of salt. Every once in awhile I still have to add a little extra salt sometimes but soon as I do the cramps are GONE!

For me it turned out I needed to add about one teaspoon of salt to my food in a days time during the hot months. I can and do cut that back during the cooler months when I don’t sweat as hard.

[Bluesky63]

Foe eight years, I would get leg cramps and sometimes low blood pressure so that I would have to lay on the floor so that I did not faint. Then last year, a doctor said I might be low on salt. Yep, he was right.

Now I use a little salt every day and no cramps or blood pressure issues for over a year. I also take a multi vit/mineral each day, a magnesium with calcium, potassium and vit. D3.

Praise the Lord!

[DeeDee]

Oh my gosh, I’ve been on quinine sulfate for years… the prescription now cost 600$ a month! I am supposed to take 3 pills a day. My new medical insurance will not pay for that, I just retired. I had no idea salt was a solution, that I could drink salt water. How many times a day do you all drink the Himalayan (?pink) salt water? I’m so glad I found this resource. Thank you for sharing

[CrawGator]

I’ve been using “pink” (aka Himalayan) salt for over two years almost exclusively in the foods I prepare here. I had the adventure of being a 24×7 caregiver for almost 17 months after spouse had a stroke. Part of her recoup was a specific dietary regimen. And from me, mr. “Rub some dirt in it” redneck.. but I adapted until hardly any white salts are used here, save for making puffed rice…

I wonder now if that’s why mine are so intermittent. I keep that pink salt in bulk. It goes a LOT farther than the iodized because it is more pungent (read: saltier) in flavor so one uses less for the same effects. it appears (in our case) to reduce the water retention to folks with congestive heart failure.

I heartily agree with using it over white salts.

[KimC]

FYI: Redmond’s Real Salt has a product called Real-Lyte, (electrolytes) that include salt with the necessary minerals for proper hydration. Comes in different flavors to add to water. Also, Dr. Eric Berg (DrBerg.com) sells flavored electrolytes as well. I’m sure there are probably a lot of companies out there that have similar products. I always check the quality and additives (or preferably lack thereof). I stocked some for times of sickness when dehydration could be an issue due to vomiting or gut issues, etc., but it certainly is helpful in the heat of summer too. Berg’s is sweetened with stevia. Don’t recall what sweetener the Redmond’s brand uses, maybe monk fruit.

[Njorun38]

Glutamate supplements (a nitrogen transporter), and stinging nettle tea. Dr. Christoper’s Complete Bone & Tissue also good— it helps with cramps that are caused by fascia and not just muscles. Get fascia-release ball rollers and do myofascial release stretches. Get enough potassium and magnesium in you.

[Scrapmetal]

Great discussion. I suffer myself.I take 400 MG of Magnesium every morning.I saw someone yanked about Re lite and I’m ordering some and skipping Gatorade zero!

[Njorun38]

That sounds like a great idea! Electrolytes can help immensely with these things especially when hydration and being able to retain hydration is part of the issue causing cramps. Vitamin B1 for cramps caused be nerve issues is another thing that just came to mind.

[BiggKidd]

With spring here and summer fast approaching I started getting a few more cramps and had to start upping my salt intake for the season. It’s not as easy to do as one would think as I have a hard time just remembering to do it on a daily basis. The cramps eased right back off thankfully.

[RuesMountainHome-Reta]

Thank you, I would have never thought of salt being the problem. I have lived with these debilitating cramps for 20 years. The doctors could not find any reason for them. I have tried potassium, magnesium creams, cbd oil, pain creams and muscle relaxers. The magnesium oil helped with the restless leg syndrome, but not the cramping. If I did anything strenuous I would get 3 or 4 that night and not be able to walk well for a couple of days because my legs would be sore. They got so frequent that I would wake up and thank God for a good nights sleep without cramps. A few weeks ago, I started putting a small pinch of pink salt in each glass of water I drank and upped my water intake. The cramps have all but subsided and the restless legs syndrome is gone. Yesterday I shoveled gravel dressing up the road front where they fixed the drainage ditches and repaved it leaving in front of the house a mess and loaded and unloaded a rick of wood and last night I only had two very light ones that I was able to walk off instead of writhing in agony.

[Summerhat-n-Chicks]

Has anyone of you ever heard of drinking pickle juice as a sports drink ? Apparently it has everything or much of what your body/muscles need to function. I used to have a lot of calf cramps in my younger days and started drinking pickle juice, haven’t had cramps for a loooong time.

[Sneaky1776]

I have. And I’m told it works great. I just can’t get passed the taste. We use Celtic salt in our drinking water and take magnesium. Works great

[Summerhat-n-Chicks]

Yes, took me a while to get the right flavor for my taste buds.