Horrible leg cramps- please help!

[Belia]

I'm only 8 weeks pg, and about a week and a half ago I got a horrible leg cramp in my right calf. I think it happened while I was sleeping.... I'm having all day m/s and I'm a tense person anyway, so there ya go.

I've rubbed it (very painful), tried stretching, and heating pads, but nothing very systematic. Now the cramp is getting worse, and slowly but surely moving down to my foot and up my thigh. Now my entire leg is so sore.... I feel like my entire right leg is all twisted and tightened up. I feel like in a day or two it will be in my hip and lower back.

What do I do? Massage doesn't sound right- I don't think I could handle the pain. Pretty much any focused pressure hurts, plus the idea of a massage right now sounds terrible with the m/s. Acupuncture?

What do I ask for? How do I know the person I go to would know what they're doing? This isn't just a "hmmm... a massage would feel good."

Thanks so much for reading!

[MsBlack]

Do you know if you have varicose veins? This might sound like a no-brainer, but not everyone shows signs of external varicosities--I have a client now with a known history (in family and herself both) of deep vein troubles, but she has no external varicosities. If varicose veins run in your family, or even if not--I am wondering if this might have something to do with a blood clot or deep vein inflammation. I would see someone to get help figuring this out.

Also curious to know what other providers say on this.

[MsBlack]

OH yeah--could you be dehydrated? With the m/s, you might well be. And if so, that might be all there is to it.

[MindfulBirth]

Eating bananas (for potassium) can help leg cramps, but I'm not sure about it only being in one leg.

[midwifemom3]

I would get checked out, if you have been vomiting a lot you may have a metabolic disturbance which is causing the problem.

[Belia]

Wow... these were so not the answers I was expecting. Now I feel stupid, b/c I was just at the midwife last night and I didn't even mention anything about it. (I didn't want to bother her with too much or unimportant info. I need to do something about this not-wanting-to-be-a-bother thing.) I assumed it was just a stupid muscle thing.

No history of varicose veins. All I'm drinking is water... my husband doesn't think I'm dehydrated. I guess I'm calling the mw tomorrow. *ergh*

[ZoeyZoo]

It's rare but it could be a blood clot. Pregnancy and birth control pills are two things which make you more suseptable to them. It can be very serious if it travels. You usually have other symptoms like swelling. Again it is very rare but I thought I would mention it as a possibility since i didn't see it elsewhere.

Leg cramps in general are common in some pregnant women but I thought they happened further along.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Calcium/magnesium/potassium
Salt your food to taste
Stretches

I agree to talk to your birth professional as well though, to be safe, since it's so early.

[momileigh]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

Calcium/magnesium/potassium
Salt your food to taste
Stretches

I agree to talk to your birth professional as well though, to be safe, since it's so early.

I would add to never, ever point your toes when you're pregnant.

The best stretch for most leg cramps is to pull your toes toward your knee.

But your problem sounds more serious than a typical leg cramp, so other possibilities should be explored.

[cfiddlinmama]

Originally Posted by momileigh

I would add to never, ever point your toes when you're pregnant.

I'm curious about this, never heard of it. Could you explain why please?

OP, I know upping my magnesium intake really helped me with leg cramps. I hope you get some relief.

[DBZ]

Originally Posted by cfiddlinmama

I'm curious about this, never heard of it. Could you explain why please?

OP, I know upping my magnesium intake really helped me with leg cramps. I hope you get some relief.

I never never ever point my toes when I wake up int he morning when I am pregnant. It's something I had to learn to do when I was preggo with my oldest. Sometimes I catch myself starting to point my toes and I quickly change it to pointing my toes toward my knees. If I point my toes down I get horrid leg cramps. All I can do to undo them is to put my foot on the floor and push down with all my might until the cramp stops. I've been sore for days after a cramp like that.