BBonBoard

I was sound asleep tonight, when all of a sudden I got a very rude awakening. I had a cramp in the back of my calf. When I tried to move my leg, my whole calf became rock hard and I had the worst feeling Charlie Horse ever. I couldnt move my leg as the pain was unbearable. What would cause this? Any of you other ladies have this happen? Now I am wide awake at 4 in the morning.

Orange lady

OMG I had this too. Tha pain was unbearable. It woke me up, I had to get up and rub the leg til I could start feeling again! I read somewhere that leg cramps are perfectly normal. It's apparently something to do with your circulation not being so good. I'm more careful now about how I stretch in bed too. Otherwise ooouuuccchh!!

BBonBoard

It scared the bajeebees out of me. I didnt know what was going on. It feels much better this morning but omg, i thought I was gonna die.

Seity

Urgh, I hate those! I used to get them all the time. I hear a vitamin deficiency can cause them. I seem to recall potassium, but that's based on memory, so I could be wrong. I hear that eating bananas is supposed to help prevent them.

BBonBoard

i think I will go to the market today and pick up some bananas cause I dont want to feel that pain again.

Pussycat

I get them too, pretty much every night actually for the last 2-3 weeks but they usually are not hideously unbearable, as in I can actually get through them with a gentle stretch.

VAinTX

Had a couple of these as well... so I started having a banana a day. I plan to ask the Dr. about it when I go on Tuesday

QTPie

Someone at prenatal yoga, this evening, said that she thinks that bananas actually cause them for her.... bizzare but true

A few other things that can cause them:
- dehydration.
- either drinking too much water and/or not having enough salt in your diet (if you are very hydrated, then your blood becomes too dillute). This is common for athletes (i.e. some drink a lot of water, to stay hydrated, and don't replace the electrolytes)

There are other causes too, but those are the most common. So keep hydrated, but try not to over-hydrate and try to ensure that you have enough sodium in your diet.

ANother thing that my prenatal yoga teacher suggested were gentle "standing calf stretches" before bed (see http://www.foot-ankle.co.uk/content/...lestendonitis/). Keep it fairly gentle - since over-exerting can cause it to counter-cramp.

Best thing you can do if/when you get a calf cramp is to get out of bed and walk around on it - will hopefully loosen it up (despite being a little odd in the middle of the night...).

Hope it helps.
QT

BBonBoard

I was at work tonight, and the pain started getting worse. I dont know whats up, my calf has been cramped up alllllll day. I have tried to stretch the muscle, and that doesnt seem to be working.

Szaffi

I had this regularly around wk 16-20, now only rarely. I ate bananas, took prenatal vitamins, and drank lots, so I'm not sure what was the cause of it. Stretching gently helps.