For 3 nights I have had the worst muscle cramps/spasms that you can imagine. I went in for labs today to see if it is my kidneys or low potassium or ???

Started with my toes, feet, calves, thighs, hands and even facial muscles. Rather scary. Got my hubby's attention really quick and he was pushing for the ER.

I do have Dystonia which affects my eyes and my face and Dysphonia in my vocal cords. Earlier my rheumatologist diagnosed my neck as cervical dystonia. I hope and pray that I am not getting a generalized dystonia.

OK, vented. Thanks for listening.

Have a great rest of the day.

Possi

PS Don't forget to "Thunder Up" tonight!! They are doing great!!

hmmm, I never realized that is what it is called. My left leg twists away from my body. It did not do this before. Just when the Scoliosis was diagnosed by that time my leg twisting became noticeable (to me, at least). My chiropractor always tries to straighten it out but it always comes back.

I sometimes have leg cramping so fierce I can feel it for the next two days. Sore.
Is this also dystonia?

I hope it isn't now generalised dystonia too. Would it be worth having another neurology check up and see if anything has changed on neuro exam? If you end up having problems breathing or anything like that, then definitely straight to ER. I just googled "tetany" and discovered there are lots of things that can cause that kind of generalised muscle spasm, but the calcium phosphate balance being out of whack is one, so good your doc is checking bloods generally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetany

Hope you figure out what is causing it and it is something easy to deal with.

I don't know. I hope not. A neurologist diagnosed my Dysphonia and a Optho-Neurologist diagnosed the Blepharospasms/Meige manifestions of Dystonia.
The Rheumatologist diagnosed the Cervical Dystonia. My neck spasms really bad and pulls to the right side.

I just know you can really spasm with it. I don't know if you can have it like that in one leg. There are medications. I get Botox injections around my eyes and part of my face. I don't trust anyone to put Botox in my vocal cords!!

I wish you total relief!!

Blessings.
Possi

Thank you. I appreciate your caring and sharing the link.
I should hear something from the labs in the a.m. In the meanwhile, I have a script for a muscle relaxant to pick up at the pharmacy. Hoping for a much better night tonight.

Take Care.
Possi

sure that you know much more about this than i do, but i know dehydration can cause the muscle cramps, so hoping if they can address the kidney issues, that this symptom will go away. hoping its related to something that can be "fixed".

no where near as often as you describe, but i was getting calf and foot cramps. wondered why? thought it might have been perimenopause's hormonal roller coaster ride, and maybe it was. i know that wouldn't pertain to you.

but when i started magnesium (for the constipation), the nice additional affect was a decrease in those spasms. when i upped it to two pills (1 pill x 2 times a day), the cramps have pretty much disappeared. i take ~200-250 mg ? twice a day.

do you take magnesium? if not, that could help.

my rheumy also had me start taking coQ for the muscles. maybe that has helped as well?

i also take zanaflex (muscle relaxant) at bedtime. that helps my more moderate muscle spasms.

don't know the muscle relaxant that you got. but if its flexeril, and you don't like its side effects, there are much better newer ones with fewer side effects. the flexeril made me so drowsy 24/7 i couldn't function. zanaflex does that for only ~ 1 hour.

Oh Joyce how scarry. I do hope there are answers tomorrow. The muscle relaxers hopefully will help you sleep better tonight. I will be praying for you.


Cindy

The first thing I thought of was adding magnesium supplement, like Sue said too. I take it all the time and it seems to be my favorite supplement along with vitamin c. I would really consider trying it. You might be interested to google "magnesium deficiency symptoms" it is very interesting to read all the symptoms that go with magnesium deficeincy. Hope it goes away soon, take care.

Aaaaaargh! Spasms that erupt onto the scene from nowhere are THE WORST. aren't they?!?

Given that they are so widespread, I would be another person putting in my vote for adding a magnesium supplement. Anti-spasmodic agents in general (pharmaceuticals) will often make you feel fuzzy or dopey for hours, if not 'sleepy'.

The other thing I recommend to my patients who are getting cramps is a glass of tonic water in the evenings. It still contains quinidine, which is the anti-malarial drug that they used in the tropics in colonial times. Of course, the accompanying gin was always optional!

Be aware that it is an extremely bitter substance, so tonic water is *loaded* with sugar to mask the nasty taste - something to be aware of if you are diabetic. Of course there is always Diet Tonic, which still has quinidine - but are you OK with aspartame or other artificial sweeteners? (a poison in their own right, IMO! )

praying for quick relief, Possi.

Oh Joyce,

The Spasm fairy has hit my house too lately. I started back on the no starch diet, and WHAM, I was miserable. I think it is magnesium deficiency for me too. I was supplementing but Magnesium is not well digested when we are on certain meds, for me this meant the anti-biotic I was trying and the PPI stomach protector I took with my nsaid for a couple days last week. (There are several common prescriptions listed that interfere with magnesium).

I had to stop the anti biotic and start eating some magnesium containing foods (grains, beans, peanut butter) that I had been avoiding and I am now feeling much better.

It's such a dance, isn't it??

Hoping you find some answers and figure things out soon.

Feel better soon.
-Donette