I had a post all ready to publish (well, it was in my head and I have pictures!) about last night's dinner, which was DELICIOUS, but it's going to wait another day. Because of this.
I was awakened from a sound sleep around 11:15 p.m. by the most excruciating pain in my right inner thigh, right above my knee. This is either the third or fourth time it's happened in the last two years. It started in late May, 2012.
Dr. Google hasn't done much more research about this condition. Last night the cramping also affected my left leg. When it hits, you literally cannot move your legs, it hurts so bad. I was screaming in pain, but because my husband was on the other side of the house and I had the door shut, he couldn't hear me. I finally managed to grab my phone and call him.
The only thing I could remember from previous online searches was that drinking pickle juice provides almost immediate relief. I Back in May of 2012 I wrote that we were going to keep potassium-rich foods and Gatorade on hand. Obviously (being paleo/primalish) I'm not drinking Gatorade (nor have I, not once since then). But we had bananas, so I ate one and tried to go back to sleep.
I was, however, afraid to go back to sleep. Eventually I did, but it took a long, long time. I used my phone to do more investigating and the only information I could find was from forum-type websites that might as well be called damnthathurts.com. Legitimate medical sites talk about blood clots and bulging disks and diabetic neuropathy.
And this ain't none of that.
All I know now – and all I knew then, after the first episode – is that other people experience the same thing and no one seems to know what causes it.
I'm going to be more careful about "personal hydration," as George Carlin liked to call it. I typically don't drink much water, and yesterday was no exception. It was, however, exceptionally warm and humid, and I did chores and walked and worked outside and ran errands from early morning until dinner was done.
Y'all are really sweet about telling me I'm not old. But wow. Do I ever feel it after a night like the last one.
2 comments:
I'm mindful of potassium intake because I play guitar, and hand cramps can be pretty painful too. But I'm probably also chronically dehydrated, and now trying to be more mindful of that. Here's my thinking about your (our) problem: A little gentle stretching warm-up of the muscles goes a long way, and drinking water shortly before and/or during such exertion is critically important for flushing out the fluids that otherwise accumulate around our muscles, causing fatigue and cramps and probably other bad stuff if we don't give our bodies what we need to wash them away. Water is what our bodies need most. All caffeinated beverages are diuretics, so they rob our body of more water than they give it. The original Gatorade was a great way to replenish electrolytes after vigorous exercise, but since Pepsi acquired Gatorade it's loaded with high-fructose corn syrup and that's one of the worst things we can consume. It might be a better idea to keep a little Pedialyte or some such product around, in case of emergency. Just my random thoughts ... :)
This might be more convenient to keep around: http://www.skratchlabs.com/collections/drinks
It probably is just working out in the heat. I have also heard that statins can cause leg cramps. Don't know if you take them, but if you do, you might want to talk to the Dr.
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