How do I stop these painful Leg Muscle Spasms in the middle of the night?

Question

Hi, I'm 15 years old and occasionally (3-5 times a week) I wake up at about 4 in the morning with a sudden, extremely painful leg pain which is like a spasm, its so extremely painful Its like I almost have a mini seizure and twitch, and after about 2-5 minutes it goes away and I fall asleep the next minute.

Its mainly my calf muscle the front of it and the inner, back of it and usually my left leg; not my quads or my ankles.

I'm not sure how do describe the pain, but its similar to a straining pain, almost feels like too much blood os flowing to that area too fast and it just hurts like F#$%...

If you ever experienced it or know how to prevent it, care to shed some light?

Answer 1

As some others have said you need more potassium in your diet.   I used to get cramps and now one of my daughters does as well.

Eat a banana a day or take a supplement.  They will go away quite quickly.

Answer 2

Nobody here is qualified to shed light on any medical issue.  See a doctor

Answer 3

I used to get those when I was young. Go read up on potassium and how it relates to the body. A banana before bed will stop the cramping. Good luck :)

Answer 4

It sounds to me like you have what is known as Restless Leg Syndrome. My wife suffers from the same thing from time to time. Sometimes it can be brought on by poor blood flow through the legs. It can also be caused if your under a lot of stress, or if you suffer from any kind of insomnia. Usually it helps to get up and walk around. If that doesn't help, you should try stretching your leg and hip muscles in order to get the blood flowing again. If none of that works, sometimes massaging your legs will help, you can either do this yourself, or have somebody do it for you. Seeing how your only fifteen, you'll probably want to do this yourself. You can also use heating pads on your legs as well. If you try these, and none of them work, or if this gets worse, you'll want to be seen by a doctor. The cause could be something other than "RLS".

Answer 5

Charlie horse.....eat bananas as that sometimes help and if they continue to be like that you need to talk to your Dr to make sure there isn't something more going on.  Sometimes it is a circulation problem, sometimes it is a potassium problem, sometimes it is other things.

Answer 6

Lessen the intake of salt.  Also, everyday, before going to bed, apply baby oil on the painful area of your feet.  If you can manage to do this......... wrapping your knee with plastic bag before going to bed, PLEASE DO IT.  But be sure to replace it with a new one every after 30 minutes.  Because if you failed to replace the plastic bag with a new one, there is a tendency that you will have blisters.  

Putting plastic bag will lessen or ease the pain.  But on the following day, PLEASE, DO NOT TAKE A BATH.  I REPEAT, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE A BATH.  Or else, taking a bath will only worsen the situation.  

I hope this will help.  Do take care and GOD BLESS!

Answer 7

how is your back ..some times it has to do with your spine stressing on the nerves..maybe the way you sits or the way you exercise .do MR..or MRI..and potassium supplement is a good suggestion if you aren't eating well or on diet ..or vomiting..but again your back is involved..see the way you sleep..change the mattress..

I did a disk operation at 26 and had similar pain 9 years before it

Answer 8

Hmm I don't really know what to tell you there. Are you pregnant first off because this is the pregnancy section. and secondly maybe just try a different sleeping position. If you sleep on your side, then start sleeping on your back or on the other side. try putting a pillow between your knees when you sleep. But if you still get the pain just flex your foot by bringing your toes to you and pull back on them ( like when youre stretching before you run)

hope that helped

Answer 9

I used to get those all the time.  They hurt so bad I would wake up screaming some times.  I found that it was a combination of not getting enough potassium and not drinking enough water.  Eat a banana every day and make sure you drink 8 to 10 glasses of water.  If you are still having these pains in a couple of weeks, go see your doctor.

Answer 10

try taking a potassium supplement. A deficiency can cause these pains.

edit: I didn't even notice this was pregnancy section. Definitely keep up your intake of electrolytes(especially potassium) and keep your vitamin/mineral intake up with a multi vitamin (prenatal if you're pregnant) Also Fish oil and flax are very important.

Answer 11

You probably have a magnesium deficiency. Do you crave chocolate too? That is a symptom.

I recommend taking a magnesium powder before bed. It should work a treat.

Eat more magnesium rich foods too, like bananas