Leg cramps

i am 6 months post op and I am having leg cramping that increasing in frequency and pain level. It hurts to the bone and tightens the muscles so much that I can't get my foot to drop down where I can walk. 

I'm going to call my doctor tomorrow but I'd love to get opinions here. Thanks 

Cramps are most often lack of electrolytes, dehydration, low potassium. Those are the most common, but it can be other things.

I had this problem since surgery too. After a test to rule out blood clots I started drinking Gatorade (G2- less sugar****ep a bottle in the fridge and drink a cup every couple of days. No cramps since.

As others said - electrolytes... Sodium, potasium, calcium, magnesium.. 

For me, too much caffeine causes leg cramps the next day.

I don't drink anything with caffeine but that's good to know. Thanks. 

Dehydration leads to lower potassium and magnesium levels, which leads to cramping.  Low carb eating can also affect potassium levels.

In my case, my magnesium levels took a huge hit over time.  I take 500mg of Magnesium Citrate a day, otherwise I wake up with horrible foot and leg cramps.

Keep hydrated, and add a magnesium and/or potassium supplement, and see where you are at in a few days.  Make sure it's NOT magnesium oxide, which is cheap and widely available, but useless other than as a laxative.

Audrey

Did any of you have labs drawn and that's how you figured out the electrolyte problem?

My labs did not include electrolytes initially... I learned by trial and error what caused them... now I have the doctor add them when she gets the other labs drawn (she is an obgyn so this isn't her specialty but she does pretty much anything I ask her to do). 

FYI even with supplementation, I am mere tenths of a point away from too low... and if I miss my mag for more than a week, the cramps come back with a vengeance. 

Audrey

It's not really necessary to do lab work to figure it out or fix it. Drink a big bottle of Powerade Zero, add some extra salt in your meals. If it persists, ask your doc, but you can make this go away really easy on your own.