Very Serious Cramps

"Phil Conundrum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I too have been on Low Carb since about 11/2003. In the first couple
of weeks I had some cramping but then I always did in the first couple
of weeks of any diet.

However, as I have started to add carbs back in OR if heaven forbid, I
have a HIGH CARB day - I pay the price that night.

My cramps always occur at night. They are the same crippling top of
the foot move up the shin cramps that may take 30-45 minutes to walk
off.

At worst, they are like I am a gimp. My foot is twisted so I can not
place it flat on the floor. At best they are just painful as Hell.

Here are the facts as relate to me:

1. If I keep my carbs to less than 40g per day they do not occur.
2. I always take 2 Potassium Gluconate supplements before bedtime.
3. If I get up with the cramps I take 3 more.
4. They are so painful, I am afraid to do more Carbs even though
sometimes on special occasions like yesterday - it is nice. (I was up
at 3:30am with awful cramps this morning).

So, without getting into the dos and don'ts of supplements etc. Who
else is experiencing these symptoms ??? And any suggestions ??

Thanks
/pc

I too also often have foot cramps during the night, but mine appear more
related to dehydration. If I get up and drink a pint of water, they are
abated.

I guess everyone is different. I do take vitamins, but not potassium
supplements.

On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 08:41:23 -0500, "Jim Bard" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I too also often have foot cramps during the night, but mine appear more
related to dehydration. If I get up and drink a pint of water, they are
abated.

I guess everyone is different. I do take vitamins, but not potassium
supplements.

If I have a very minor cramps then it the water does seem to help
immediately. I can go back to sleep.

Have you noticed a correlation between frequency/intensity and carb
intake ?

/pc

I get very bad cramps during very low carb phases (phase 1,2). This
includes cramps across my rib cages and short-but-not-painful-at-all
pinching feelings around my chest. They freaked me out at first. They
were suddenly and short pinch/spasm sensations. They never hurt and
they happen for a fraction of a second--leaving me wondering "what the
hell was that!?" The legs, foot and side cramps however were painful!

I got them while I was well hydrated, well more than half-a-gallon of
water per day. A multivitamin did not seem to help it. However one of
Atkin's supplements did

http://www23.netrition.com/dieters_advantage_page.html

This one always made the cramps go away.
the major elements in it are:
Calcium
Magnesium
Chromium
Pyridoxine (B6)
Phosphorus
Iodine

I seem to recall that the first three are mentioned in Atkins' book as
a common deficiency from low-carbing. I think it may have even been
mentioned specifically in regards to muscle cramps. (Atkins does say
that this is a common issue for Phase I).

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
350/270/Oct-261/225
Atkins since Jan 12, 2004
Maint. not counting (CCLL=50-60)

Thanks. I am taking all the recommended supplements and I did have
all of the symptoms you mentioned very early in the diet.

I am willing to accept that there perhaps is mineral deficiency some
where in my regimen. Do you take any other Atkins supplements or
Atkins recommended supplements in addition to the ADVANTAGE ?

My problems really occur when I am taking in MORE carbs and not less.
For example if I eat some pasta or white sugar anything - I can
guarantee myself the cramp problems that night.

So, long as I am maintaining a low carb lifestyle I am not getting the
cramps at this point in my program.

/pc

On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 17:27:56 GMT, DigitalVinyl <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I get very bad cramps during very low carb phases (phase 1,2). This
includes cramps across my rib cages and short-but-not-painful-at-all
pinching feelings around my chest. They freaked me out at first. They
were suddenly and short pinch/spasm sensations. They never hurt and
they happen for a fraction of a second--leaving me wondering "what the
hell was that!?" The legs, foot and side cramps however were painful!

I got them while I was well hydrated, well more than half-a-gallon of
water per day. A multivitamin did not seem to help it. However one of
Atkin's supplements did

http://www23.netrition.com/dieters_advantage_page.html

This one always made the cramps go away.
the major elements in it are:
Calcium
Magnesium
Chromium
Pyridoxine (B6)
Phosphorus
Iodine

I seem to recall that the first three are mentioned in Atkins' book as
a common deficiency from low-carbing. I think it may have even been
mentioned specifically in regards to muscle cramps. (Atkins does say
that this is a common issue for Phase I).

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
350/270/Oct-261/225
Atkins since Jan 12, 2004
Maint. not counting (CCLL=50-60)

When you are in the pool and get an instep cramp, kick with your toes pulled
up towards your knee. Then, when you get to the end of the pool, put that
foot on the wall and thrust your body off the wall strongly, using just that
foot. This usually gets rid of the cramp.

Pat in TX

"Phil Conundrum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Lily wrote on 6/9/2004:

Quoted message said:

Recently, mostly while swimming but sometimes while at work, I have
started
to get the WORST foot cramps. I had been mowing before I went swimming
for
about 3 hours, and i had plenty of water while doing this (not sure if its
related but it seems to be since I do not seem to get them as often if I
dont walk or mow first). They are sort of like a charley horse because the
more I try to stretch out my arch the worse they get and then my calf will
start up as well. I had to get out of the pool the other night after only
22 of my 35 laps completed because I was pretty much incapacitated by it.
My friends magic answer was "Eat a banana or drink some gatorade before
you
swim you probably need potassium" but neither is low carb and I already
take a vitamin and extra calcuim daily. What might be another solution
that IS lower carb?

--
Low Carb since 11/12/03
235ish/175/135
Goal for June: 165 for a loss of 10 lbs.

=======================================================

I too have been on Low Carb since about 11/2003. In the first couple
of weeks I had some cramping but then I always did in the first couple
of weeks of any diet.

However, as I have started to add carbs back in OR if heaven forbid, I
have a HIGH CARB day - I pay the price that night.

My cramps always occur at night. They are the same crippling top of
the foot move up the shin cramps that may take 30-45 minutes to walk
off.

At worst, they are like I am a gimp. My foot is twisted so I can not
place it flat on the floor. At best they are just painful as Hell.

Here are the facts as relate to me:

1. If I keep my carbs to less than 40g per day they do not occur.
2. I always take 2 Potassium Gluconate supplements before bedtime.
3. If I get up with the cramps I take 3 more.
4. They are so painful, I am afraid to do more Carbs even though
sometimes on special occasions like yesterday - it is nice. (I was up
at 3:30am with awful cramps this morning).

So, without getting into the dos and don'ts of supplements etc. Who
else is experiencing these symptoms ??? And any suggestions ??

Thanks
/pc

Have a bit of quinine water and it may help. This is a very old remedy that
my mother told me about but plese check with your doctor first🙂

http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/6752.html

Phil Conundrum said:

Thanks. I am taking all the recommended supplements and I did have
all of the symptoms you mentioned very early in the diet.

I am willing to accept that there perhaps is mineral deficiency some
where in my regimen. Do you take any other Atkins supplements or
Atkins recommended supplements in addition to the ADVANTAGE ?

I was taking Atkins daily (Basic3) vitamin (3 pills a day) and Atkins
Essential oils(2/day)

However I would forget to take these and end up not getting a
full-days dose. I tended to instead just do a One-A-Day.

Dieter's Advantage. This seemed to be the one that eliminated my
cramps. The One-A-Day by itself didn't eliminate the cramps. I do
recall getting cramps while I was taking the one-a-day and realizing
it wasn't cutting it. I then resumed with Dieter's Advantage and they
were gone within 48 hours.

Accel - I tried this never saw any consistent difference, but I was
very sloppy about taking it properly before each meal.

I also took CoQ10 and Potassium Gluconate. CoQ10 I took almost daily
for a while. Potassium more hit and miss.

Quoted message said:

My problems really occur when I am taking in MORE carbs and not less.
For example if I eat some pasta or white sugar anything - I can
guarantee myself the cramp problems that night.

That's interesting that it seems triggered by high carb days. I've not
heard that.Atkins mentions the night cramps are due to "rapid
excretion of calcium, magnesium or potassium. Dieters' Advantage takes
care of the first two and Potassium I took separately. But I think it
was calcium or magnesium deficiency for me. I was a huge milk drinker
before low carb. I do drink 1-2 half gallons of Hood's milk a week, so
that may explain why i don't get cramps now. (I've been skipping
vitamins for weeks now)

Quoted message said:

So, long as I am maintaining a low carb lifestyle I am not getting the
cramps at this point in my program.

/pc

On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 17:27:56 GMT, DigitalVinyl <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I get very bad cramps during very low carb phases (phase 1,2). This
includes cramps across my rib cages and short-but-not-painful-at-all
pinching feelings around my chest. They freaked me out at first. They
were suddenly and short pinch/spasm sensations. They never hurt and
they happen for a fraction of a second--leaving me wondering "what the
hell was that!?" The legs, foot and side cramps however were painful!

I got them while I was well hydrated, well more than half-a-gallon of
water per day. A multivitamin did not seem to help it. However one of
Atkin's supplements did

http://www23.netrition.com/dieters_advantage_page.html

This one always made the cramps go away.
the major elements in it are:
Calcium
Magnesium
Chromium
Pyridoxine (B6)
Phosphorus
Iodine

I seem to recall that the first three are mentioned in Atkins' book as
a common deficiency from low-carbing. I think it may have even been
mentioned specifically in regards to muscle cramps. (Atkins does say
that this is a common issue for Phase I).

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
350/270/Oct-261/225
Atkins since Jan 12, 2004
Maint. not counting (CCLL=50-60)

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
350/270/Oct-261/225
Atkins since Jan 12, 2004
Maint. not counting (CCLL=50-60)

"Pat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When you are in the pool and get an instep cramp, kick with your toes

pulled

Quoted message said:

up towards your knee. Then, when you get to the end of the pool, put that
foot on the wall and thrust your body off the wall strongly, using just

that

Quoted message said:

foot. This usually gets rid of the cramp.

Or don't kick with pointy toes so to reduce the chance of getting cramps in
the first place. I was told to kick using only my thighs and leave the rest
of legs floppy. Apparently this help with the rolling and reduce the drag
that would otherwise be created if one kicks with whole pair of legs.

I tried kicking only using my calves or my feet as per the suggestions I've
found on the web. But I found kicking using only my thighs fare way better
than the other options. Theoretically speaking, kicking only using the
calves reduce the use of oxygen because there are less muscles in the calves
than the thighs, kicking using only the feet (flutter kicks) reduce the use
of oxygen even further. Anyway, flutter kicks was ultra slow, and the calve
kick was even slower!! So, kick with your thighs - improve speed and reduce
chance of getting cramps!!!

Phil Conundrum" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

So, without getting into the dos and don'ts of supplements etc. Who
else is experiencing these symptoms ??? And any suggestions ??

A herbal remedy has been recommended on this forum in the past:
http://tinyurl.com/4beb2

Solving leg cramps have been discussed on here many times, it'd do you loads
of benefit if you google the group's archive. People often suggests taking
lite salt or upping your intake of potassium from food. Food/drinks that
are often recommended are: brazil nuts, tuna, avocado, tonic water.....
etc.. Take a look at the old messages found from the search:

http://tinyurl.com/4kz7p

Hi
I had them also--calf usually when sleeping and awakened to
them--kinda related to those my wife had during pregnancy--MD told her
to drink more milk(sorry!)...I also figured it was potassium.

When it happened to me I called my MD and asked for a prescription for
Potassium supplements otherwise I would have to take a couple of
hundred over the counter pills per day(...)...he reminded me that the
1st post LC blood analysis showed Potassium at the correct level.

He suspected Quinine....so, I have been taking the terrible tasting
tablets(260MG) once each day----ya know, he was right.
Damn, those Republicans know it all....

Your mom sounds like she was right on target---the quinine water has
a little sugar or lemon or something that made it at least
palatable....

Liberal said:

"Phil Conundrum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Lily wrote on 6/9/2004:

Quoted message said:

Recently, mostly while swimming but sometimes while at work, I have
started
to get the WORST foot cramps. I had been mowing before I went swimming
for
about 3 hours, and i had plenty of water while doing this (not sure if its
related but it seems to be since I do not seem to get them as often if I
dont walk or mow first). They are sort of like a charley horse because the
more I try to stretch out my arch the worse they get and then my calf will
start up as well. I had to get out of the pool the other night after only
22 of my 35 laps completed because I was pretty much incapacitated by it.
My friends magic answer was "Eat a banana or drink some gatorade before
you
swim you probably need potassium" but neither is low carb and I already
take a vitamin and extra calcuim daily. What might be another solution
that IS lower carb?

--
Low Carb since 11/12/03
235ish/175/135
Goal for June: 165 for a loss of 10 lbs.

=======================================================

I too have been on Low Carb since about 11/2003. In the first couple
of weeks I had some cramping but then I always did in the first couple
of weeks of any diet.

However, as I have started to add carbs back in OR if heaven forbid, I
have a HIGH CARB day - I pay the price that night.

My cramps always occur at night. They are the same crippling top of
the foot move up the shin cramps that may take 30-45 minutes to walk
off.

At worst, they are like I am a gimp. My foot is twisted so I can not
place it flat on the floor. At best they are just painful as Hell.

Here are the facts as relate to me:

1. If I keep my carbs to less than 40g per day they do not occur.
2. I always take 2 Potassium Gluconate supplements before bedtime.
3. If I get up with the cramps I take 3 more.
4. They are so painful, I am afraid to do more Carbs even though
sometimes on special occasions like yesterday - it is nice. (I was up
at 3:30am with awful cramps this morning).

So, without getting into the dos and don'ts of supplements etc. Who
else is experiencing these symptoms ??? And any suggestions ??

Thanks
/pc

Have a bit of quinine water and it may help. This is a very old remedy that
my mother told me about but plese check with your doctor first🙂

http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/6752.html

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: Or don't kick with pointy toes so to reduce the chance of getting cramps
in
: the first place. I was told to kick using only my thighs and leave the
rest
: of legs floppy. Apparently this help with the rolling and reduce the drag
: that would otherwise be created if one kicks with whole pair of legs.

I might agree with kicking with the thighs, but if you don't point your toes
backward, you are actually creating drag. I don't think you could show me
any photos of Olympic caliber swimmers kicking without streamlining their
legs and feet.

Pat in TX