This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Sat watching tv last night and suddenly my feet felt hot/burning sensation.. then leg cramp kicked in.. this is a new symptom for me as i get it allot in arm. Suddenly my foot went crazy..i had no control over it unless i pressed it hard to the ground.. The muscle went that tight my foot went stiff it felt like my anckle was being strangled and my bones were going to snap. omg ive never had pain like it.. i was crying my eyes out i dont know if it was pain or fright. Took my diazepam did not really help .. Hubby wanted me to go to hospital but i knew i would not make it without too much pain and i would be sat for hours to be told to go home...I sat it out till it eased enought to take a sleeping pill and go to bed...

This morning woke early .. tried to walk on it .. i think im panicing myself to put pressure on it as i dont want to trigger it off again.. my right foot feels like sponge ....

I think i will ring GP see if theres anything other than Diazepam i can take ..

Im sitting here worrying if its going to happen again.. every little spasm i jump lol

Do anyone know of any meds or excersize i can do to help it?
Cheers Rachy xxxx

Sorry - I can't suggestion a useful exercise but ring your GP and see what she suggests. Least that way you might know what you can do about it if it happens again.

Sorry to hear you had such bad muscle cramps. I took zanaflex or tizanidine or baclofen for muscle spasms. These help with stiffness but leave the legs rather floppy and gave me a dry mouth.

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3 years antibiotics, 06/09 bilateral jug stents at C1, 05/11 ballooning of both jug valves, 07/12 stenting of renal vein, azygos & jug valve ballooning,

rachy there are a few folks on here using magnesium to good effect for cramps and spasm. some have a powder called natural calm that dissolves in water. a friend of mine has recently started on a different product that is also very soluble but is supposedly better than natural calm. i'm not sure why yet - when she was telling me, she couldn't recall the name of it, she'd only just had someone at work recommend it. when i figure it out i'll report back.
for me magnesium helps get rid of a number of issues one being muscle spasticity.
your problem sounds far more nasty, but the magnesium might make a dent in the situation.
mag's supposed to be best absorbed on an empty stomach. there are soluble and insoluble forms. the more soluble, the more easily absorbed. the less soluble, the more it will go through you and give you the runs.
with natural calm i understand people can tolerate 600mg at bed time without spending too much time in the loo.
hopefully cheer will chime in on this thread to relay her hubby's issues and her process getting a bedtime dosage sorted out.
myself i normally just take powder in capsules, 250mg in the morning, and 250-500mg at bedtime.
hope that helps some!

cheers guys i almost want to cut thru the muscle now to stop it tensing lol im on my way to GP .. i spoke with him on phone he asked if i had a temparature lol why i dont know... at the moment my right eye is drooping too and my whole body shakes.. i dont like it ...

ugh sounds nasty. well if mag is going to work for you, it works pretty fast. hope you can get something today! do you have a good multi too?

Docs gave me a supply of baclofen to see how i get on if this dont work i dont know what to do .. all its seems to have done so far is make me tierd .. spasms still there but ill give it time to work..

Cheers once again

Rachy xx

seriously, get your hands on some magnesium. when the chemist recommended it to me at first i thought it had to be a coincidence how fast it helped, but i've learned better since. magnesium is important to muscle function. calcium is about tensing, and magnesium is about relaxing. it doesn't make you tired or floppy.

I can second what Jimmy says about magnesium.
Lori

Cheers Jimmy .. i will give it a try


Cheers again for replys....

Mike (hubby) rang out of hours doctor today as im still spasming and cramping quite bad i fell asleep earlier and woke up screaming ..mike said id be twitching and wimpering in sleep... the doctor said to double dose of baclofen.. i will try again and see how it goes.. i find my whole body is shaking but dont know if its the pain ....

i will sit it out a while as i hate going to hospital..

Rachyxxxx

Rachy...
Are you in the midst of an exacerbation? Are the spasms new symptoms?

Have you ever tried solumedrol (IV of prednisone) or steroids during flares? They really helped my husband during his first flare. He still has painful spasms left over, but they are bearable. He's able to sleep thru them with a mixture of baclofen and magnesium.

Wishing you a solution...I know how horrible these are.
best,
AC

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Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

You can take melatonin that helps you sleep along with B6 and magnesium, valerian (herb) and 2 gramms GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) one hour before go to bed which calms you and promotes human growth factor that stimulates nerve growth as a bonus.

Hi Rachy -

I've been lurking for a while but upon reading your post I am compelled to write. I am so sorry to read of your current battle with the cramps and spasms, this is quite familiar to me and I feel for your pain.

I had similar to what you are describing on an intermittent basis for several years progressing to a nightly basis for well over a year. Several times every night, both feet, ankles and legs spasming and contorting in waves between which I could find moments of sleep for perhaps 40 or 50 minutes at a shot. After particularly bad episodes I had great difficulty walking. (You may wish to Google "myoclonus+multiple+sclerosis" for some interesting reading.) I had an idiot of a GP who refused to acknowledge the severity of this progression, or my ongoing reports of other neuro symptoms over many years, and kept suggesting sleep medication (Ambien, Soma, etc.) or the ubiquitous "anti-depressants"... but that's another story.... and alas, a story too familiar to many during their long slog to diagnosis.

Ultimately back in February I had a whopper episode and horrified friends witnessing this called 911, and it took a new consulting physician (a podiatrist!) about 42 seconds to get a brief history from me and surmise it might be MS. And then the new adventure began....

I wanted to share that I started with Baclofen, and the improvement was immediate. It was my first night of uninterrupted sleep in about 8 years. I have a very low threshhold to any medication so I only needed 20mg at night. I also worked with my Neurologist and his in-house Physical Therapist and Nutritionist and began supplementing with --yup -- magnesium, potassium, the B's, D3, among others. I have also taken up daily core-building exercises and Yoga under the guidance of a personal trainer knowledgeable in my neuro/muscular issues. I weaned off (important - don't suddenly stop) the Baclofen after about 45 days -- it gave me some seriously dry mouth and I wanted to know if my new nutrition/supplement/exercise regimen would hold things at bay.

I'm delirious to report that I have not had a single episode of the excruciating foot/ankle/leg spasms and cramping and significant mobility losses since that last 911 whopper in mid-February. I now sleep like a rock every night. The various typical sensory weirdnesses and some loss of functionality in one leg that I've had for many years have improved maybe 30%. My neurologist says "Keep doing what you're doing and I'll see you next year."

In summary, what worked for me was (1) getting referred to a Neurologist who listened (oh blessed day!), (2) Baclofen (temporary), (3) ongoing nutritional/vitamin supplementation (with emphasis on magnesium/potassium/B's) and (4) strength- and core-building/Yoga. Given that I battled with intermittent cramping and spasms and mobility issues for many years, and with daily multiple attacks for over a year, I think it unlikely that this was something that spontaneously remitted. Between the Baclofen, which gave me an immediate break from the pain and the resulting sleep deprivation and exhaustion, and the nutritional/vitamin/exercise aspects that incrementally rebuilt my physical reserves and stamina, the improvement in my health -- and the quality of my life - is incalculable. I want to emphasize that I always imagined Yoga to be about as exciting as watching paint dry -- I'm a Type A personality and in times past you couldn't pay me to try it -- but now I deeply believe that the benefits and results specific to my Yoga sessions are ginormous -- and go figure, I find that I actually loooove it. My hope is that perhaps something in my experience will be of immediate and long-term help to you as well.

second that re the nutrition stuff. i learnt about the bs on my own and they were a miracle, and the pharmacist taught me about the magnesium. i went back to him and he said potassium. so now i too am on b complex, mag, potassium, it totally helps you sleep and calms the muscle spasticity. i have to get back on the program with more of my usual goodies - have been off all routine since last saturday, held up pretty well but i could feel it starting to fall off at lunch today back to the old standby routine! AFTER a bath.