[lailavia]

Is this a problem for anyone and isn't it one of the signs of MS???? Today I woke and stretched out both legs, and instead of the left leg charlie horse the cramps starting running up both legs to my ankles!!!!! I managed to stop it before it crazed me out...

I know someone else has posted somewhere on this...I have been taking magnesium, eating bananas, calcium supplement.....the only difference is that I have been getting real bad arm fatigue and pain....legs always been bad...but flaring too....and I got 3 steroid shots in back for thigh pain right, the first one was a week before these cramps!!! Now my cortisol level is near to nothing and I am on cortef...

JUst happened to have an ACTC stim test right after all 3 shots,,,,,which is to be reapeated in 2 weeks...too bad I didn't know what my cortisol was before that but a random test done in January showed a 3.5 in early afternoon.....this is so freaky....I mentioned it to pimary ,.she just ran a Vitamin D test, and the endo when I called said to wait ......and is anything else going on with me...( well yeah...I am am being sent to Jhopkins for evaluation of severe fatigue in arms) so no one as usual has offered much help...

[lailavia]

THis has only been happening since I got the steroid shots and now the pills.....today I stretched out my legs and went down to my ankles again! Then I was in the bathroom and turned to look at back of my leg and felt cramping. This has never happened before. I wonder if I am losing potassium, I just read that could be a side effect of cortisone...I am calling the doctor Monday...just too weird.

[Snoopy]

I'm wondering if what your experiencing might be Spasticity.......
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/sit...ook_spasticity

There are meds to help but stretching and exercise can also help. I have stretched and have had cramping from it......just ticks me off when that happens.

[watsonsh]

lailavia

I am having some of the same problems that you have been experiencing. I had a bad thryoid with hashitoxicosis and they just took it out so I am still recovering from surgery. But my adrenals were low as well and I have beentaking cortef.

Couple things that might help. Megadoses of Vitamin C help the adrenals recover.

But make sure they check your aldosterone levels. Its part of the adrenal problem. The muscles spasms in particular were hard for me but what helped was....SALT. When you have low adrenals and aldosterone insufficiency in particular you need salt. I added it into my diet (after stupidly getting rid of it 2 years....hmmm when this all started) and when I added it back in the spasms have decreased. Now be careful especially if you have high blood pressure or cardiac sproblems.

I started with a glass of warm salt water twice a day and feel better.

And be especially careful if you are taking too much potassium it will only exaccerabte a low salt/alsoterone level and make you feel even worse because then the ratio of sodium to potassium is out os whack. Look at your blood tests and if your sodium level is lower than 140 (mine was 135) and your potassium level is above 4.0 then you likely have low aldosterone as part of your adrenal problem.
Hope it helps.

[shiney sue]

good Shelley ya beat me to the punch... Try this L and see how it helps.
Sue now if i could get my fingers to work.

[AfterMyNap]

Originally Posted by Snoopy

I'm wondering if what your experiencing might be Spasticity.......
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/sit...ook_spasticity

There are meds to help but stretching and exercise can also help. I have stretched and have had cramping from it......just ticks me off when that happens.

My thoughts exactly. I also use a percussion massager on my thighs (of all places) and it really helps when it wakes me bolt upright out of my sleep.

I take Zanaflex for it, and it helps me a great deal.

[DM]

OMG! I'm afraid to stretch my legs out anymore. A couple of nights ago, I did just that in bed, and both of my legs cramped and bent so far that I couldn't even get out of bed. The pain was horrible.

It was around 1am and DH had to help me get up.

[lailavia]

So very much.....I will look up those levels....and I do have zanaflex....I took half a tab last night and no cramps this a.m. Maybe things are evening out...but there has been a bruise/knot type pain from the first one that happened over a month ago....several sx leaning more and more to MS but no one sure yet...........all systems are malfunctioning at once!!!! Hopefully I will get some testing this week that will show something somewhere.....second time at Johns Hopkins I pray they figure out one tiny itty bitty thing....my arms are real fatigued, my whole self more so,MRI changes, neuro sending me for PN or some demylenting disease.......I spelt that wrong I know. I'm glad to hear i'm not alone with this and for the kind advice...will update....

oh shelley by the way does the cortef make you shake and tremble with exertion of ANY kind and sweat like crazy? Besides the mood swings. I had to reduce from 30 mg to 20 and still can't stand it.