It will act as a laxative, Mel.

A 400mg tablet Magnesium Oxide provides about 8mg of mag to your body.
the rest is not absorbed.

That is why I gave you some recommendations in the past.
3oz of unsalted almonds = 270 mg.

You can try getting from food, if you don't want a supplement.
Check out my magnesium thread for links-- it is on the vitamin forum here.

Types to look for:
magnesium citrate
magnesium glycinate
magnesium lactate
SlowMag -- comes in a generic much less $ MagDelay or Mag 64 would be around $6.00 at a WalMart. You can ask your nearest pharmacy to order for you. But I have found the lowest prices at WalMart and Costco. Some other pharmacies may sock it to you --like RiteAid.
here is one example online:
http://www.wonderlabs.com/itemleft.p...FTyKOAod83K3uw

Edamame beans...these are just great. Not expensive and provide huge nutrition as well as magnesium:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c22ZF.html

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20bh.html

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20nn.html

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20gM.html

Just adding some unsalted almonds and spinach to your salad may provide you\
with your RDA of magnesium. Beans as well.

Here is another table:
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food...sium-foods.htm

So should I just not take any of these magnesium pills that I just bought for $3.00. I mean, it's just $3.00. I'll go tomorrow and get the Magnesium Citrate from Solgar, That's what my friend takes. She loves it and it stopped her leg cramps.

I will get the edaname beans too.

I love spinach by the way. But it has iron and it constipates me. I hate not going and I go every day, (I eat salads and fresh veggies every day).

Isn't it amazing that when I cancelled the dentist's appointment, I could stand on my tippy toes. Did it again tonight. I reached over my refrigerator and stood on my toes. I haven't been able to do this for days.

It's all in my head!!!!

mel

but don't double/triple up or increase them.

The Edamames are very very good, very tasty and full of great nutrients.
I love em.

Good Morning Mel......and all!
I've been having those rotten leg cramps in my calf too! Gosh they hurt SO bad! I wake up in the night (after I've stretched my leg out) and BAM major leg cramp that wakes me up totally! I try to relax my leg muscle to stop the cramp but usually have to rub my leg till it ends the cramp. What a terrible way to wake up!
I can't take magnesium because of my Interstatial Cystitis but will buy some unsalted almonds today at Whole Foods. We eat Edamae already but will buy more at the store today. Y'all are great with all the info you provide here! Have a great Sat!

Dont forget that you also may need to be drinking more water to prevent cramps.

Thanks Hey Joe;

Believe me, I drink plenty of water.

And Roxie, why can't you take Magnesium, if you have Interstitial Cystitis?? Does it make the bladder spasms worse.

I would never want to go through what I went through about 10 years ago. Lated about 4 years for me. They gave me every test in the book and everything was fine.

The day they prescribed muscle relaxers (and even before I took one out of the pill box), I was standing in the shower with the hot water running over me, and the spasm just stopped. Went away and never came back. I was never so relieved in all my life.

That's why I think (with me), it's all stress, mental, in my head (I"m trying to put it nicely, so you all don't think I'm nuts).

I mean, how else can you explain that right after I cancelled my dental appoinment, I could stand on my tippy toes.

God, what the brain puts us through.

I'm going out right now (It's gorgeous outside and I just put Alan to bed, he just came off of his night shift). I did the Theraspa thing on his calves. Puts him to sleep in 5 minutes flat.)

Going to see who sells edaname.

God, now I'm buying edaname!!! What's next for me, Seaweed???? lol

Mrs. D, I forgot to thank you for the great links you sent. We bought the Almonds and beans yesterday at WholeFoods. I sure hope they do the trick for me!

They work for me!

Even the fun kind of stress can contribute to muscle cramps. I was on vacation last week, and when I would try to relax and go to sleep, my toes would start moving in different directions of their own accord, causing cramps up my feet and into my calves. I did gentle stretching each morning to loosen the muscles, but the parts that had cramped up stayed sore for days afterward.

The magnesium that works best for me is the glycinate, which I take along with calcium citrate. I still get the occasional odd cramp, like last week, but nothing like I used to get before the supplements. I used to have occasions where nearly every muscle in the leg would seize up at the same time, but the supplements and epsom salt soaks have helped immensely.

fanfaire