Foot Cramps Please Help!
 

I would really appreciate it if you guys could help with this. I have been having the worse cramping in my left foot just about everytime I get on my treadmill in the evening. If I'm just walking I rarely have it but if I get on the treadmill and walk at anything over a slow pace any distane over 1 or 2 tenths of a mile, my foot just cramps and is a real killer. I have not given up but it is pretty discouraging. I can get off sometimes and start again and get in a little more time till it starts again. Does this mean I need more sinemet? I am currently taking 400 mg total, but try to take it earlier in the day to get through my job as normally as possible. Anyway, Have you experienced this, and what have you done, if anything, to help? Thanks much! FG

Me too Floridagal
 

Yes, I get it too.
I've had DBS so I only get a fraction of the dystonia in one foot in particular when I'm working out at the gym still but it can be painful enough to stop.
I find now if I pause for a minute or two and massage my foot it helps whereas before I had surgery it got to the stage where it meant I was well and truly off and in need of a Sinemet.
Perhaps try stopping and massaging it till the dystonia subsides and if that doesn't work upping the Sinemet by say half a tablet before you work out?
Cheers,
Lee

possibly dystonia
 

Dystonia
Dystonia is an involuntary contraction of muscles in one or more parts of the body. The disorder is classified based on the group of affected muscles, like neck (spasmodic torticollis), eyelids (blepharospasm), voice (spasmodic dysphonia), jaw (Meige syndrome), or generalized dystonia. The latter is usually hereditary.

Tremor in a body part affected by dystonia is a well-known phenomena. However, the mechanism of it is unknown. The pattern of tremor differs from ET. Dystonic Tremor is localized to the dystonic body part, has an irregular pattern with variable frequency, and usually resolves with complete rest. Gestes antagonistes, a sensory trick used by a lot of patients to overcome dystonic movement by touching the involved body part (like placing the hand on the cheek in cases of cervical dystonia), frequently reduces tremor. Dystonic Tremor usually responds to botulinum toxin injections. Sometimes patients with dystonia (e.g. cervical dystonia and upper-limbs postural tremor) may have ET type tremor in the body part not affected by dystonia: i.e. ET/dystonia overlap syndrome.

The Dystonia clinic offers comprehensive management for patients with dystonia and other hyperkinetic movement disorders. We offer complex medical management and botulinum toxin injections when appropriate.

there is dopa responsive dystonia - I have - very painful

http://www.wemove.org/dys/dys_ddrd.html

Floridagal, you can get foot cramps from lack of levadopa (especially when you wake up in the morning) or too much levadopa. Most of us have foot dystonia in the morning, but there's also a peak-dose dystonia, which comes from too much levadopa tightening all muscles all at once. That's when we seem to walk like robots, have a hard time releasing hold of things (i.e. put down a coffee cup and let go), unbending a bent arm, etc.

Have you noticed if you get cramps about 1-2 hours from taking your meds?

agree with others..
 

And could you possibly have that lack of potassium in your diet? I'm not too familiar with foot cramps (don't get em' too often); but when i do it's usually because i was in some position that "pulled" my calf muscle beyond it's limits. What I do is immediately find a comfortable position and give it all my will to attempt relaxing the muscles in my leg (WILL is the important word here, almost like holding your breath for as long as you can to terminate a bout of hiccups). If you don't relax; the pain reaches an excruciating maximum and holds itself untill something naturally gives; but NOT hitting that maxima CAN BE ACHIEVED, if you give it all you've got to concentrate on relaxing the muscles in your foot. Prophylactically would be to pre-dose with a muscle relaxant, since when you get a bout of the foot cramps, nothing you can take orally will work in time, but there is no reason in being doped up on these drugs that also make you tired and "bleary". Relaxing naturally is the way to go. You might need to "practice" this, but i'm sure that once you get the hang of it,it will work for you. And if it's dystonia related, try uppping your anti-PD meds to see if the frequency of your cramping is reduced.

Brilliant answer Ol cs
 

You describe the agony of dystonia so well .Thank you. And your suggestions for remedy are extremely helpful.I can only add that my dystonia has been relieved by taking the dextromethorphan mentioned in another thread.

I used to get these awful symptoms every morning without fail,within 10 minutes of waking and again last thing at night.Each bout would last about half an hour and I would be dripping in sweat from coping with the pain.A dose of cough medicine containing the "said" ingredient has reduced my symptoms greatly. Massage helps but that isn`t always possible.A friend lent me an electric foot massager but by the time I had hobbled about fixing it up the dystonia had gone anyway,but if you can keep something similar in a place where you can access it immediately,then I am sure this might help.

Good luck...great suggestions already offered with the above posts.
Steff

Dystonia
 

Don't we have some interesting words for our symptoms.
"Dystonia" sounds like a Soviet Republic!

Sorry do not mean to trivialise our problems, as I sit here typing this the toes in my left foot are rigid and the whole of my left foot is racked with pins and needles.

I'll put some nice music on and try your idea ol'cs.

Chris

Hey Thanks So Much You All. Don"t Know If It's Too Much Sinemet Or Too Little But I'll Experiement A Little. I Have Used Some Dextromathoraphan After Reading The Posts About It's Usefulness, I'll Keep Trying Different Things. This Is The Strangest Disease, Huh? I Think If I Wasn't So Stubborn I Would Just Give Up Some Days But I Can't Let It Get Me! Fg

All I can add is maybe take some extra measures to stretch the particular muscles that are bothering you throughout the day when you're not having an attack. Doing what you can to loosen, stretch, and strengthen the muscles when they're in a more pliable state should help you some.

And glad to hear that you keep hanging in there. Really, what more can you do sometimes? I'm pulling for ya! :D

my two cents
 

In my case, i have left foot cramp whilst PD mostly (and firstly) affected my right foot. After 6 years of dx, I never have right foot cramp! I realized that my body has become a bit asymmetrical with atrophy or weakened muscle on the right side which leads to over-stretching of my left side. Recently, I have received acupressure therapy which stretches and relieves the stiffness of my right foot. On last Sunday, I was able to walk one and a half miles free of foot cramp from home to city mall and went on shopping in a crowded supermarket (all were done without any medications).

Having said that, I understand that PD affects each of us differently and there are also ups and downs.

Not quite on the topic, I think....
 

I think the original post was about cramping feet, not tremor. Do you have anythin to suggest re foot cramps?

Bumping up the original post regarding foot cramps.

Have you tried Magnesium at all?

I have MS and get terrible foot cramps myself, and my doctor told me to buy plain over the counter Magnesium, but not one that's mixed with other things. Beware of Magnesium 'Oxide' though or you'll end up with very loose bowel motions.

Other than that you could try Tonic water. Our's here in Australia has low dose Quinine in it, and the Quinine works really well for treating cramps. My husband gets the tablets on presription, but I don't know if that's an option for you.

Before taking either, please check that Magnesium and/or Quinine won't interfere with any other medications that you take, and is/are not contra-indicated in your medical condition.

I wonder if getting on a stationary bike for a few minutes would help. You would be keeping the muscles moving and blood flowing without the additional strain of weighting the foot. When I'm riding and get a foot cramp, I wiggle my toes and am able to ride through it. Your problem sounds more severe than mine however.

foot cramp
 

I use to get cramps in my calf.I started taking vitamin D and the cramps went away.It is so nice to stretch again
slm
hugs:hug:

I'll have to try that....
 

Didn't think vitamin D would work; that is good to know. I think; however, it all depends on the nature of the cramp as to what may help alleviate it.

I only get cramps anymore when in between med dosages (I take Sinemet and Requip XL). Ironically, what helps me is to try to walk on it. It seems, for me, there is something to the whole notion of muscle memory. By attempting to walk gently on my cramping foot, it is like my brain, levodopa, and muscles cooperate that much more quickly. I used to lie about on the sofa up to an hour, I noticed that the more I made attempts to walk, the quicker everything clicked into place. Obviously, this works for less severe cramping.

Let us know how it goes.

Laura

Cramps, muscle spasms charliehorses, whatever you call them, are my worst symptom. They were one of the first symptoms many years ago, but when I got on medication they went away only to reappear in the past couple of years. They are worst when meds are waning and corelate to movement in my hands. If I an doing something with my right hand my left foot will begin to curl under until I can't stand on it. I also get spasms in any muscle I stretch first tthing in the morning.

I have been told it is dystonia and more responsive to agonists than to sinemet. Meds worked when I was on an agonist alone but did not work on sinemet alone. They worked for a while on both but stopped after a year or so. The addition of Amantadine has helped for the past 9 or 10 months but is starting to lose effect now. Don't know where I'll go next. Maybe Botox.

Good luck,
Pam

Get your potassium,and calcium levels checked.Insufficient amts of either can cause muscle cramping.

curly toes
 

Is this in any way related to curled toes? Especially in the morning, sometimes other parts of the day. Toes curl almost over each other, other toes curl downward; blisters when I walk.

stop the cramps
 

:grouphug::grouphug:I know that this is a bit late, but if the cramps are still a bother I would happily post to you, a simple non pharmaceutical way to prevent them.

wow!
 

thanks for bringing up this subject again.It reminded me of where I was 3 years ago, Trying like heck to figure out what I could do to help these awful strange & painful cramps I was having in my left foot every time I tried to exercise on the treadmil. This morning I took stalevo 100mg at 7:30am. Until about 9:45am, I was still stiff and uncomfortable. I didn't have breakfast so I would hopefully turn "on" quicker. At 9:25am the stiffness seemed less of a big deal, cause now the muscles of my legs had tightened so severely I could barely stand it. Finally though, I turned on. During these past 3 years the journey with this has caused the most challenging and painful experiences. The education I've gotten in what little the "experts" know about PD is astounding. My disapointment in certain professionals has at times made me furious and wondering if they really READ the hippocratic oath to "do no harm" On the otherhand, I have been truly blessed by people and yes, doctors, who do care and try very hard to help, but admit they don't have alot of the answers. Actually I think the real experts are we, the people who deal with this everyday. Next month I will hopefully have a decrease in all these symptoms with DBS surgery. Thankyou to all of you for your willingness to help me, your knowledge, your compassion, and for sharing your strength & hope at really horrendous times. I love you for it. Be encouraged! FG

magnesium oil
 

I do not have parkinson's, though suffer from muscle cramping esp at night. I have found magnesium oil to help immensely (order it from internet; cannot find it in any health stores). If the cramp is esp. severe (ie lasting too long), I wrap a heating pad around my highly oiled leg also.

There is a difference in my life between the twistin restless feeling and foot cramps. When I have actual cramping, it seems to be because of mineral deficiency. I take Now Coloidal minerals ( a couple of doses ) and I am ok for several weeks without foot cramp. I have had my toes curl down/ other times they have culed up..mostly at night. but the minerals take care of it.

I get foot cramps also...there's a big difference between the twisting restless feeling of needing l-dopa supplementation and a real foot cramp (where the toes curl up or down, the pain is terrific and you have to get out of bed and try to walk to get it to go away) When that happens to me , I know I am short on minerals and take a dose of Now Coloidal Minerals right then and another dose in the daytime. That usually is enough to alleiviate them for a couple of weeks. I have used this for years and my father , who is 85 yrs young does too. Don't know what I'd do without the stuff!

Floridagal, we could practically be twins. Your experiances mirror mine nearly to a "T". I get foot cramps nearly every day and botox shots every 3 months. It helps alot but they are still a daily occurance. Last month I started going to an acupunturist and she told me to get off of wheat. The dyskenesia and cramps have lessened alot until today. I got a "wild hair" up...and had the worst day in months!! Foot cramps that lasted 2 hours and wild swinging dyskenesia this afternoon. Lesson learned.

Acupuncture
 

I used to get foot cramps but rarely do now. Acupuncture seemed to solve the problem.

dystonia
 

FG, Hi hope you are doing better. I had bad foot cramps and dystonia so bad in my right foot that it caused me to walk on the side of my foot, I could not plant my foot flat. I went to a podiatrist and got an orthotic type of brace that had velcro on it. It was a rigid type of splint that kept my foot from turning sidewayd. It was so severe that the bones in my foot are disformed and I had a huge tailor's bunion.

On another note you mentioned that you are having DBS next month! That is awesome. Where are you having it? I'd like to keep in touch with you post surgery if you'd like. Best wishes. :)
:)

I get cramps in my right foot only yet my Parkinson's is worse on my left side... go figure. I get them so bad that my foot almost folds in half and it feels like the bones are going to break. A friend of mine with MS uses some cream that works for him. So I got some. It's supposed to be organic. All I know is as soon as I put some on my foot the cramp is gone. Its a company called Sootheen. I order off their internet site. I also get massive lower back cramps and thighs as my meds wear off and this stuff works good for that as well.