Calf cramping
 

Hi! I am new here, so hopefully I am doing this right! I am a type I diabetic on an insulin pump. My most recent HA1C was a 6.1. I was diagnosed with neuropathy about six years ago. I take 600mg. of Lyrica daily, along with tramadol as needed for pain. About a year ago, I started having calf cramping when walking uphill. Now, it has progressed to calf pain if I walk at all, and even when standing sometimes. I have been seen by a vascular surgeon and they ruled out atherosclerosis and are now saying it is probably my neuropathy. It seems like whenever I have an unexplained pain of any kind, doctors are quick to just blame it on the neuropathy! Maybe that is what it is, but I can't live like this! I am only 45 years old and I used to be very active, but now I can't even go on short walks. Not sure if anyone else has had this problem, but any advice would be greatly appreciated. I would like my life back!

Welcome to NeuroTalk...

Diabetics lose magnesium daily thru the urine...it is part of the diabetic process for some reason.

So either try taking a quality magnesium supplement (and you might add in some natural vit E oil too), might help. Do not use magnesium oxide as it doesn't get absorbed and into the blood.

You can also try the inexpensive magnesium lotion, (which I now use exclusively), instead. It is available at WalMart for $5.98.
apply a quarter's diameter to your calf daily or twice a day and see what happens.
Morton's Epsom Lotion:
http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-h...-epsom-lotion/

There is another poster here who had calf cramping/pain, and she fixed it with bringing her low Vit D up to higher levels.
So you might want to try that. Get Vit D tested, and B12 also, and bring you numbers here. The D used by doctors is D2 and does not work in humans. So once you have a test result I can suggest a dose for you for D3 OTC.

I know the feeling.. I suffer from leg cramps 15 to 20 times a day. If I walk more than a few hundred feet my legs both cramp up.. I am not diabetic. Doctors say it's from the Neuropathy. I'm on 1600MM of Gabapentin.

Thank you both for the feedback. I am on Magnesium Oxide because my levels are low, but when I see my doctor on Wednesday, I will ask about taking Magnesium instead. Also, tried a couple of places today trying to find the Morton's Epsom lotion, but neither place carries it. I will try Walmart this weekend.

I have some cramping, but not much. I've had the Small Fiber Neuropathy diagnosis since 2008. It effects about 98% of my body surface. I do have to get up every 1-1.5 hours a night and take a few steps or I will wake up with a solid rod 3-4" in diameter running from inside my hip and down the leg, shooting out the bottom of my foot. This rod feel likes a steady 100,000 volts of electricity and there is nothing you can do but lie there and scream your head off for 45 minutes or until the Methadone takes effect in 30 minutes if you are lucky.

My SFN is idiopathic, unknown cause. I am 51 now. I have no vitamin deficiencies nor has any intake of B12, lotions. or anything works except large doses of nerve blockers and pain killers.

I find that I have some cramping due to inactivity and atrophy of the muscles. With the years of heavy meds, I am losing some muscle mass and weakening. It is difficult but since I have much pain after walking only 50 yards (and this is on the meds) I cannot exercise and therefore pay for it somewhat in cramps and muscle pain. The only form of exercise I find somewhat capable of is swimming. The water helps support me without the contact like you get walking. But this is limited by the weather and seasons.

I hope some of the suggestions here are of a help to you. All I can say is keep trying anything (except woo woo medicine) and maybe something will work. But don't be down if you don't find anything soon or at all. Just try living the best you can with the best frame of mind you can and that's good enough.

I'm off my soapbox now. :-)

This sounds very much like CMT... with the muscle wasting aspect. There are DNA tests for this, but they remain very expensive today. And so far, there are no treatments (supplement or drugs) to halt progression of this type. So pain management is all you have left.

You might benefit from reading the CMT websites, as they have drug lists to avoid (which make CMT worse), and lifestyle suggestions:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread121564.html

Charcot Marie Tooth is not the most common form of PN. There are over 100 types of PN, and therefore many ways to help individuals with various triggers. CMT however, remains untreatable to prevent progression. Avoidance of some of the toxic drugs may help slow progression in some patients.

We had a poster here a few days ago talking about gadolinium
reactions from MRI dye...
here is a list of possible symptoms:
http://gadoliniumlawsuit-info.com/ga...emic-fibrosis/

This is the post:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post996197-33.html
you might want to talk to this poster privately.
Since you had 6 MRIs, I thought to mention this issue for
you to consider. Doctors may be obtuse and reluctant to
reveal this side effect to patients.

Mrs. D,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I feel like you gave me my life back! I found the Morton's Epsom cream and tried it...it was like a miracle! It stopped the pain immediately and kept the pain away for most of the day. I have had the pain for a year now and it just continually got worse. Doctors had no idea what to do and they actually did surgery on one of my legs to try to fix it. I can't believe that all I needed was this cream. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow and you can believe I will be bringing this cream with me to show him! Thank you again! So thankful I found this forum!

Oh, that is great! I am so happy for you.

Magnesium is really a very essential nutrient...and when used orally or eaten in our foods, may still not reach every place it needs to be.
I used to soak in epsom salts years back...that worked for me, to some extent.

But I agree, this topical form (much better than the old CVS one), is miraculous.

Magnesium opens up the small blood vessels so circulation can be normalized. Inflammation or trauma causes inflammatory chemicals called cytokines to clamp down the blood vessels. This had evolutionary advantage to stop bleeding from trauma. But when it over-reacts, then you develop ischemic (poor oxygen delivery) pain. So applied topically bypasses this problem and the mag can open up those smaller blood vessels for you.

A second thing magnesium does is relax cramping from over contracting muscle. And a third thing it does, is antagonize the NMDA pain receptors that may be over firing and giving false signals.

So all in all magnesium which seems simple, is quite complex.
Doctors don't understand this, don't realize how low people are today in this mineral, and how many drugs deplete it, and that diabetes will skew it as well.

So now we have 3 very inexpensive solutions to some PN and other health problems. methylcobalamin B12... as low at 6 cents a day. Vit D3 also pennies a day. Magnesium in Morton's lotion, $5.98 for 8oz. (my bottles last a LONG time(weeks)).

The 3 most common deficiencies in our modern world today, and they cost pennies a day! Can't beat that. ;)

Of course, doctors make MONEY cutting into your body...considerable money, and that is a motivator for them, as opposed to free information that will fix you better. This is a problem with medicine today...it is so expensive!

I hope you continue to use your lotion regularly... and you continue on this wonderful new path of healing! ;)

I can understand your frustration. Blame the problems on a neuropathy. I was on Lyrica but it did nothing for the pain in my legs. I was switched to Cymbalta and it worked. I also take 2 Aleve at night for pain. I would try the lotionon the legs and see if that doesn't help some with the cramping.

Im going to try this creme as well. i have had calf tightness and cramping from neuropathy for 10 months now, some days good some days really bad. My nueropathy is from a tetanus shot and not heriditary