charley horse while preg, help!

Monique - posted on 06/19/2009

The minute you start to feel any pain flex your foot as much as possible,breath deeply and rub the area.

Penny - posted on 06/18/2009

If you don't have gestational diabetes, eat a banana in the morning or at night before you go to bed. The potassium helps with the muscles.

Jeni - posted on 06/18/2009

the same thing happened to me! I would wake up with tears in my eyes b/c they hurt soo bad. I tried eating bananas and it helped a little, but then the cramps would come back. I started taking a seperate potassium supplement. Within a couple days of doing this they stopped all together... Ask your dr first of course !

Bobbi - posted on 06/18/2009

TUMS with calcium..... took me and my doctor over a month of trying different things and TUMS were the only thing that helped. About 4 within an hour before bed.

Kristen - posted on 06/18/2009

I agree with everyone on the water, potassium & calcium & confirmed all of these "remedies" with my doc as well. The one thing that helped me significantly that I don't see mentioned here is magnesium. Once I started taking magnesium, the charley horses stopped. I was already taking potassium, calcium & drinking water to the point of clear pee! I'm glad they've cleared up-now here's to keeping them at bay!

Denise - posted on 06/18/2009

Ow! Those hurt really badly. You're low on minerals - potassium and calcuim especially. Drinking milk helps, however, I don't see why calcuim supplements wouldn't do the job also. Eating potatoes and/or bananas (both high in potassium), or drinking orange juice always helps. Ask your doctor for potassium supplements. I'm not a professional, but the demand for minerals rises dramatically during pregnancy. Blessings to you and your baby!

Jocelyn - posted on 06/18/2009

thanks ladies! i'm happy to say that i was charley horse free this morning! so something that i tried has got to be working! (although i haven't tried the pickle juice one yet lol )

Krista - posted on 06/17/2009

Bananas are great! If the charley horse turns into a muscle cramp or does not relax, you can also drink pickle juice to relax the muscle. I know it sounds crazy......but within seconds I could physically feel the muscle relax! It really was amazing!! Beware of the pickle belches that follow though :)

Constacne - posted on 06/17/2009

Try a heating pad or rub the muscle before bed. (for those of you that are going to criticize me about the heating pad I will say now ON HER LEG!!!) You could also try putting an ace bandage around your leg while you sleep. But be careful it might be something worse than just a muscle cramp. Make sure if it keeps happening to talk to your doctor. It might be a blood clot or something.

Michelle - posted on 06/17/2009

Watermelon has more potassium then bananas. drink plenty of water and increase your potassium intake. light stretching before bed can help too.

Alicia - posted on 06/17/2009

I had the same problem and was told it was a calcium deficiency also. I was taking calcium pills but it didn't help. The only thing I could do was stretch, drink lot of water, and stopped wearing heels to work. I actually started to sleep with my foot flexed to avoid the pain. I feel for you! Hang in there :)

Angie - posted on 06/17/2009

Gatorade or G2 has been helping me with my charlie horses this time around. Once you get one take a couple of drinks. For me it works with in about a minute.

Jaimie - posted on 06/17/2009

I know exactly how you feel...ugh! With my last pregnancy, I was waking up with one at least every other night...it was so not fun!! When I asked my doctor, thinking it would be something I just had to deal with....she told me I wasn't drinking enough water. Not drinking enough water causes cramping in the legs...who knew? She also told me when I use the bathroom...my urine should be almost clear...that's how you'd be able to tell you're drinking enough.

Sheri - posted on 06/17/2009

The banana helped mine for sure - so did waking up hubby and getting him to rub it!

Teresa - posted on 06/17/2009

I also had them when I was pregnant my doctor add a calcium supplement and that took care of it. Give your doc a call. Poor thing hope it helps.

Jen - posted on 06/17/2009

I agree with everyone's feedback. I got them last year when I was pregnant too - they'd wake me up. It was always after I hadn't had enough water to drink.



BTW, Congrats!

Tralise - posted on 06/16/2009

Stay hydrated. Eat a banana and drink a glass of milk. The banana has potasium and the milk has calcium. This should make it go away, right away.

Ashley - posted on 06/16/2009

Eat banana's. They have potassium in them which having a lack of potassium will cause Charlie Horses. Try it and write back and let me know if it worked or not. I got my husband to eat them and his stopped.

Tiffany - posted on 06/16/2009

I used to have some of the worst ones that would last days. I found that drinking a lot of water and exercising lightly like yoga helped. I wouldnt know about the milk thing because I am lactose intolerant and couldnt handle any milk products.

Bev - posted on 06/16/2009

They are the worst thing aren't they? Drink lots of milk and water. They do get worse if you get a little dehydrated! I always kept water by my bed at night and whenever I woke up I would take a drink....pain in the butt I know when you have to get up to pee all night long but I found it did work for me in that area.

Bev - posted on 06/16/2009

They are the worst thing aren't they? Drink lots of milk and water. They do get worse if you get a little dehydrated! I always kept water by my bed at night and whenever I woke up I would take a drink....pain in the butt I know when you have to get up to pee all night long but I found it did work for me in that area.