I've had restless leg syndrome since I was a kid (probably about 30 years now). I've also, for maybe 20-25 years, woken up from charley horses maybe 2-3 times a year. No big deal.
About 3 weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night with a charley horse in my left calf. I got out of bed, stretched the muscle, and it went away. I fell back to sleep and didn't think about it again. The next night, I woke up with an even worse one in my right calf. This one was stubborn, and it took a few minutes to work it out. The next day my right calf was really sore, and it took about a week for the soreness to go away completely.
The really weird thing is that I've been getting them with some frequency in both legs ever since, during both the day and the night. I can even sort of "induce" them sometimes if I try to stretch my legs a certain way (which I'm trying not to do, but sometimes it's happens with a normal stretch, or like a ballet pointed-toe foot stretch). My legs feel weak a lot of the time, though they don't actually seem to be clinically weak, my left leg has been achy and my RLS has been been pretty bad at night. Sometimes my ankles feel like they're stuck or don't want to move right, and my toes and feet feel like they want to cramp as well and sometimes actually do. Right now I'm just sitting here, legs out straight in front of me and it feels like both of them are getting ready to seize up.
I've started taking a magnesium/potassium supplement but I'm not sure how long I'd have to take it before I started to feel a difference, if that's actually what's causing it. I'm not diabetic, but I did just experience a large kidney stone, and from what I understand kidney disease can be a cause of frequent charley horses. However, between diagnosis on March 31 and when I eventually passed the stone on May 30, I had bloodwork twice, four urine tests, an abdominal CT scan, three kidney x-rays and one renal ultrasound - I think if I had kidney disease, someone would've noticed. I'm not dehydrated. I do sit for most of the day thanks to my desk job - could it be that? I don't have the greatest posture thanks to all that sitting. Otherwise, all I can think of is that I've developed some scary neuromuscular disease, and I really don't want to go down that rabbit hole.
I'm not afraid of blood clots; I know it's not that. Anyone experience anything like this and have it not be something worrisome? I've been doing pretty good with my anxiety lately; I'm mad that this is affecting me like it is.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Flapj
