Muscle spasm question?

Hey Deb,

I have had this before MS and since I was diagnosed.  That calf muscle is a big one and painful when it does that.  I am not convinced, in my case, anyway that is all from MS.   It's really painful but once I get up and stretch it, it goes away.  When I talked to my neuro about spasticity pain, she said I might want to take a bit more magnesium.  I have added that both to my diet and to my supplements and I have not had it since.  Last spring, when I had a big flare, I had a small tear in my calf muscle when it wouldn't let go.  I was so numb that I could not really feel pain but when I went to my physical therapist, they saw some bruising on the side of my calf and put an ultrasound on it.  That showed the tear and bleeding and we put off the physical therapy a few weeks.

So anyway that is my experience for what it is worth. 

Love and prayers,

Thanks Gretchen and Uppity! OMGoodness though!  Looking at it this morning, now there is a "shadow" as though bruised but I thought I wasn't seeing it clearly... and the muscle is knotted to the touch as I massage it, but not painful. 

It was so strange that the upward flex of my toes held off the pain, the downward point increased the spasm and as you said, Uppity, the only thing that finally worked was to get up and walk it out...

I take daily a max dose of Glucosamine Chondroitin with MSM and I thought that had Magnesium in it, how much more or how much should I include in the daily supplement regimen? I'm all for any maintenance to avoid that as much as humanly possible.

Thanks for the info as always, knew you guys would have some tips... Gretchen I wonder what lies beneath that triggers or is triggered by the MS too. It's so hard to decipher the body!

I wondered about potassium too, as I don't get any orange juice/citrus stuff due to the GERD but do take the mutltivitamins etc.. I just went to the health food store and stocked up on a regimen of additional supplements I've read about that I hope will help alot..including the magnesium Gretchen recommended.

Last night I used the muscle relaxer in full force with pain meds and everything else I need for a really solid nights sleep and still was up 3 times and the muscles cramping. I'm just logging the info for the doc. I guess this is "spasticity"? First time he asked me that I said what? He said uncontrollable muscle spasm you can't stop... I said nope, never had that... hmmm.

Els, I use Flexeril, 20mg.. I think it's gonna have to be upped now cos I've grown too accustomed to it and 20 isn't hitting me like it used to but I'll talk to the neuro about the Zanaflex. Friend of mine gave me one once to try and I didn't notice much difference at the time. I don't take around the clock, only for nighttime sleep.

Frannie, I'm on a regimen of other meds too for migraine, thyroid and GERD so I try not to overdo the scripts either... but will research these too also. I just know right now, my calves are sore constantly and this is a very new symptom... I push thru alot of pain so it's got to be crippling before I'm down OR wake me up feeling like someone is stripping the muscle out of my calf like it did the other night.

Lynn, I'll appreciate any tips, but the PT may be in order soon for the cramping, spasms etc... and it just might be that I have to add potassium. I don't eat much in the way of potatoes, starches etc... my diet is mostly protein, low carbs, low fruits (not high acid, I seem to be acidic otherwise).

Thank you all for th input, it's nice to hear this isn't a freak situation with my leg... :)

Oddly they pointed out how even the liver and heart like to burn lactate for energy... But Brooks in the 1980s and ’90s showed that in living, breathing animals, the lactate moves out of muscle cells into the blood and travels to various organs, including the liver, where it is burned with oxygen to make ATP. The heart even prefers lactate as a fuel, Brooks found. There are times with my digestive tract when I can tell that my liver isn't working like it should be but I can't tell why. This happened last week preceding this bout.

Even moreso, this statement hit home too but the calf area's entirely new for me... that is most likely brought on by the MS.. However, muscle cramping (non-cerebral) that is sometimes inherited can also be a symptom of other underlying medical conditions like Parkinson’s disease, hypothyroidism and diabetes, as well as electrolyte disorders, metabolic or vascular disorder, nerve root damage, low serum magnesium levels or medication use, such as statins.”

Symptoms of athletic muscle cramps include:

– Explosive onset
– Acute pain
– Visible, palpable contractions presenting in one or more muscle
– Swelling
– Persistent soreness lasting two to three days

I've been hypothyroid since '99, and the muscle cramps act like shooting pains in my forearms which the drs educated me were indicative of thyroid issues. I can tell when my dosages are off or I've forgotten (something more regularly done these days so I use the daily pill organizer to track my meds cos I can't remember one day to the next anymore). But I've never had my legs hit me like this calf has.

And today I crashed completely! I could not beleive it in the middle of church this morning I was going to sleep whether I liked it or not. The overall weakness and fatigue was as huge as the one day at work last week that I thought I'd fall out of my chair! So I begged off a committment at church (had hubby take over & told him I've got to go home and nap or I'm done for the day). As it was by the time he got home, the nap didn't help, I was still totally energyless. He went on to the family function and I stayed home and slept today... all afternoon! This is so unusual for me! Even after waking up at 4:30pm, I was barely hungry but ate something healthy, still I'm so drained and I'm afraid it's gonna affect work this week. So tonight i'll go to bed early and pray tomorrow somehow I'll have energy.

The only thing different that I'm doing is a supplement regimen but normally that increases the energy, or strengthens my metabolism. Maybe I will have to take up caffeine after all! :)