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Leg cramps

I keep getting leg cramps when I stand up and after I've been walking for some distance, is this normal? Not something I've experienced untill yesterday....

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  • hi mrsT, i get leg cramps all the time aswell especially when im asleep, i wake up in the night doubling over in pain. told my midwife and its all normal! its because our whole body relaxes so everything pulls and cramps easier. we dont get it easy do we! xx
  • Hi ladies this is completly normal, ive been getting it the last couple of weeks and got it in my last pregnancy, sorry to put a downer on things but it does tend to stay till baba arrives and tends to get worse really sorry but id prefer to be warned Sophie 36+3 xx
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  • No - there is an answer!!

    When my sister was pregnant she started getting leg cramps in the night and I looked it up in a pregnancy book that I had bought her (but not given to her just then) and it said legs cramps are usually linked to calcium deficiency. Well my sister isn't a big dairy consumer so she decided to start having a glass of milk before bed and hey presto! leg cramps gone!

    Well now I'm pregnant and for some time now I've been having a glass of milk or cup of hot milk before bed because I don't otherwise consume much milk and I remembered my sister's experiences. Any way a couple of weeks ago I went without my milk for a few nights in a row and yep you've guessed it - I had my first leg cramp!

    I shall be sticking to my milky drink before bed from now on. It worked for me and my sister so its worth a try.
  • I'm not getting them at night though just during the day.... And I'm only 8+5 I didn't think you got them this early?
  • mmmm - not sure about that? Maybe worth a try anyway?

    Do you wear heels? TIf so try wearing flats. If you work on your feet you should flex your feet regularly - rock back and forth on your feet so that your calf muscles flex - that may help?

    One of my books says that if you get a leg cramp you should flex your feet (i.e toes upwards) to relieve the discomfort quicker.
  • Hi MrsT,
    I suffered with leg cramps from the early stages, and still do now from time to time. I switched from heels to flats and they did make a slight difference. Try and flex your feet as Redpod mentioned, it does work but also hurts when you start off. When I mentioned this to the midwife she just said that it's normal in pregnancy.

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  • Hi i dont know weather you get the same kind of pains as me but if i walk for too long or sometimes if i stand still for too long i get a really strong pain in my left leg? sound familiar? i'm only asking because i get it because the baby is lying on a nerve in my leg. I had it really bad with my first child and even got stuck in the bath and couldnt move, i had to ring my oh who was on nights at the time to come and get me lol

    Anyway obviously if your only early on it wont be this but its an option! x
  • Hi, I've had leg cramps at night and was told by my midwife that it was a potassium deficiency which is sometimes caused by the fact we wee more in pregnancy. She suggested eating bananas (personally I'd rather have leg cramps!) or drinking tonic water. So I'm trying the later.
  • It's the strangest sensation!! Like when you do loads of exercise on a cross trainer and you can feel your calfs become really tight, it's like that but with cramp as well..... I don't wear heels as I'm quite tall and I tend to wobble in them :lol: I have a midwife appointment this week so will ask her
  • Leg cramps are totally normal during pregnancy, i find i only get them at night when im not even using my legs which I think is really strange. My calfs will just go into spasm and my OH has to try and massage them, but they go as hard as bricks and are really painful. (I cry most times it happens, lol). The next day i find it hard to walk sumtimes as my calfs will still be really tender and feel like they are going to cramp up agen. Oh the joys of pregnancy. Kerry xxx
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  • If it's cramps/pain/pins and needles in one of your thighs, then it's prob something called meralgia parasthetica (!!) I started getting this at 10 weeks, and it's basically where the extra fluid in your body is on a nerve (so it's not the baby lying on it, buit all the fluid that's not normally there) Been to doctor and he said there's not a lot you can do - if it gets awful they can inject into the nerve (not a big deal apparently, and very safe) but won't necessarily relieve pain. All wll be fine after baby is born tho I;m told!
    Hope that helps if that's what you have! x
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