To : HELP!!! Terrible leg muscle cramping :(

[Guest guest]

Hi

 

My name is Miriam and I know what your husband is going through.  I have lupus

and last year I was given high doses of prednisone. In certain individuals, just

like me, prednisone can affect the nerves of the legs and arms and usually this

leads to uncontollable cramping (cortisone is in the same family of drugs that

prednisone belongs to).  When I started getting the cramps, I tried everything

I've read here: hydrating myself, eating 3 bananas a day because I couldn't

take potassium supplemets as it caused a drug interaction with a medication I'm

currently taking.

 

I talked to my doctor and she didn't know what to do about them.  Since my

kidneys are in bad shape, I can only take tylenol and since tylenol was useless

to me I was prescribed tramadol. Tramadol didn't do anything from me either.

 

I needed to find a solution to the problem becuase the pain was unbearable and

it would render me useless for at least a day becuase after the cramps, my

muscles felt like they had a thousand paper cut on them and the cramps would

also cause severe weakness.  Since my dr didn't know what to do about it, I

decided to start reading up and see if I could something about it myself.  I

came to the realization after reading lots of journal articles that it might

have to do with prednisone.  Of course,  I cant be taken off prednisone, so I

asked my doctor to prescribe me with nerve pain medication.  She was a little

hesitant but i told her that I needed to give this a shot and to just give the

prescription for a month.  She pescribed me with gabapentin aka neurotin and

this did the trick for me.  I took one 300 mg pill before I went to sleep

becuase i would always get the cramps at night.  i did this for a week and then

I would take it only when I would

feel the cramps were coming.  i did this becuase the body gets used gabapentin

and then it kind of loses its ability to do its job,just like medications such

as vicodin.

 

I hope your husband gets better soon.

 

Miriam

From: stacy <waljs@...>

Subject: [ ] HELP!!! Terrible leg muscle cramping

Date: Thursday, February 17, 2011, 12:35 AM

 

Hello RA friends...

I am wondering if any of you have tips or information on leg cramping. My

husband (42) was dx at age 29 with RA. Lately he has been getting such terrible

leg cramps that wake him up and the pain is horrible. He does take the calcium,

mag, folic acid, mtx, prednisone, a host if vitamins, the injection Simponii,

(pain pills: vicodin, kadian), gee...I cant even name them all. He just had a

cortisone shot in his elbow n wrist because they actually LOCK up...his elbow

was locked in a 45’ last week.

Anyway----do any of you get these and if so, can you offer ideas on what helps.

It wakes him from a sleep! The cramping can be in the calves, inner thigh area,

feet.....

Thanks for any information you can share.

(and Joe in PA)

..