Having Cramps In Inner thighs

Add me to the list of victims of the Death-Leg-Cramps!!! And also glad that i found this site.....I'm 45 and have had these throughout my entire life....sometimes once a year, sometimes once a month. I have also blacked out from pain. I have been telling my sister the nurse about this for years and she can't see how it's possible when the muscle is not under strain! Well it's possible! Mine also seem to be related to heat/dehydration.....like when i work outside all day and sweat a lot, and to caffeine.....too much caffeine and i get cramps everywhere!!! the crazy things i have tried and had some success: Rapid deep breaths...seems to help...when i can't move. If i am standing or can get up, walking helps a little....and i usually run for the kitchen and grab an aspirin and potassium and magnesium tablets and just chew them up and gulp down some water....also seems to help. Plan to also try calcium now. Told my wife tonite about the one i had yesterday where i wished i could just die....it hurts that bad sometimes!! So it was time to do some searching....

My experience (I live in fear of this it is so bad). 

My history with it:  I am 62.  Female. Active. Fit. Healthy. Eat right. I have been dealing with these cramps for about 5 years.  The first one was at night around 8 PM after my first day of skiing for the year.  I am a ski instructor. Each bout since (about 7-8 occurences over 5 years) has been the same.  The ingredients seem to be  1. High activity using muscles not used for a while.   2.  Possible dehydration, though I try to drink lots of water.  3. Family history of leg cramps (my mother has complained for years-though not this bad). 4. Other muscle related issues-I am on Requip/Ropinerole for Restless Leg Syndrome about 12 years; I have had Sphincter muscle spasms (sorry) that have brought me to the doctor. 5.  Possibly a stress factor-I can usually come up with something I may be stressed about.  The time of occurence is always 8-10 PM.

I have become a "student" as these cramps make me think I am going to die.  I live alone.  I have endured other pains with broken bones. operations, etc.  NOTHING is like this. I actually live in fear of them.

The things I have found helpful: 1. Be aware of my activity level and increase fluids and stretching.  Yesterday I raked my whole large yard and forgot to pay attention.  Bingo.  Last night they came.  2.  When they come I immediately inhale from my Albuterol inhaler that I use for acute asthma attacks (rare).  I have kept a journal and am now convinced by my notes that this Albuterol helps (doctors RX needed).  3.  I take a Tylenol (didn't have any last night but the Albuterol already stopped or eased the cramp).  4. I jump into the hottest bath I can stand. 5. I drink a sports drink and more water (though I think it is already too late). I am going to buy some Pedialyte to have on hand.  Something I read made me think of that.

I hope this helps someone.  I can not believe we have to live through this kind of pain and doctors know nothing to help. Thank you everyone for the input. 

 

Hi,

Taking iron, as one person suggested, helps relieve leg muscle spasms as the spasms are caused by lack of oxygen to the legs. Assuming that the low oxygen is due to anemia, and not a blockage, then adding B12 will help to absorb the iron.

WOW!!! We are so relieved to find this site & read all your postings! My husband gets these leg cramps too! They are so severe & I don't know what to do to help him; it is terrifying! Last night he had his first attack in 5 years. He has been taking a Carisoprodol 350 mg (muscle relaxer) at night after a day of heavy exercise & it seemed to be the "cure" until last night. In the past the cramp was always in his right leg in the adductor muscle area. We have seen vein surgeons, sports medicine doctors, physical therapists, etc. with no real answers (as you all know!) Last night he got the cramp in both legs for the first time & I nearly called 911!!! It was very, very scary! He had been getting cramping under his right foot lately & last night that woke him out of a sound sleep. When he tried to move to relive the pain in his right foot it instantly went up his leg to his right thigh. As he was panicking to relive that cramp it set into his left thigh as well for the first time ever. I was still in the living room reading a book but was alerted to his agony when I heard him gasping with pain in the other room! I was so scared he was going to hyperventilate & pass out but for some reason it was in my head from one of the doctors that he needed to stretch the muscles out to relive the pain. Somehow we miraculously managed to get him out of bed & somewhat standing with my trying to hold him upright. Eventually he was able to baby step into the living room. As I mentioned it had been 5 years since my husband had an attack so we were unprepared. We dug through our medical notes about these cramps we have collected over the years & saw ice was a common suggestion. I got him 2 packs from the freezer & he managed to eventually calm down & relax on the couch. He drank a glass of orange-pineapple-banana juice & took an aspirin. Finally he dozed for a bit with an ice pack on each inner thigh & his legs elevated with some pillows on the couch. But we spent the rest of the night in fear of another attack. We had taken a very long hike in the mountains yesterday on snowshoes & my husband was fearing the worst would happen so he had taken his muscle pill earlier in the evening. He had done his stretches & massaged the adductor muscle area in both legs before going to bed but got the attack anyway; this was the first time the muscle pill did not work. Later on last night when we finally got the courage to go to bed he took a second Carisoprodol & did not have another attack. We had always assumed his leg cramping had something to do with his veins because he has had surgery on the veins in his right leg; he had never experienced a cramping episode until after his first surgery. After the attack last night in both legs we were really shocked & decided to go online again to search for more possible answers. We hadn't done much research since 2007 & were so glad to find this site. My husband has tried drinking tonic water, gatorade, lots of water, stretching 2-3 times daily, strengthening exercises daily, heating pads, soaking in hot baths, ice, massaging his leg, etc. We are happy to read there are other possible supplements we can try & will be heading to our pharmacy today. We are worried about the calcium however because he has also suffered from kidney stones & has been told to avoid calcium as it contributes to his stones. We will definitely look into it though, along with magnesium, potassium, B12, etc. Thank you all so much for posting & sharing your pain because we were beginning to think were we alone in this horror after getting blank stares from so many doctors, etc. Good luck to all of you & we will check back here for other posts as we have also found that the doctors don't seem to have the answers we so desperately need!!!

I am so glad I've found this site and see that other people suffer these crazy inner thigh spasms!  I always get them by getting up after lying down. The spasm just starts and keeps going. I always walk it off despite the excrutiating pain, and it takes exactly five minutes to stop, every time. I was helping someone move and went up and down stairs all day and I woke up at 2:30am and the pain was incredible! I had spasms in both inner thighs and had a charlie horse in each calf, and my toes were spasming - I attempted to get on my feet numerous times, but my legs kept bending because of the charlie horses and I could NOT stand up - so I finally did, and my legs were all over the place, but I walked it off for 5 minutes, and they finally stopped. I had a repeat episode later that morning with spasms in each inner thigh - again, I walked it off for 5 minutes while trying to endure that pain!  Well, I know they can come from over stressing the muscles - next time (hoping there isn't a next time) I will try the bending at the hip and see what happens. Thank you for listening and I hope we all can find a way to stop these spasms!  Good luck to all. :-)

Well, unfortunately our saga continues... After the last severe attack my husband's legs have been worse than ever. He decided to try going to doctors for help again because this has gotten to the point where we can't live our normal lives anymore. We are in constant fear of the next attack! My husband has changed his primary care physician because the one he had been seeing for a few years just didn't care about this problem. Now after one visit to a new doctor we are hopeful again! First, my husband has stopped taking his Zocor. The doctor said statins have been appearing more & more over time as causing muscle problems. My husband has been taking Zocor since 1995. His new doctor said it takes about a month for your body to go back to "normal" after stopping the statin. We are hoping this will relieve my husband's killer leg cramps! If not, we have another option to pursue from this new doctor. He has set up a consultation at a sleep & muscle disorder clinic next month just in case the Zocor isn't causing the cramps. We are just happy to have something to hope for because life had been pretty grim these past few weeks! If any of you are on statins maybe you should consider stopping for a month too? Good luck to everyone! Hopefully we will find the answer to relieving these cramps!!!

I too suffer from severe inner thigh cramps. Your description is exactly what I feel. The problem is that when they come (mostly at night) it is done in under 5 minutes. It is extreme but over relatively quickly. I cannot find and answer. I believe it is the adductor mucle which runs from the groin area to the knee. My doctor also does not know why this happens. If I feel it coming on at night sometimes I can straitin the leg and get releif



I don't know what triggers the episode of cramping. While I excersisel it doesn not seem to be related.



In my case If I run my thumb along the adductor muscle their seems to be a small area that is more sensitive. I think this is the trigger point which I have read that if you apply deep measage to that area it will help.

Taking a diuretic blood pressure medication may result in nutritional depletion of calcium, magnesium, or potassium.  A similar effect might also result from ingesting medication for enlarged prostate.  Check the side effects and drug interactions of all medications.  This can be down efficiently on line.  

Omg  jbourke2002 --your post about the "take your breath away" inner cramps described mine to a T!!

This is the first I've ever read about a problem I've had for more than 10 years. There is absolutely no pattern that I can discern. I've had excruciating and debilitating attacks at all hours, during all types of activity......I've even had a few while driving! I've tried every remedy I've seen posted here with zero lasting success. Like most of you, mine often strike at night after a couple of hours of sleep with intense blinding pain and immobilizing spasm. I do my best to roll out of bed and hobble, bent over in spasm from one or both inner thighs, to the shower. As I pass the sink, I throw down a cole of 16 oz red solo cups of water, a mag/potassium cap and a few OTC quinine sublingual tabs called "Leg Cramps". I get in the shower and try to think about turning the pulsating function of the shower head on. I then direct that hot water sray at the source of the max pain. In 5 to 20 minutes it suddenly abates. I'm usually fine for the rest of the night but I have occasionally had recurrences the same night. I usually massage Topricin into the area after the most severe pain subsides. I'm male, 65, no prescribed meds, no medical problems, a bit over weight but active. Until this is recognized and researched scientifically I've decided not to waste a minute more worrying about it. There is nothing that makes it better but I haven't found anything that makes it happen more frequently either. From my point of view, there could be no worse pain possible.....I was shot in Vietnam and it was a piece of cake compared to my entire body inflicting maximum violence on itself by attempting to draw its entire mass into one cubic inch located in one or both upper inner thighs! I live with it. I know it's going to happen again....maybe tonight. It will stop completely, usually within an hour of when it started. I'm going to live my life fully even with this thing and it's not going to affect me or waste my precious thinking about how to deal with the next one. It will pass. When I'm in the worst depths of a spasm I often try to think of the old saying that pain is just nature's way of reminding you that you are still alive! It's better than the alternative. Hang in there guys and gals. We can do it

I'm so glad I found these threads. I have had this pain a handful of times (luckily not more), but when I do, they are life-changing for about a week. First, as many have said, I'm afraid to go to sleep the next night. Second, my thigh is sore for several days after the "attack". Finally, mine occur usually when I have been sleeping on my side and attempt to get up.
I will try some of the suggestions here! Thank you!
In the past, I try to "breath" my way out of it, and do a yoga pose --- get flat on my back on the floor and raise my leg straight up in the air and flex my foot back and forth.

It's scary to think there doesn't seem to be a solution to these horrendous adductor cramps.
I can be free of them for a while only because I am so careful as to how I position myself. It's automatic now. It's weird telling a stranger this but I had to end all sexual activity 8yrs ago because of these spasms. I divorced in 2005 and have not even been on a date since because I know there can never be a serious relationship because it it. I can be affected in my abdominal muscles too even if I'm sitting and bend sideways to pick something from the floor. Crunches and situps are out of the window. Gym training of any description seems to make things worse. I used to keep myself very fit but the only thing I do now is walk up and down my bar counter to sell drinks to my customers. I don't even drink alcohol myself so that's not it.
Had a really bad attack a couple of nights ago after a day of going up and down a loft ladder numerous times to do some clearing out.. All I did was turn over in bed when it hit my right thigh first only to transfer to the left. I ended up with spasms in my biceps from trying to vigorously massage out the pain!! Wish there was a simple answer to this

Try a glass of eno each day I find this to be the best remedy for me

 

I have these horrid inner thigh cramps about once a year so far. First one I had was about 6 yrs ago I was laying on my right side asleep and it hit all at once it felt like a nerve or whatever was being streached from an inch to 3 miles. I broke out in a cold sweat and could not move if someone had heard me they would have thought someone was killing me slowly and that is what it felt like. I could not move. A few months later I had another one and it moved from the right thigh to the left. HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PAIN. I have ask several drs and as you all know NONE of them knew anything. I had one last night the only thing I have found so far is I stand up bent over at the waist leaning on a chair or bed and grab the inside of my thigh and pull as hard as I can towards the back and out. After reading this site and I thank God for this site. I will try the ice and the mustard, pickle juice a magnetic under the mattress anything to not have that anymore.

I ask my new Dr she said dehydration, I know I have not had one for about a yr, I have been drinking less water lately.So starting today back to lots of water and the rest of the remendy's you all have added. Good Luck to all who has this and God be with you because I know what you feel on one of these!!!