Inner thigh cramps that make me pass out

Heather Jane - I've had two babies with natural childbirth. No epidural or drugs. I have also had inner thigh cramps. Only once. The inner thigh cramping is many times worse than my childbirth experiences. I might not be exaggerating if I said the cramping is 100 times worse. Many doctors, I think, just do not know what we're feeling. When I told my doctor I thought I would pass out from the pain, he gave me a little smile and said "Muscle cramps can be very painful." I could tell that he had no idea. It's not his fault. Had I read about these cramps before I had one, I would have probably thought "Oh goodness, these people are exaggerating!" My doctor did advise magnesium pills. I also drink a lot of water, and I sleep with my legs mainly straight. I put a pillow between my knees and this helps keep my legs from bending up during sleep. When I had the severe cramp, I had just bent my left leg up close to my chest, and the pain came on very suddenly. I echo your thought: All the best to our fellow sufferers, and thanks to you and to everyone who posts here.

I have been having these leg "nerve" attacks for about two years, I have given birth to five children and labor was not
this bad. Nothing makes them go away, at first I thought it was when I drank a glass of wine, but then I stopped
drinking all together for over a couple months and still got them. My routine does not change, my diet does not really
change. I am not on any med's other than potassium tablets daily for my "regular" leg cramps. I do drink a lot of
milk, and do not add salt to anything. I have tried rubbing BenGay on my legs, but it really does not help. My
husband feels helpless when they occur, and I do scream a lot. Sometimes I feel like my leg bones are splitting in
half the pain is so deep in my leg, it feels like they are "crawling" around my leg, from back to front. Any remedies
anyone can come up with would be wonderful.

 

I have been getting these inner thigh cramps (always on my right thigh) for years and it seems the older I get the worse they have become. I am 44 years old and my most recent attack was yesterday morning. As usual, the attack happened at around 3 am.

After years of suffering, I have come no closer to finding out what causes them or what to do to prevent them. I have tried most everything I have read on this site (except for the pickle juice or the slapping) but none have worked. I do take Zocor (Simvastatin 20 mg) but I have been getting these attacks well before going on the meds. My wife believes it’s the spin classes I take or the amount of exercise I do but I can’t find a connection. One thing I do remember the night before my last attack was having a piece of cake before going to bed.

I usually start to get a ‘tinkle’ in my inner thigh right before an attack. When I feel it coming on, I try massaging it really hard with my elbow trying to loosen the muscle. But despite this preventative measure, I would inevitably get an attack early that morning. My wife reaches for this monstrous massaging machine made by Sharper Image which I have been using for years and I apply it to the inner thigh and press down like there's no tomorrow. I try to work it out and while I still go through 30 minutes of pure agony, it eventually goes away. All my wife and my poor cats can do is watch as I fight through the pain and drip in sweat.

There have been times when the cramps would get so bad that they would travel up to my groin area. Once, I got an attack on the left thigh – that was the worst. And while all this would leave my thigh bruised and sensitive for days what bothers me even more is the days of lost sleep following an attack for fear of another one returning.

I truly sympathize with those that live alone. It was the worst when I would get these attacks then and there was no one around to help. But I also hate to put my wife through this. Lucky for me she has gotten used to it. Unfortunately, I can never get used to it. I hope someone out there realizes how common this ailment really is and works towards finding a cure. Until then, I’ll keep reading the posts.

I have been getting these inner leg cramps (always on my right thigh) for years and it seems the older I get the worse they have become. I am 44 years old and my most recent attack was yesterday morning. As usual, the attack happened at around 3 am.

After years of suffering, I have come no closer to finding out what causes them or what to do to prevent them. I have tried most everything I have read on this site (except for the pickle juice or the slapping) but none have worked. I do take Zocor (Simvastatin 20 mg) but I have been getting these attacks well before going on the meds. My wife believes it’s the spin classes I take or the amount of exercise I do but I can’t find a connection. One thing I do remember the night before my last attack was having a piece of cake before going to bed.

I usually start to get a ‘tinkle’ in my inner thigh right before an attack. When I feel it coming on, I try massaging it really hard with my elbow trying to loosen the muscle. But despite this preventative measure, I would inevitably get an attack early that morning. My wife reaches for this monstrous massaging machine made by Sharper Image which I have been using for years and I apply it to the inner thigh and press down like there's no tomorrow. I try to work it out and while I still go through 30 minutes of pure agony, it eventually goes away. All my wife and my poor cats can do is watch as I fight through the pain and drip in sweat.

There have been times when the cramps would get so bad that they would travel up to my groin area. Once, I got an attack on the left thigh – that was the worst! And while all this would leave my thigh bruised and sensitive for days what bothers me even more is the days of lost sleep following an attack for fear of another one returning.

I truly sympathize with those that live alone. It was the worst when I would get these attacks then and there was no one around to help. But I also hate to put my wife through this. Lucky for me she has gotten used to it. Unfortunately, I can never get used to it. I hope someone out there realizes how common this ailment really is and works towards finding a cure. Until then, I’ll keep reading the posts.

I just had one during the night. You are right, unless you've experienced this you have no idea how painful. I am hardly able to breath when this happens. I have tried bending over and reaching my toes, no relief.. One night it was both legs at the same time. I actually thought I was going to pass out. The only thing that helps me is struggling to move myself into the shower and letting the hottest water run over my leg until the cramp releases.

Still hurting from my last cramp this past Tuesday.

When talking to my mom last night, she told me to sleep with a bar of soap under my sheets. 

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Very interesting!

So now I sleep with a bar of soup in my bed (Verbena for the nice aroma), a jar of pickle juice on my night table and my monster massaging machine next to it. Go figure!

Hey, I'm willing to try anything at this point.

 

I get extreme leg cramps that go from my foot all the way up to my inner thigh and groin area. When I get these I have cramps on each side of my leg; the calf of my leg indents all the way down and splits into two distinct parts; then it crosses over to my inner thigh. At this point I am not able to straighten up. The cramps usually start with an indention the top of my foot where it connects with my leg. The only thing I have found that helps is an extremely hot bath in Epsom salts. Sometimes I have to do this 4-5 times a night. My leg gets so thiin that it looks like it has been shrink wrapped. The Dr. has prescribed Cyclobenzaprine and Etodolac 500 mg. Neither of these have helped. The only thing that helps is extreme hot water and Epsom salts soaks.

That's also what happens to me. I turn over and bend my knee and wham. My question is how do you get out of bed to get the pickle juice. It truly is the most painful thing I have ever experienced

Thanks for realizing how debilitating even the thought of these are! I have had another one this morning and am not sure what will happen to me as I get older. I am only 50, but do have lumbar disc problems, which I really think is the root of all of this for me. Pickle juice I really think is psychological , but if it does anything to help this misery than I am all for it and willing to try. Good luck, I hope this is also your last episode!

After a few full-blown attacks (documented in postings above) and reading this site I came up with an idea. As soon as I start feeling the pain I get up, walk a bit, and put on a knee brace that keeps my knee straight. I think this is it - Ace Neoprene Open Patella Knee Brace-One Size. I like that it is adjustable and I wrap it tightly. Ace bandages would probably work as well, but take longer to apply.

Some posters said that if they kept their leg straight the problem abated. Well, I've had the pain start two times now and after putting on the brace I was able to go right back to sleep. 

 

jtdavies -This is great to hear. I read an earlier posting by a doctor who has this problem, and he mentioned keeping your legs straight, and he also explained the physiological reason this could help. I was using this info, but your idea of the knee brace is ingenious. I'm going to try this as it's more foolproof than trying to keep your legs straight while you're asleep. That is hard to do consistently. Thanks so much, and thanks also for the specifics on the knee brace you've used. I'm so glad you had success with this, and I'm going to try it for sure. Great idea!

I am an exercise instructor, and fanatical about stretching. I also took a muscle relaxer (Flexaril) before bed, as i had had a longer than usual day. Still awoke about 2 am with pain in BOTH thighs, so bad I became diaphoretic, heavy ringing in my ears and things went black for a minute. My husband and son were awakened by my cries of pain. and it took several minutes for it to ease so i could go back to bed. If anyone has a good prevention or cure for this, PLEASE let me know!

I'm so glad to have found this thread so I know I'm not the only one having this problem.  I began having the excrutiating inner thigh pains nearly two years ago.  Always my left thigh, and usually at night.  The sweat pours off me and on a few occasions I have vomited.  I see that some people recommend trying to stretch or massage the pain out but I am totally incapacitated by the pain and any slight movement or touch only increases it.   I would describe the pain as the worst labor pain ever and then some.  My doctor had no suggestions.  I see that some of you drink tonic water for the quinine and I'm starting that.  I already drink lots of water all day so I know I'm not dehydrated.  I'll keep reading this thread in the hopes that someone comes up with a miracle.  In the meantime you all have my sympathies and understanding.

I had an episode last night.  I was sitting at the computer, and out of the blue . . .  It's the second time it's happened to me.  I barely managed to get to the kitchen and drank tonic water which I keep because of regular leg and feet cramps.  It was very scary.  I have no solutions.  Eventually it went away.  I am relieved to learn that other people have had this happen, although sorry that other people are suffering.  I am a widow and live alone now, and I was wondering if I was going to die, whether I should call 911, what.  Awful.

I'm a 46 y/o male. Insulin dependent Type II diabetic w/ severe hypertension.

After 4 years of having severe inner thigh cramps maybe once a month, here are my personal triggers.

1. I've eaten a high carb dinner.

2. I forgot my insulin dose @ mealtime so I take it maybe 1 hour before bed.

3. I fall asleep on the couch (6'1", so I can't stretch my legs out completely.)

4. I awaken with a sudden urge to void & come off the couch quickly.

5. The inner thigh cramps hit & it takes every bit of strength I have to make it to the bathroom before there is an accident. It feels like my bladder and bowels will empty immediately. (One episode I passed out, fell flat on my face & broke my nose and reinjured my rotator cuff)

6. Breathing gets shallow, pulse slows, sweat profusely, dry mouth, confusion, tunnel vision & know I will die very soon from the pain.

7. After voiding, I slowly twist & contort my body to the kitchen & grab the potassium pills & a glass of water. After about 10 minutes, I'm back to normal.

For me, the insulin pushes the excess sugar into my kidneys/bladder along with every bit of potassium I have in my body. Lack of potassium causes my leg cramps. I have a feeling that my Norvasc XR dose doesn't help either. It was reduced to 5, but now it's back up to 10mg daily. It's 1of 4 pills that I take for hypertension.  

High carb meals, late insulin, & couches are my inner thigh cramp triggers that lead to vasovagal episode. 

Potassium & water is my answer that works well.