Leg cramps!

[SheilaW]

The clinic is under orders to challenge me.  So we've been doing that for awhile, with no problems.  Well, I think they found my dry weight today.  About 30 minutes away from being finished, I got a hug leg cramp.  They turned me off and pushed saline, but it only got worse.  Then it hit both legs.  Then it went into my left (fistula) hand.  So 3/4 of my limbs were in complete pain today.....all at the same time.     I was in tears.   

This happened once before, when my weight started stabilizing.  It hurt to walk for days.  I'm pretty sure that'll happen again.

[glitter]

I am sorry you had to go through that- what a bummer 

[Sluff]

Dang I hope the pain from those cramps go away before you know it. 

[boxman55]

Dialysis leg (calf) cramps are the absolute worse pain I've ever felt. I feel for you...Boxman

[del]

Only time hubby cramps is when his weight is too low.  Says it's like no other cramp.

[thegrammalady]

the last time i had bad cramps (i hurt for a week) it was because the center director pushed my dry weight. my doctor left rather loud instructions that, that wasn't to be done to any of his patients. i'm assuming they are doing that per your doctor's orders. if it was me, i'd tell the guy NO, which you have every right to do. he/she just thinks they are the bos, in reality you are. learn as much as you can and question everything. there is absolutely no excuse for making the patient sick.

[SheilaW]

My last session, I actually went .4k below where they were aiming, and I was fine.  No cramping, my BP was fine, nothing was out of the ordinary.  So they asked me today if I wanted to try for .1k below that, and I said sure.  They asked a few times if I had any issues with the weight I hit the other day, and I told them no.  So we all thought that pushing it that .1k lower wouldn't be a big deal.  We were wrong.   

They are under orders to challenge (as per doctor's orders) but they're great about asking if I'm comfortable with xxx.x today.  If I'm not, they won't push it that far.

And the leg cramps are absolutely the most horrible pain I've ever been through.....and I have 2 kids!  Times any nighttime leg cramp you've ever woken up with by like a million and that would be close to the pain.  They suck!!!  I've had them in my calf, side of my calf, shin, foot, and even a little in the thigh.  And I'm in an open area with 3 other people...of course they watch.  So add humiliation on top of that.

[Ang]

i'd  suggest  the  weight  your  aiming  for  is  to  low,nudge  it  back  up  a bit and  see  how  you  go,but  on  any  given  day  things  can  go  haywire.
example:
  i  can  take  3  litres  of  fluid  off  in  a  session  and  be  as  right  as  rain,  another  day  i'll  take  off  2.5  litres  and  feel  like  absolute  crap.
you  just  got  to keep   

[Joe Paul]

i'd  suggest  the  weight  your  aiming  for  is  to  low,nudge  it  back  up  a bit and  see  how  you  go,but  on  any  given  day  things  can  go  haywire.
example:
  i  can  take  3  litres  of  fluid  off  in  a  session  and  be  as  right  as  rain,  another  day  i'll  take  off  2.5  litres  and  feel  like  absolute  crap.
you  just  got  to keep   

Lots of truth in whats been said here 

[pdpatty]

I got leg cramps twice,so now I ALWAYS have a bottle of water I drink over the 3.5 hours(11-15oz.) . I always have to get to the bathroom immediately when taken off the machine but I refuse to put up with those painful cramps!

[jamescfs]

When I get leg cramps, not only are they absolutely brutal, but I seem to get them for stretches, like almost every treatment, or every other treatment for a week or two. It doesn't make sense because I am properly hitting my dry weight. I'm on home nocturnal hemo, so imagine getting woken up by massive leg cramps! It has gotten to the point that I can "detect" a leg cramp about to hit, and wake up, and, sometimes, being able to move my leg to a position that stops, or minimizes the cramping. One time the cramps hit both my legs and feet so hard, I could barley walk for the day, and had to stay home from work!

So I feel for EVERYONE who suffers from this!

[2_DallasCowboys]

I am so so sorry to read that you are going thru
these horrific cramps.  Please carefully watch your
dry wt, and question and ask about what they are
taking off you in fluid.  I hope you can get immediate
answers and also immediate relief with no more
cramping, it is just so painful.

Anne

[skyedogrocks]

So sorry for your cramps.  Some of Rob's cramps have left him in tears and he isn't a person who cries.  Rob tries to stop them before they come on strong.  He definitely watches his bp once most of the fluid is off.  Also, any kind of twitch and he stops the fluid removal.  I know it's hard at the center to do this.  I hope they pull you out of your chair once the cramps start....that's the best way to help stop them.

Since you are challenging your dry weight these days, did your Dr. put you on a pill to help ease cramps?  It starts with a Q, I can't think of the name.

[goofynina]

I believe your thinking of Quinine (sp)  I was told by a friend still going in-center that they can no longer give it to you but that it is found in Tonic Water and you can take some Tonic Water with you to the center maybe?  I dunno, i am currently doing PD and i still get them damn cramps too, some nights its in the ankle, some nights in the calves, some in the shin and God forbid they come in my inner thighs, those are KILLERS!!!  But what i have noticed is if i dont "empty out my system" (use the bathroom) before i go to bed, then that is when they usually come the worse) eh, who knows anymore why the hell we get them damn things.  I laugh when someone tells me they woke up with a bad cramp in their leg, i dont laugh at them, i just laugh thinking little do they know what its like to cramp while having needles stuck in you and your tied to a damn machine, now that sucks big rocks!!! 

[Deanne]

Did ya'll have cramps before going on dialysis? Over the summer, I had leg cramps almost every night. Thankfully, it's eased off, but I still get them fairly regularly. Sometimes I can feel them coming on and am able to prevent them. Other times I feel them coming and there's nothing stopping them. I hate the ones on the outside of my ankle the worst. It feels like my bones are going to break.

[fluffy]

i had cramps before starting dialysis, but they were a walk in the park compared to the ones i get now. on friday both my calf muscles cramped up at once, so i tried to move to help the pain a bit but that just made my stomach muscles and my ribs cramp up. they had to take me off half an hour early