Muscle cramps

[FreeBird]

This is my first post and I have been reading the other questions and haven't come across my problem. (By the way, I'm soo excited to be a part of this awsome discussion forum! You women ROCK!!)
Anyway, I have been riding daily for about 3 months. I started getting muscle cramps/charlie horses about 2 months ago in the evenings and at night, (I ride in the mornings). They started out just once in a while and in my calves and feet. They've progressed to the point to where I get them in my entire hamstrings, hands, fingers, pretty much everywhere. Last night I rode and the first mile my palms started cramping, then fingers, then L foot, leg and so on.

I drink water while riding and during the day, eat a banana a day, take potassium suppliments(595mg), multivamin w/ B and ginsing, and started a supplement for cramps that has calcium, magnesium phosphorus, w/ D and C in it. In addition, I stretch afterward, try to eat protein after ride (but not sure what or how much) and carbs.

I've always been active, but took 3 yrs off from back injury and am now 41. I have never had anything like this before. The only other thing is that I am living in the desert with intense, dry heat that I try to compensate by riding in the am.

Any suggestions would be soo appreciated, I'm getting desperate. Thanks Ladies

[OakLeaf]

are you getting enough sodium?

[FreeBird]

Thanks for the reply. I don't know if I should be increasing it and by how much. I use the same amount as before (table salt on my food), although I have been craving salt in the form of tortilla chips and salsa almost every night for the past week.

[makbike]

I too suffered from similar cramps when I returned to riding four years ago. I an totally empathize with you for I feel your pain.

By chance are you taking birth control pills? Some BC will actually pull potassium from your system. When my doctor and I ruled out low potassium levels we came to the conclusion that my cramps were simply due to over excursion and she suggested I cut back on my mileage some. When the winter months arrived and I quit riding the cramps disappeared. When the new season started I started out with moderate mileage and simply increased my mileage by 10% each week. That seemed to do the trick.

[FreeBird]

I don't take birth control, but take two different type of estrogen (hrt). One thing I didn't think of is that I do have fibromyalgia and although it is for the most part in remission, I do fatigue easy.

My Dr. talked to my about taking Quinine. I've heard alot of controversal stuff about it, and I really want to do this the healthy way, however I'm just getting so frustrated that I think if I can't find a way to stop the severe muscle 'attacks' I would go ahead and try it rather than stop riding. They're getting so bad at nite that I'm getting 3-4 a nite that wake me out of dead sleep screaming and cant go back to sleep for good 30 min to hr.

[makbike]

How many miles are you riding each week?

Have you tried massage therapy?

[KnottedYet]

If you are craving salt (the salsa and tortilla chips you mention), your body might be trying to tell you something.

Set yourself free for a couple days. Eat all the salty stuff you crave, whenever you crave it. Want fried spam for breakfast? Go for it!! Dill pickles at lunch? Oh, yeah!! Extra salsa and tortilla chips at night? Absolutely! Drink a robust glass of water with each salty extravaganza.

Feed the need!

After a couple days, see if it's had any effect. If it hasn't helped at all, well there's a good piece of info to give your doctor when you talk to her about it. If it does help, well there's a good piece of info to give your doctor!

There are a bazillion things that can cause muscle cramps. The longer I work in healthcare, the more convinced I am that our bodies usually send us out clues about the cause or solution we should be investigating.