leg cramps

[jeriorleans]

Is this called by the Predisone or the Cytoxane. A.J. is having bad leg cramps at night. He also is very nervous since taking the Cytoxane. Any one have any suggestions about how to alleviate this?

[Sangye]

The leg cramps are due to the pred. Pred depletes magnesium. Give him magnesium supplements (ionic/dissolves in warm water) each day and it will help.

Two don'ts with Magnesium :
1) Don't take too much or it will cause diarrhea. Just take the recommended dose on the bottle
2) Don't take it with meds or they won't absorb properly. Bedtime is great, since magnesium is a natural sedative and will help him sleep. Otherwise, 2-3 hrs after meds or 1 hour before them.

[Doug]

Is this called by the Predisone or the Cytoxane. A.J. is having bad leg cramps at night. He also is very nervous since taking the Cytoxane. Any one have any suggestions about how to alleviate this?

Is he drinking lots of water while on the Cytoxan? That seemed to help the cramps for me. It also helps flush out that part of the drug not used by the body. Of course, bringing cramping up with his doctor the next time he has an appointment is a good idea, too, but be prepared for a new prescription! I'd ask first, though, for non-prescription suggestions from the doctor, and how they might affect AJ as it seems every thing put in the body has its positive and negative outcomes.

[jola57]

I remember waking up with bad leg cramps but with meds they went away quickly. Now I only get them rarely.

[firecracker]

I also had the leg cramps. I thought they were from the mtx but they were from the prednisone. they have let up again for the most part at least.

[jola57]

Mtx only makes me sooo tired I can sleep at a drop a a hat.

[coffeelover]

I am always tired the evening and next day after my mxt dosage. Now I know it is not just me

[RCOSSIO]

The magnesium helped substantially with the cramping...I know the feeling waking up in the middle of the night with the cramp...arrrrgghhhhh.

I drank the magnesium powder right before going to bed..as Sangye said it does alleviate some of the cramping. Good luck and hang in there it will definitely get better.

[Sangye]

I've been feeling pretty lousy these days--mostly due to the whammo dose of pred given during each ritux IV. The other night I woke up to a giant charley horse in my leg. I was so exhausted I didn't even move. You know how you instinctively start stretching it, squirming with pain, etc...? Nothing. I just lay there, totally wiped out.

I don't look at my blood work much these days--I tend to get a little over-involved if I monitor every one. But last week's showed bad anemia (just above transfusion level) and very low protein. Low blood/ oxygen plus low protein = very low energy. Bleh.

Tuesday is the last ritux IV-- it kicks in after this one, and I'm officially putting it on notice : Ritux! Get to work! Nobody likes a lazy monoclonal antibody!

[Kimbangu]

I have been getting these leg cramps every morning and I did wonder if it was the prednisolone. I am on 60 mg per day at present and was hoping that if/when we start cutting the dose, the cramps will stop.

Thanks for the tip about the magnesium, which I find very helpful.