well, i went in, and hours later only to find out that they were severe leg cramps. oh great, i felt silly and frustrated. how do you know when they are for real or just the pregnancy taking its toll on you?
all i know is that i mentioned to my dr. and chiro my situation. the recommendation was to eat a banana for potassium each day. okay, got it.
then, i started drinking smoothies quite frequently, such as every morning, and regularly, i would throw in a banana....
didn't develop anymore "cramps" until about 17 weeks... we were staying in CA, and suddenly it's 5a.m., and what do you know! i feel like i'd rather chop off my leg than scream in pain!!! the pain was so similar, if not identical, to my DVT, and the thing is- i developed my DVT a year ago at 5a.m.!!! so, you see why i was extremely nervous....
well, i put my husband right to work to massage my left leg while i was screaming for bloody murder! who knows how long it took for me to be able to get comfortable again, but the weird thing is- the pain shot to my right leg, and i thought, oh great, how's he going to massage both? that leg! no, that leg! back to that leg! it was so frustrating for both of us!
then, this past week, again, 5a.m., and bloody murder! this.pain.was.the.worst. blood curdling screams. my right toes felt like they were on fire and going numb, and this pain was just bad. the following night (or should i say 5a.m. morning? lol), similar episode, and just felt like my toes were bending weird... know what i mean? that awkward feeling... well, throw in there some fire-burning feet and annoyingly painful cramps!
FINALLY, i thought- i ran out of bananas!!! nooooooooo! need them now! haven't had them in a few days, which is why i got the stupid, but avoidable cramps! when we woke up that morning, i immediately sent my husband to go buy some bananas, and threw a few of them into that morning's smoothie!!! lol
coincidentally, just read that leg cramping is super bad right around now... halfway through the pregnancy! FYI!
had a minor cramp since then, but seriously... EAT A BANANA each day!!! if you don't like them, then throw them in a smoothie- tastes yummy! prevent this awfully painful episode!!! your sleep, your legs, and your loved one will thank you. :)
(oh, disclaimer: for a DVT, your leg swells up, hardens like a rock (especially when you touch it- rock hard), red like a tomato, feels boiling hot, and the pain is beyond unbearable. go to the ER if you have leg cramping that is like that and it doesn't go away!!!)
Oh man! I had THE worst leg cramps too. I found that it helps to walk around the room, although that is the last thing you want to do it really does help. Also, pointing my toes is what caused mine to act up, if you flex it helps to counteract it. I got so good at recognizing when they were coming, almost always in the middle of the night, that I would quickly flex and prevent a majority of the cramp. I hope you feel better!!! We need to see some belly pics!
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