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cramping/locking claw hands

Posted , 13 users are following.

jeanne333
jeanne333

My hands lock into a claw and won't move .. it isn't painful just very annoying .. I can wait a moment or two and they relax or I can pull the thumb out .. happens about a dozen times a day .. also my toes cramp and I get cramps up the outsides of my legs starting with side of foot to ankle then goes half way up leg (a 5 pain level) .. are these both PMR symtoms

0 likes, 19 replies

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  • Charko
    Charko jeanne333

    Posted

    Cramps seem to go with PMR.  I still manage walks three times a week and that helps me but at night I get cramps in both legs if I don't massage each leg for one minute with hand cream before I get into bed.  It helps tremendously.  I also take magnesium but not sure how efficacious it is.  Fight on...
    • joanne602
      joanne602 Charko

      Posted

      I also get these symptoms mentioned to the doc and he said to do with pmr I have also tried magnesium oil but it really makes me itch is that normal
    • EileenH
      EileenH joanne602

      Posted

      Personally I don't "get" the idea of magnesium oil. It's inside you need the magnesium and the molecules are too big to go through the skin. I stick to soluble magnesium as a really quite pleasant drink.
    • lyndsay250258
      lyndsay250258 joanne602

      Posted

      Have you tried soaking in a bath of 2 cups of Epsom salts & 1 cup baking soda. I tried this today. ...ooooh the relief !!!
    • lyndsay250258
      lyndsay250258

      Posted

      Sorry. .me again...I forgot to say that you must remember to keep hydrated
  • noninoni
    noninoni jeanne333

    Posted

    I have a milder case of something similar, so I am glad to read that it may just be PMR.  Sometimes my thumb folds into my hand, and toe cramps are pretty common.  It is just as you describe- not painful, but I pull my thumb out and wait a second.   Thanks for mentioning it.
    • jeanne333
      jeanne333 noninoni

      Posted

      That's what mine do and it is getting worse .. I'm sure it is PMR related
  • EileenH
    EileenH jeanne333

    Posted

    I had cramps but not to that extent. Here in mainland Europe they would tell you try magnesium supplements first of all. Chemists sell them and you can't overdose - well, you can, but you'll just get the runs, it's the same idea as Epsom salts! And make sure you are drinking plenty of water, dehydration can cause it too.

    However - I think it would be a good idea to go to your GP and ask him to check your potassium and calcium levels, thyroid function and vit D - all of which can contribute to muscle cramps if not correct.

    • jeanne333
      jeanne333 EileenH

      Posted

      My levels are all ok .. with my many health problems (heart lungs kidneys thyroid and parathyroids) I'm taking potassium - calcium with vitamin d - Syntroid and the levels are checked frequently .. but thanks for the advice as others might not know this
    • EileenH
      EileenH jeanne333

      Posted

      Ah yes - but the calcium with vit D may not be enough if you are severely deficient. The 800 IU we get from them is what you need all the time and assuming you are storing vit D in the summer from skin production - if you are very deficient it will take months to boost it, if it ever does. My vit D was barely 20 ng/ml - I bought H&B supplements and took 5,000 IU per day for several months to get it up to nearer where it should be, 50-odd I think I got to, where 75-150 is the recommended level where I used to live in the north of England.
    • EileenH
      EileenH

      Posted

      Forgot to say and Jean's post reminded me: even if your blood magnesium level is OK, it tells you nothing about the level in your muscles and bones. You need the right level in blood and the body steals it from the body stores. If muscle magnesium levels fall, you can get cramps.
  • jean39702
    jean39702 jeanne333

    Posted

    Have taken 100mg of magnesium daily for years to prevent leg cramps.  When diagnosed with PMR and started prenisone I was advised, incorrectly, to stop taking the magnesium.  Within a month I not only had my leg cramps back, but hand and foot cramps to boot.  WIthin a few days of going back to the daily magnesium all was fine again.

    I know everyone is different, but it works for me.

    • EileenH
      EileenH jean39702

      Posted

      One of the things pred does is make you excrete more magnesium - so if you needed Mg without pred then you are even more likely to need it when taking it.
  • karenjaninaz
    karenjaninaz jeanne333

    Posted

     Whenever I  take Mg I get the runs- bad for my IBS. There are some studies indicating a 20 min Epsom salt bath enables Mg. to be absorbed through the skin. I think these were done in the UK. The amount was measurable in vivo.

    i do feel better the next day. I even tried this before I was diagnosed with PMR but a bath was a painful undertaking.

    i am only down to 14.5 pred from 15 and feeling reasonably functional and exercising.

  • reggie92967
    reggie92967 jeanne333

    Posted

    I get similar things more so in feet, but also hands Will just lock in a weird position, no real pain & then in minutes it'll go away. Never, ever had this prior to the other PMR symptoms, & or starting prednisine ?
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