Cramps
I am still having ongoing leg cramps in my left (nerve damaged) leg, but they had lessened in intensity and duration, if not frequency. I was still having them nearly every night, usually multiple times a night, but they weren't lasting for excrutiatingly long amounts of time.
Until last night.
Not only that, but for the first time the unthinkable happened -- I got one of those terrible, in multiple places at once, would not stop for what seemed like forever cramps, and MY HUBBY WAS NOT THERE TO HELP ME. This has been my nightmare ever since they started -- what would I do if I got one of those and he wasn't there to manually grab the ends of the muscle and pull them back into shape? What would happen if it were just me and my coiled up, largely useless, unbearably painful leg all alone without his help? I can't just "straighten it out," as it is so cramped sometimes that I have no ability to control what it does or does not do -- someone has to actually force it into position or it just won't go there.
Well, I found out last night. I went out to the farm to spend the night for the first time in a while -- our dryer broke and I had a ton of laundry to do, so it, I, and the kids all went out last night after I was done with my twelve-hour work day. I should have known that something would happen -- these cramps are always at their worst when I am physically fatigued, and those long days at work seriously do me in.
The one last night was a doozie -- the muscle in my calf locked up AND the muscle that runs down the front of my ankle, i.e. exact opposite forces pulling against each other. If I stretched out one, it made the other worse. If I got one side to stop and started working on the other, the original side would lock back up again. Basically, I had to choose which excruciating pain was slightly less horrific than the other, and then just go with that. I really cannot put into words how much this hurts -- it is really unbearable.
The biggest challenge was for me to stay calm through it, as I had a small child with me who gets really afraid when I hurt that badly. Unfortunately, my mother (a former registered nurse who wouldn't freak out over something like this) wasn't there either to help me, because my grandmother was not feeling well, so she and my three year old went to spend the night with her. (Which is good, since my littlest one would have had a much harder time seeing me in that much pain.) After about fifteen minutes of non-stop agony, I called my Hubby to see if he had any suggestions, since he is the one who usually helps me out of these things. It also helped me to stay calm to just know that someone, anyone, else knew that this was happening, as when it is going on, it seems like it might last forever.
He suggested that I pin the muscle in the front of my ankle with the heel of the other foot, which did help a little. He walked me through which part to stretch which way, and that at least took a bit of the intensity off of it, though I couldn't totally stretch it out without seriously exacerbating the calf cramp, which was still not abating in the least. Finally, FINALLY, the calf started to relax enough that I could start to gently rock the other way a little without it starting up again, and eventually, after about twenty or thirty minutes, I was able to hobble to the bathroom and run some hot water in the tub to stand it. (Heat helps A LOT -- I typically sleep with a heating pad on this leg, but forgot to bring it with me to the farm.) I soaked the whole leg for a little while and it relaxed enough that my daughter and I could get back to sleep.
Or rather she could -- before I was able to fall all the way to sleep, my mother returned with my littlest daughter who WOULD NOT SLEEP at my grandmother's house -- she was just all happy, singing songs, and being very cute and silly, but at this point, in was about four in the morning. She climbed in bed with me, and after two or three stories that I made up, she was out. Before I could get to sleep again, my oldest daughter woke up coughing and itching. (She has allergies -- sometimes this happens.) They both ended up in bed with me (rather than in their bunkbeds right next to the queen-sized bed) and I had no room at all, as of course I can't lift them to move them without risking another back injury which I DO NOT WANT right now.
I was out of bed with leg cramps at least another six or seven times, and woken up with ones that I was able to stretch out without getting up at least another five times. And, being pregnant, I had to get up to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes, too. AND, about six in the morning, I started to get these horrible abdominal cramps that happen sometimes because of how the baby is laying.
Sigh. It was a long night with no sleep, and I was SO TIRED when it began besides. I finally started to get decent sleep around six or seven in the morning, and luckily the kids slept very, VERY late. (M got up a little after noon, and we couldn't get A out of bed until nearly three!!!) I am glad that at least I'm in a good mood through all of this -- at least I'm not getting down about it or really cranky. In a way, I find it so over the top that it is almost absurdly ridiculous.
Tonight I have 1) my heating pad 2) muscle relaxers safe for pregnancy and 3) my Hubby. Still, I feel a little nervous -- I seriously don't want to go through that again, at least not two nights in a row. Wish me luck, and a scream-free night.
Until last night.
Not only that, but for the first time the unthinkable happened -- I got one of those terrible, in multiple places at once, would not stop for what seemed like forever cramps, and MY HUBBY WAS NOT THERE TO HELP ME. This has been my nightmare ever since they started -- what would I do if I got one of those and he wasn't there to manually grab the ends of the muscle and pull them back into shape? What would happen if it were just me and my coiled up, largely useless, unbearably painful leg all alone without his help? I can't just "straighten it out," as it is so cramped sometimes that I have no ability to control what it does or does not do -- someone has to actually force it into position or it just won't go there.
Well, I found out last night. I went out to the farm to spend the night for the first time in a while -- our dryer broke and I had a ton of laundry to do, so it, I, and the kids all went out last night after I was done with my twelve-hour work day. I should have known that something would happen -- these cramps are always at their worst when I am physically fatigued, and those long days at work seriously do me in.
The one last night was a doozie -- the muscle in my calf locked up AND the muscle that runs down the front of my ankle, i.e. exact opposite forces pulling against each other. If I stretched out one, it made the other worse. If I got one side to stop and started working on the other, the original side would lock back up again. Basically, I had to choose which excruciating pain was slightly less horrific than the other, and then just go with that. I really cannot put into words how much this hurts -- it is really unbearable.
The biggest challenge was for me to stay calm through it, as I had a small child with me who gets really afraid when I hurt that badly. Unfortunately, my mother (a former registered nurse who wouldn't freak out over something like this) wasn't there either to help me, because my grandmother was not feeling well, so she and my three year old went to spend the night with her. (Which is good, since my littlest one would have had a much harder time seeing me in that much pain.) After about fifteen minutes of non-stop agony, I called my Hubby to see if he had any suggestions, since he is the one who usually helps me out of these things. It also helped me to stay calm to just know that someone, anyone, else knew that this was happening, as when it is going on, it seems like it might last forever.
He suggested that I pin the muscle in the front of my ankle with the heel of the other foot, which did help a little. He walked me through which part to stretch which way, and that at least took a bit of the intensity off of it, though I couldn't totally stretch it out without seriously exacerbating the calf cramp, which was still not abating in the least. Finally, FINALLY, the calf started to relax enough that I could start to gently rock the other way a little without it starting up again, and eventually, after about twenty or thirty minutes, I was able to hobble to the bathroom and run some hot water in the tub to stand it. (Heat helps A LOT -- I typically sleep with a heating pad on this leg, but forgot to bring it with me to the farm.) I soaked the whole leg for a little while and it relaxed enough that my daughter and I could get back to sleep.
Or rather she could -- before I was able to fall all the way to sleep, my mother returned with my littlest daughter who WOULD NOT SLEEP at my grandmother's house -- she was just all happy, singing songs, and being very cute and silly, but at this point, in was about four in the morning. She climbed in bed with me, and after two or three stories that I made up, she was out. Before I could get to sleep again, my oldest daughter woke up coughing and itching. (She has allergies -- sometimes this happens.) They both ended up in bed with me (rather than in their bunkbeds right next to the queen-sized bed) and I had no room at all, as of course I can't lift them to move them without risking another back injury which I DO NOT WANT right now.
I was out of bed with leg cramps at least another six or seven times, and woken up with ones that I was able to stretch out without getting up at least another five times. And, being pregnant, I had to get up to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes, too. AND, about six in the morning, I started to get these horrible abdominal cramps that happen sometimes because of how the baby is laying.
Sigh. It was a long night with no sleep, and I was SO TIRED when it began besides. I finally started to get decent sleep around six or seven in the morning, and luckily the kids slept very, VERY late. (M got up a little after noon, and we couldn't get A out of bed until nearly three!!!) I am glad that at least I'm in a good mood through all of this -- at least I'm not getting down about it or really cranky. In a way, I find it so over the top that it is almost absurdly ridiculous.
Tonight I have 1) my heating pad 2) muscle relaxers safe for pregnancy and 3) my Hubby. Still, I feel a little nervous -- I seriously don't want to go through that again, at least not two nights in a row. Wish me luck, and a scream-free night.