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charlottenash
02-01-2014, 11:00 PM
My DS who just turned 5 suffers with cramp like symptoms.

Very rarely he has had them during the day maybe once or twice, it's always at night. He wakes up screaming saying he has pain, inconsolable, he holds his foot but when I feel to the right of his knee it's all hard.

I massage it and he falls asleep eventually, anytime he has woken more than once (maybe every other time) I give him calpol and it sorts it until morning when he is back to normal.

It's never lasted more than one night, sometimes we get it every month-2 months but sometimes we can get it twice in one week (like this week).

I've heard banana help so he eats one everyday after dinner but it's not helping.

Any ideas? After tonight I'm considering a doctors appointment because it's gone on so long and he is so inconsolable!

WibbleWobble
02-01-2014, 11:19 PM
I had these!

Flipping painful. Mum took me to gp and I went and had X-ray. Apparently I had nodules on my long bones and these irritated the muscles. Doc told mum off for feeding me extra calcium- she wasn't

They did get better

Tbh this story sounds a bit far fetched but then again this was in th day when they did things with rubber tubing in hospitals and there were no seat belts in cars

Wibble the ancient xxxx

charlottenash
02-01-2014, 11:25 PM
Oh bless you wibble haha! Surprised they didn't give you a glass of alcohol and chop your legs off ;)

I remember my parents saying 'she has growing pains' when I was younger but I can't actually remember having them.

I've read stories online (never a good thing) about parents going to doctors and there being a muscle issue but nothing too serious just wondering if I should get it checked over, I hate going to the doctors over silly things really!

As for calcium my DS won't drink milk so can't be that lol!

Maza
02-01-2014, 11:35 PM
My DD has also just turned 5 and has had it about three times. I put it down to growing pains too. They are infrequent enough for me not to do anything about it. Like your son, she is inconsolable and I also give her painkillers and a massage. Not much help, sorry, but will watch this thread with interest. x

littlemiss60561
02-01-2014, 11:43 PM
Hi my daughter suffered what I believed to be growing pains in her lower legs. I took her to the docs and after several trips and begging she referred her to physio. Luckily as she had hyper mobility, short hamstrings and talipes . Had she not have been seen she would have needed an op in her teens to correct her positioning.
I've heard magnesium helps. But best see a doc if it's hurting enough to wake him. X

AliceK
03-01-2014, 07:52 AM
Like LittleMiss, my DD also has hypermobility and she started having really bad pain in her legs around the age of 4 but hers occur during the daytime as well and got to the point where some days she couldn't even walk to school / nursery. It's the hypermobility which causes her joint pain, poor thing. It's awful to see a child so young in pain. I would take your DS to the DR's and get him checked over.

xxxx

blue bear
03-01-2014, 10:18 AM
Ds suffered terribly with cramps (mostly in the night) I ended up discussing it with a doctor and she went through his diet, she said he wasn't getting enough salt, he is on a dairy free diet and eats everything fresh (no processed food at all) I added salt to cooking it made a massive difference, tastes much better too, the cramps stopped after a while.

If I was you id go chat to a doctor.

charlottenash
03-01-2014, 01:48 PM
Thanks guys, DS booked in next week so hope it's nothing, always best to check!

Simona
03-01-2014, 02:21 PM
Some info on growing pains and cramps ...they are harmless but painful

Growing pains - NHS Choices (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/growing-pains/Pages/Introduction.aspx)

Leg cramps, unknown cause - NHS Choices (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/legcrampsunknowncause/Pages/Introduction.aspx)

charlottenash
03-01-2014, 08:52 PM
I've read those before thanks Simona, they help a bit but he's had them since he was 3 so it's outside of the age range however he was a big 3 year old.

MessybutHappy
03-01-2014, 10:13 PM
When I suffered during pregnancy I was advised to eat bananas and marmite (not at the same time!), and sleep with a thick pillow under the foot of my mattress so my feet were slightly raised... I'm not sure which worked as I did them all, but the cramps did ease off. Also, massage the next day, the residual discomfort could be quite severe! Good luck with the doctor!

tigwig
03-01-2014, 10:37 PM
My dd aged 9 has suffered exactly the same for at least 5 yrs now. It probably happens a few days every 1-2 mths now mainly during the night but also through the day. When it first started it scared me as it happened so often and she was clearly in so much pain. I did get her checked over and gp told me to give ibuprofen every single night regardless as whether she was in pain or not and prescribed me about 6 bottles of nurofen! I didn't feel happy about doing that obviously. She does have it when needed but deals with it better now she's older. Ds aged 4 occasionally has it too but not yet as bad as dd did. It seems to be very common so try not to worry :)