I keep waking up with KILLER leg cramps!

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Lately I've been waking up in the morning with these horrible leg cramps or "charlie horses" as they are also called. This is how they happen: I start to wake up, and I stretch out my legs in that sleepy way most people do. Then suddenly one of my calf muscles seizes up, my foot is bent up and I can't move it, and the pain is unbearable! I scream and writhe as the agony lasts for about a couple of minutes before it finally begins to subside. But the muscle in my calf is still somewhat painful, especially if I try to flex it. I've been getting these cramps more often lately and yesterday I just lay down for a nap because I felt very tired. But then it happened again! I've started to get anxious about going to bed at night because I'm afraid I'll wake up with another cramp...

I get cramps when I exercise... I forget to stretch after exercise so maybe that's why I get cramps...

take some potassium. It helps greatly.

Bananas are a good source of potassium. In addition to that make sure you drink enough water, as mild dehydration can cause this as well; I used to get them a lot when I would exercise before bed, but drinking some extra water solved the problem.

I figured out a way to stop it from developing once it starts also; if you're not too drowsy try to immediately stand up and straighten your leg out to stretch it completely (like when you are doing a hamstring stretch for example); I'm not sure if this is universal to everybody, but for me this serves to stop the cramp from going into full blown death mode.

I was going to suggest bananas but my mother also has tonic water mixed with OJ (perhaps for taste) to help with leg cramps.

I just looked it up, it's the quinine in the tonic water that does the trick.

Why does everyone say bananas? Of the potassium-rich foods, it has the least. Go for a potato or something or pick up some supplements.

The doc had to put me on a diuretic and it was a non-potassium sparing one - I just wizzed it away and I got pretty bad cramps.

could be a lack of either potassium, magnesium or plain salt (many people restrict salt consumption; if you work out or sweat a lot for some reason, this is a likely cause)

Drink a glass of water and take a magnesium cap before going to bed. That will solve it. If you get cramps anyway, contract your calf muscle. It seems counter-intuitive, but it works. At least for me.

I have cramps like this all the time as a result of leg spasms caused by Wittmaack–Ekbom syndrome, over the years I've had lots of advice from well-meaning people in dealing with leg cramps - the advice people give me on dealing with leg cramps is of little use to me, but it will help with cramps like yours, and there are two suggestions that come up time and time again; Magnesium and Calcium.

If you get something like Osteocare - or a similar magnesium and calcium supplement - the cramps should stop.