Does anyone with Addison's have, or know, if it's 'normal' to have hand and foot cramps? i tend to be low in sodium, but cant take Florinef because of the awful symptoms it causes in me. Now, i'm freaking that i might have ALS, because the hand and foot cramps can be a sign of that, and also a friend of mine read that people with ALS can also get Addison's. Also been having lump in throat and sometimes an extreme, hard pressure on front of neck. ENT says it may be atypical acid reflux, but he's not sure, and i have no problem with that, during sleep, which seems i would have. l have trouble filing my nails, due to cramping! lt comes and goes. Has anyone else had this??

Feja:

Have you had your thryoid levels checked? Hypothyroidism can give you awful cramps in your feet. It can be excruciating to walk. It would be a better diagnosis than MS...that is for sure. Aslo are you experiencing a salt/potassiam crash? That can't be fixed? Perhpas you need to avoid drinking bottled water? It has no sodium...and can be very bad for some people.

T3 free and t4 free and tsh would be the biggies to check.

Good luck!

~S:)

Fejya, Are you taking calcium & magnesium? I used to have terrible cramps in my feet & toes about 5 years ago. Since adding enough calcium it never happens. Hope you find the answer to your problem.

Wanda

Hi, and thank you both! Well, recently in the ER my overall T3 was 36. They said it was somewhat high, but then my endo said that when he took all my numbers into account, i was fine. Although i had that blood test this past late summer, so things could have changed. Hmm, he also told me not to take calcium, because the prednisone would bind with it, and not work as well. Although i have been considering taking magnesium, i heard that's important for Add's people to do. i'm also looking into a possible Lymes disease reacurrance, as i've heard that can mimic ALS. My fingers are now twitching, and i've just been beside myself, worrying i have that! Anyway, good to meet you both, i'll see you around here....or better yet, i hope you wont NEED to be here, too often!! :)

Does anyone with Addison's have, or know, if it's 'normal' to have hand and foot cramps? i tend to be low in sodium, but cant take Florinef because of the awful symptoms it causes in me. Now, i'm freaking that i might have ALS, because the hand and foot cramps can be a sign of that, and also a friend of mine read that people with ALS can also get Addison's. Also been having lump in throat and sometimes an extreme, hard pressure on front of neck. ENT says it may be atypical acid reflux, but he's not sure, and i have no problem with that, during sleep, which seems i would have. l have trouble filing my nails, due to cramping! lt comes and goes. Has anyone else had this??
Hi,
My son was having allot of cramping in his legs, He get's that off and on with addison's, I made him eat a banana every day to up his potassium and it did work. I think when you have addison's your body suffer's and thing's can change from day to day. My son was diagnosed when he was 16 -he is now 21, He dose has severe asthma, which dose not help in keeping an even steriod level. I've seen him goes threw many phase's of addison, It's a very stressfull disease.
Karen W.

Those cramps can be incapacitating! I was on a 7-day back country horseback ride when I got so cramped up I could hardly get back on my horse! I also do handwork (tatting) and had to stop that because my hand would lock in one position and it would take a lot of rubbing to get it relaxed. Now why? I think it was a big mineral imbalance. I happened most when I was a bit hypo-thyroid and in the months prior to my Addison's diagnosis. Then it took several months of magnesium, iron, calcium, etc. to get my mineral levels up to where they were supposed to be. Of course I also started the Florinef etc. Once my mineral levels were okay, the cramping stopped. Now it is a rare occurance and I just take a multivitamin/mineral supplement over the counter, along with my Addison's and thyroid meds. Good luck.

I just posted a new thread on something like this, I also have problems with my wrist and my legs, i can walk fine now, there was at one point when i had problems walking but now i can do it fine and im doing alot better but i still have wrist problems and leg problems, they swell up and i cant bend them like i use to be able to, i cant jump or run like i use to, been like this for a while and i would like an answer also.