Muscle cramps after drinking a few brews?

Does anyone else get muscle cramps after having 3 or more drinks? I find that I get foot and calf cramps during the night and next morning on a pretty regular basis after having a few beers. Any remedies that you do or eat/drink that help?

How much water do you drink daily?

Sounds like you need to hydrate more, with water though, not beer.

As a norm, I consume at the minimum a gallon of water a day. This helps on the fri-sat nights if I have a few pints. I can wake up the next morning and still feel human


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Try drinking a bottle of gatorade next time before you drink beer and take note what happens.

If it solves the problem, then your problem is related to electrolyte imbalance (which alcohol can further disturb). At least that would be my first guess given your description.

Simply drinking water does not repair electrolyte imbalance. For that, you need to replace missing potassium and sodium (drink gatorade, eat some dill pickles, etc).

You probably need to drink a lot more water daily.

Definitely water. Bananas actually work as well. Be sure to stay hydrated and you should be okay. Regardless, ask your doctor.

Drinking blocks ADH hormone, AKA you pee more, so you get cramps from being dehydrated. Drink more water (not just coffee) during the day and take a multivitamin.

As others have mentioned drink more water. I also keep a gatorade or 2 in the fridge just in case water alone isn't enough

You could be low on calcium, potassium, sodium and/or magnesium. Being dehydrated will definitely cause cramps even if you are not low in minerals. In hot weather and working hard causes that with me a lot when I don't hydrate enough. Usually it hits around 1 or 2 AM. Double cramps in both legs is always a great wake up call.

Hello said:

Definitely water. Bananas actually work as well. Be sure to stay hydrated and you should be okay. Regardless, ask your doctor.

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Def some bananas. Great for breakfast and as a pre-work or run meal


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Thanks all! I definitely don't drink a gallon of water a day. I'm a big boy @ 6'5" and 300lb so I think that I probably need even more. I'll probably start taking my 1/2 gallon thermos with some water or weak tea and see if it helps. Cheers!

I used to work HVAC, and the general consensus (most guys, not just me) was we all keeped a 1/2 gallon of water by the bed at night. We would wake up pound the water and go back to bed. Years later, I learned that I wasn't drinking enough water during the day.

mwsenoj said:

Thanks all! I definitely don't drink a gallon of water a day. I'm a big boy @ 6'5" and 300lb so I think that I probably need even more. I'll probably start taking my 1/2 gallon thermos with some water or weak tea and see if it helps. Cheers!

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Watch out for tea! That'll also make you pee away your hydration!

mikescooling said:

I used to work HVAC, and the general consensus (most guys, not just me) was we all keeped a 1/2 gallon of water by the bed at night. We would wake up pound the water and go back to bed. Years later, I learned that I wasn't drinking enough water during the day.

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I used to hide a 2L bottle in my pillow case for my drinkself. That way when (or if) my drunk head hit my pillow... It reminded me to drink up so I can be active the next day.

In my early 20s, while I was still in college and working construction (did it for 6.5 yrs) my house and cars were riddled with water bottles. Even now, I have them scattered in the bedroom and downstairs.

I still regularly wake up in the middle if the night and down 16oz and go back to sleep. I tell people this and it seems taboo to them


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I believe low potassium can contribute to cramps. Bananas are a very good source of potassium. That's why the bananas that others have mentioned are a good idea. Diuretics (alcohol, coffee, tea) can cause depletion of potassium, as well as other electrolytes (as has been mentioned previously.)

If you are looking for electrolyte replacement drinks, check into Pedialyte or equivalents. More electrolytes, and less sugar, volume for volume than Gatorade, etc.

Brew on

Pickle juice.

It may be Gout. Have your doctor check your blood for uric acid. Beer exacerbates gout.

Either water/minerals/vitamins/electrolytes or gout.

Dehydration causes cramps and general exhaustion...drink water

Vitamin D... is produced in the skin when in the sun. Lack of Sun exposure is the primary cause of this deficiency. using sunscreen whenever you're in the sun will cause this deficiency. It Causes muscle cramping that will often manifest in the hands and feet first. Is worse with dehydration and/or potassium deficiency... take a supplement when getting low doses of Sun. It is possible to take too much vit D.

Lack of electrolytes (salts) causes muscle weakness and possible cramps... add salt to diet

Lack of potassium causes muscle cramps ... eat potassium rich food such as banana.

Gout causes cramping and pain. often it is brought on by alcohol... stop drinking.

Everyone already covered everything I was going to say, but I will reiterate the importance of drinking enough water with one phrase: kidney stones

My second thought is gout, but I think the most likely cause is dehydration.

Natdavis777 said:

In my early 20s, while I was still in college and working construction (did it for 6.5 yrs) my house and cars were riddled with water bottles. Even now, I have them scattered in the bedroom and downstairs.

I still regularly wake up in the middle if the night and down 16oz and go back to sleep. I tell people this and it seems taboo to them


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Haha, why is drinking water taboo? These must be some strange people. I also am a highly hydrated person. It is healthy

cjgenever said:

Vitamin D... is produced in the skin when in the sun. Lack of Sun exposure is the primary cause of this deficiency. using sunscreen whenever you're in the sun will cause this deficiency. It Causes muscle cramping that will often manifest in the hands and feet first. Is worse with dehydration and/or potassium deficiency... take a supplement when getting low doses of Sun. It is possible to take too much vit D.

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I agree....Vitamin D is a necessary vitamin and it *can* be gotten by sunlight. However, if you drink milk these days or take a multivitamin, most likely you get plenty of vitamin D.

Yep, Gatorade.
When I use it to hydrate from exercise I cut it back to 1/2 strength with water and then add an additional 1/4 tea table salt and 1/8 tea potassium salt per 32oz bottle of the dilute solution.
If you're not using it for rehydrating due to running or working out, then you can probably just drink gatorade straight ... but when running, because gatorade does not have quite the right osmotic concentration, it makes a pit stop in the stomach for a bit while the stomach draws in fluid to dilute ... something not as desirable in the heat of battle.

The extra sodium I add is added because processing large amounts of "fluid replacement" within the body actually takes extra sodium, both because of the notable sodium depletion and also that you are likely to be drinking extra water on-and-off, as well, and to process that water you will need proper sodium stores in the body (there is actually quite a bit of danger if this is not dealt with in serious running or swetting where you have a large amount of hydration to replace ... (ref: "water intoxication" + "death" + "marathon" + "sodium").

And for what it's worth ... I go with Gatorade over Powerade; because Powerade contains primarily fructose which makes a pit stop in the liver to get processed. Again ... potentially material if you want immediate fluid replacement due to long runs ... but probably not such an issue just trying to get rid of misc. leg cramps.

Newsman said:

I agree....Vitamin D is a necessary vitamin and it *can* be gotten by sunlight. However, if you drink milk these days or take a multivitamin, most likely you get plenty of vitamin D.

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Vit d is one of those things that is difficult to absorb. A balanced diet and multi vit is enough for someone that gets enough sunlight. You'll find that supplements have a huge amount of vit d in comparison.

You might be a zombie. I'd keep an eye on it.

I get muscle cramps when drinking from my stein most of the time...

Cyclman said:

I get muscle cramps when drinking from my stein most of the time...

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Is it just me, or does that look photoshopped? Do appreciate the humor tho.

Brew on

Cyclman said:

I get muscle cramps when drinking from my stein most of the time...

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Arm cramps can be treated with a mere siphoning hose.

I definitely second (or third, or fourth, or whatever) what everyone else has said about water and potassium.

One of my coworkers takes it to another level when the guys gather after work for a few quick ones: before each and every beer, he downs a 12 oz bottle of water. He must have a heck of a bladder, because he doesn't make any more pit stops than anyone else.