This morning it happened again, and I was only lying in bed. Over a year ago, I had a leg cramp that brought me to my knees, it was extremely painful and fortunately; it was after I had hiked seven miles and was back at home.

My planning for the hike was poor, in my backpack was only water and nothing at all to replenish the electrolytes that would be lost with each step. Looking back, it seems that I only got cramps in my right leg and it could be that I favor my left leg, due to an injured knee from many years ago.  To remedy the cramp, I chewed a couple magnesium tablets and ingested a small amount of sea salt. (the tablets, I chewed for faster absorption).  Why magnesium supplement? I have been hearing about its benefits for muscle cramps for many years, through nutritional radio programs and reading nutritional magazines. The salt is another story. My mom told me it is good for cramping and it worked for her. The magnesium suggested usage on the label was one tablet a day and I was already up to six (I was taking two with each meal for well over six years). The pain after the seven miles was tough to bear and I needed relief right now, but well after 10 minutes; I was still immobile and in pain. I had to sit on the couch and wait for the painful cramp to dissipate from my right thigh. After thirty to forty minutes I was back to normal, but being very careful with my household chores; not wanting to re-activate the cramp.

Getting back to my most recent episode, it started when I brought my right knee up to remove a sock from my foot with my hand, while lying in bed. Two very painful cramps occurred at the same time on my right thigh immediately, one on the inner side just above my knee and the other on back of my thigh (hamstring muscle). I eased out of bed and dragged my right leg, while applying hard as I could, direct pressure to the inner cramp area with my right hand. That area was getting tighter and tighter and the pain was excruciating. I needed to get to my kitchen where the salt and magnesium supplements are located.

I got to the top of the stairs and eased down one step at a time, while grimacing in pain and verbalizing some choice words. The six steps down to where my stairs angle to the left, my words were “Oh Sh#%, Oh Sh#% on each and every step; it was very painful. After the angle on the stairs, there is another five steps to the bottom and tackling them in the forward position was to unbearable; even to think about. So, I eased down them backwards still one step at a time without any choice words, but the pain was still there. Across from the stairs five feet away is a counter and I held on and limped around to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I poured a small amount of sea salt into my hand, licked it; no difference was felt. Then I removed a magnesium capsule from its bottle, pulled the capsule apart and emptied its contents on my tongue and swallowed. I was amazed! Immediately, the pain was gone, in an instant. It felt like a vice grip pliers (pliers with an adjustable locking jaws and a lever that needs to be depressed to release the jaws) was released from my leg. I emptied the contents of another magnesium capsule on my tongue and drank some water. This was to ensure that the cramps were not going to come back any time soon. I walked back upstairs normally, back to bed I went and pondered what the heck just happened. How could it be? The magnesium supplement: it worked so fast, it was unbelievable!

My entire day went by as usual and the only time I was concerned about my leg cramping, was driving home from work at night in stop and go traffic for an hour. The cramping did not repeat. However, my inner muscle above the knee was tender for about two days when I stooped down. Obviously, some damage was done from the cramping. Since then, I have increased my magnesium intake to well above the recommended on the supplement bottle and I doubled my bedtime dose. I will do my best to prevent that situation from occurring again.

So, why did I switch from tablets to capsules of magnesium supplement? The reputable tablet maker was not available (on back-order) from my favorite online vitamin store. So, I went to my local farmers’ market/nutritional store to see what options were available. I read the information on of all the magnesium supplement bottles and compared their information. The one I bought was more expensive and in a capsule form. Knowing darn well that I will be pulling the capsules apart and only ingesting their contents, also helped in my decision. I try my best to eliminate unnecessary ingredients from my diet. I was very comfortable with the ingredients listed and the other information on the label about the product. Base on the research that I did with this supplement and the results I got from it in my time of need, I can only concluded that is a Quality magnesium supplement.

Considering, this is a supplement I take several times a day, I ordered five bottles from my favorite online vitamin store, and of course the price was very reasonable; compared to the local farmers’ market/nutritional store.

The experience I have had with this brand of magnesium, I am compelled to write a review and I wish I could give ten stars. In my time of need, it worked beyond my expectations.