Master Cleanse Forum - Master Cleanser Lemonade Diet

Hi there,

I'm on day 5 right now but I'm writing to ask about something that happened the night between days 3 and 4.

I am too familiar with charlie horse cramps in my legs because I am a swimmer. I frequently get them during a swim workout if I push myself very hard.

For those who don't know, a charlie horse is a severe muscular cramp that completely seizes up the muscle in question; when I get one, my calf muscle is locked in the flex position so tightly that it feels hard as rock. It is quite painful, and the next day or two I always feel sore in the muscle.

I have gotten a calf charlie horse only a handful of times in my sleep during my life, but haven't gotten one in my sleep in years. However, on the night in question, I awoke in the middle of the night with a pretty bad one in my left calf.

Is this normal to experience during the fast? Has anyone else experienced similar?

I know that the cramps are supposedly linked to a nutrient deficiency (potassium?) so maybe it's simply due to the fact that I'm not getting much nutrition while on the cleanse.

As a second, unrelated question - I know it is said that you should do 10 days minimum, but due to unforseen obstacles, it would work best for me to stop at 7 days. I am not trying to lose a vast amount of weight as my BMI is already in the normal range of 21, but is there any reason 3 extra days will truly benefit me? Please advise.

I have completed several cleanses and have experienced cramps in my calves. Unlike you though, I do wake up occassionally in the night with this pain (and have since I was about 18 I think) and tend to ache quite badly after exercise here too. I think its from wearing high heels and not getting enough salt! I have also experienced back pain during cleanses, but not otherwise. I wouldn't worry as it seems that aches and pains are part of the cleansing process and they should subside afterwards.

I have completed a couple of 7 day cleanses as well as 10, 14 and 17 day cleanses. I would say that I only truly started to feel a real difference after 14 days (although like most people I felt back to normal after 4 or 5 days). So to me, there isn't much difference between doing 7 or 10 days!

Good luck and I hope the cramps go, I know how painful they are! Claire