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COVID-19 and leg cramps.....

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by ETC(SS), Mar 23, 2020.

  1. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    So....

    Age happens.
    If you've ever been awakened at oh-dark-thirty with leg cramps, you will know how uncomfortable they can be and how hard it can be to get back to sleep afterwards.
    These happen to me now regularly enough (quarterly-ish) for me to seek relief, and one of the remedies in the past has been......our old friend Quinine.

    Devotees of gin and tonic know that the latter has historical street cred in places where skeeters like to hang out, and perhaps you've done the party trick with the black light and tonic water.
    Unfortunately....dot.gov are a bunch of buzz-kills, and all of the OTC leg cramp pills no longer have quinine.
    The amount of quinine in tonic water makes it useless as a remedy - even if you drink liters of the stuff every day.
    Of course that's not stopping the hoarders from snapping up every bottle and can on the North American continent - but hey.....hoarders....right?
    :D

    SO......
    I know I can drink Pickle juice, but what fun is that when you can thumb your nose at the FDA?
    I've been tinkering with the idea of using cinchona bark / extract / powder and have even laid in a small supply of the stuff....FORTUNATELY...because it's all sold out too.

    Some idiot out there will probably OD on the stuff with the recent Coronavirus publicity and they'll probably ban this supplement soon anyway - but hey.....I have a stash NOW that I might as well play with. :D

    Any thoughts?
    Experiences?

    I'm in excellent cardiovascular health and am read in on all of the interactions....
     
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  2. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Drink milk and eat bananas. My mother used to drink quinine water for night leg cramps. A doctor I spoke to said no significant relevance, but that the quinine makes the water taste good.

    My ex gym trainer claims not enough water. (This seemed valid as well, for workouts at least).

    moto g(7) power ?
     
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  3. Mark57

    Mark57 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD

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    +1 on the bananas or do as my wife does. She takes a single potassium supplement about every 3-4 days. It's been very effective when she gets them.
     
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  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Well....it can't be hydration, because I've always been a water drinker - but my CFO recently put me on one of her potassium supplements.

    We're heading into summer - so we'll find out.

    I also recently switched to a more robust B-complex (B6 seems to be a thing...)
    I'll tinker with the tonic water thing after gathering some more knowledge about the pitfalls.....
     
  5. Mark57

    Mark57 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD

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    Hopefully that helps. Be careful with dosage. Too much can mess with your blood workup. Some places actually use forms of high dose potassium to execute people . . . ;)
     
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  6. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    ... or various electrolyte products or anti-cramp remedies for bicycling or other athletics. Though bananas are also on top of the list for those activities too, if you can still stand them.

    I don't recall having any nighttime leg cramps since beginning to pay attention to daytime cycling issues.

    upload_2020-3-23_12-56-37.png
     
    #6 fuzzy1, Mar 23, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2020
  7. Mark57

    Mark57 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD

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    Being the lead sled dog is good with this treatment. :D
     
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  8. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Mushrooms are also a good source of potassium.
    Some kinds you shouldn't eat a lot of though.
     
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  9. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    The problem is that you're diluting it with too much gin.

    Or maybe that's the solution.

    I can't remember.
     
  10. DavidA

    DavidA Prius owner since July 2009

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    EDIT: Oops! I meant to put the following in the Food Store thread...

    The store I work at has been able to increase the quantity of shelved items for the past 4 days and we no longer look like a grocer in the Soviet Union circa 1985. Bread is still being hit up hard, along with every single frozen item. Frozen pizza is still very scarce. TP was available again today, just not a pallet like what we'd want to bring in daily. Except for frozen foods, we are beginning to look like our old selves again, and are planning to eliminate the 2-item limit ASAP.

    The special senior morning line policy began today, but haven't had much problem with that even before that went into effect since we have been walking the line anyway to ask older, pregnant or disabled individuals to please step forward. Everyone already in the line has been nice and in fact proactive helping those individuals move in front of them - a sort of self sorting situation. Good to see that the vast majority of people have been extremely understanding.
     
    #10 DavidA, Mar 23, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2020
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  11. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I have no solution.
    But I have suffered from nighttime calf/ankle cramps that are so severe they waken me from sound sleep, and all I can hope to do, is jump out of bed safely and stand on the leg/calf/foot, before the cramp has made that impossible.

    I have tried vitamins, minerals-Doctor recommended, and other remedies from friends, family and neighbors, but the attacks just seem random and totally unpredictable and uncontrollable.
     
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  12. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    That's going to make it a little tougher for me to report on the effectiveness of using low doses of quinine, but since it's available to me (for now) I'm going to experiment with it a little bit when summer bites down.
    I CAN report that my instances of nocturnal leg cramping occur when I've walked over 25,000 steps in a day or have a lesser period of intense physical activity.

    So we'll see.
    (unless more idiots OD on Hydroxychloroquine...which ironically is supposed to be a LESS toxic form of quinine...)
     
  13. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Night time calf muscle cramps. Take a 99mg Potassium pill 1 hour before bedtime. Seems to have prevented it for six months.
     
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  14. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

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    OTC potassium supplements are worthless. Because too much of the stuff can kill you, the govt restricts the OTC pills to such a piddly dose, you are wasting your money. As mentioned bananas are the best way to go, or if your "health professional" prescribes a rx for it.

    Have been getting calf issues in the past couple of weeks. My hydration level has been pitiful. Upped my water intake and added a banana a day and no more issues for the past four days. .
     
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  15. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    [​IMG]

    Only trouble is.....all of the hoarders are making bananas harder to come by. ;)
     
  16. audiodave

    audiodave Active Member

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    Magnesium!!!
    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  17. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    ^ Since I'm a self-loathing almost vegan, supplements are a part of my daily life.
    I'm already on Magnesium+B6 (Bluebonnet) and my CFO has me on an OTC potassium.
    Nocturnal cramping seems to be a little different than the kind that the Lycra set endures after a hard weekend.
    (NOBODY wants to see people MY age in Lycra!!) and I myself have had both.

    Hydration.
    I live where summertime humidity and temps are in a race for three digits before noon from March through October.

    Hydration has always been a HUGE thing for people in these parts....
    The History of Gatorade - Who invented sports drinks? | HowStuffWorks

    In fact.....I'm old enough to remember when they used salt tablets in some occupations that require prolonged exposure to crazy high temperatures and in fact.....some endorphin junkies still use them....
    Salt Tablets for Runners: Everything You Need to Know | Rockay
     
  18. audiodave

    audiodave Active Member

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  19. audiodave

    audiodave Active Member

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    Try taking on a empty stomach.
    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my potassium is at the high end of the scale, but i still get charley horse behind my thighs from time to time at night.
    i'll take a look at my magnesium level