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jimmytavino

need help & advice Re: Muscle Cramps

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... so lately and almost always at night time..
My arms, my hands, my upper and lower leg muscles have been cramping up... big time...
[:/]:(.... and It Hurts...

I DO try to stay hydrated, but also tend to perspire pretty well,, when working...
fatigue must also play into it, cause if i really Over do it at work,,, ( like yesterday :|:( )
it is a SURE bet,, that i'll have issues, when i try to sleep...

I have to jump up outta bed, and try to "walk it off",,, and can barely move my arms or hands without a cramp coming on...If i bend my elbow.... it seizes...Move my legs in a certain way... BAM charleyhorse!!!!

I try to keep potassium levels up, by eating bananas and dried prunes and raisins,,
and yet.. i STILL get the cramps... ( I AM however, VERY regular)!!!:D:ph34r:B|

hahahahah
but really.... any ideas??
i've been told "salt tablets", but it seems that too much salt isn't good either..
so what???
stretching,,,?
MORE fluids.?
Certain Fluids?
More exersize?
Less exersize?
maybe LESS work!!!!!!

any P. T.'s out there??

i don't wanna have to deal with this EVERY night....could i be getting OLD??? i have noticed reduced muscle mass in my arms and shoulders....
so now what???

help.
jimmytavino

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Supplemental potassium. I've supplemented potassium for years (just one pill a day) and very very rarely do I get cramps anymore.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Coconut water has more potassium than a banana. I use it as a recovery drink after sweating for 90 minutes in bikram yoga. You might also try an electrolyte replacement like Cytomax, Clif or Nuun, etc., but stay away from Gatorade, it has way too much sugar. You can get electrolyte at REI or any running store. You should also check with your doc and mybe get a blood panel done to make sure anything abnormal isn't going on.
Adrenaline is my crack

DPH #3
D.S. #16 FAG #12 Muff Brother #4406

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Low ferritin (stored iron) can also cause cramps and restless leg syndrome. If you are iron deficient anemic, and in your 50's, there is about 60% chance that you are bleeding internally, from stomach ulcer or from a colon tumor or something along that line. It doesn't take much -- a teaspoon of bleeding a day more than will double your requirement for iron. In my case, I didn't get much dietary iron, was donating blood, and taking Prilosec and calcium, and drinking tea and coffee, which all decrease absorption of iron. As Nightingale said, check with your doctor to see whether something is going on.

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I'm not a doctor or a P.T. guy....but...I know that if one works out, protein is essential to prevent aches, pains, & cramps. So, whether or not you workout, you may want t get yourself some Whey protein & see if that does the trick.
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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I get cramps so bad in my legs! Like a charly-horse that won't stop. a few times late at night I actually thought about calling 911 cause I could not move !
Felt like something would rip apart.
Anyways.. my foot Dr. suggested to get/drink seltzer water with Quinine in it. Also, got these quinine tabs from health food store. The potassiuom thing, from what I heard is you REALLY have to be WAY low for it to be the cause or solution. Seriously, try the quinine and tabs (called Night Cramps) give me a follow up!



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Seltzer water is just carbonated water. Tonic water has quinine in it. My dad drinks it for muscle cramps as recommended by his doctor.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

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If it is a potassium/sodium issue, give V8 a shot. I sweat like nobody I've ever met and on fire assignments got in the habit of carrying a handful of the small (4oz maybe?) cans of V8. They don't weight much and they contain a PILE of sodium and potassium. On a daily basis it probably isn't the kind of sodium intake you want to be getting, but it's a different story when it's a matter of keeping your body in equilibrium. Hypertension runs in my family and as a rule I work hard to limit unnecessary salt intake. That said, every doc I've talked to has said it's all about moderation and getting it when you need it and avoiding it when you don't. One of the things I like most about it is how much you get in such a small quantity of drink. I never stop drinking water, but for me to keep up with what I'm losing I have to drink an uncomfortable (sloshing in the belly and peeing constantly kind of uncomfortable) amount of water. It's nice to take a couple shots of V8 and much of the same result as a much larger bottle of something else.
Killing threads since 2004.

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I've tallied up all the responses in the thread:

- Bourbon
- supplemental potassium
- See your doctor (took til post #4 ) ; Smartwater, better than Gatorade
- Coconut water; plus replace electrolytes, but for God's sake stay away from Gatorade!
- You're getting old
- A joint and a beer
- Iron. Maybe seeing a doctor, too.
- Protein
- Tonic water w/quinine
- Too much salt. Maybe you're hypertensive. You coulda had a V8!!
- Calcium plus magnesium.
- You're not getting old.
- Another vote for tonic.

OK, now follow all this advice.

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