1st June 2008
[QUOTE=Lindaru;3590423]....Bethsheba . . . how would we be able to find out if we are imbalanced or not absorbing? A lot of women in my husband's family and myself have had this happen to us with the night time only leg cramps. One doctor told one of my in-laws that it was a circulation thing related to position at night.......
Hello Lindaru,
I take no stock whatsover in the circulation at night theory...other theories supported by government and university research suggest more plausable explanations.
I used to get leg cramps (or charlie horses as we used to call them) at night and sometimes when I swam in the swimming pool. Years ago I learned that increasing one's potassium would eliminate the cramps. I haven't had charlie horses since I was a kid....and just for the record, we didn't have access to the fruits and veggies in the winter months when I was a kid that we do now.
When I started taking a diuretic for blood pressure, I had problems with leg spasms and started doing alot of reading about these kinds of problems as my primary and my sleep specialist (the leg spasms interfered with my sleep) were of NO help here and denied it had anything to do with the medication I was on (a diuretic for blood pressure). When I discontinued the diuretic, my spasms disappeared...that's when I, despite my doctors denials, knew there was a correlation between my meds and my leg problems. In the last year I have done some serious reading about leg spasm, leg cramps, and other unwanted body movements. From what I've read, magnesium is the key but other electrolytes in a proper balance are needed for processing the magnesium.
From what I know, electrolyte imbalances can come and go so although a lab test may show "normal" one day, it may not show a "normal" the next day....if I'm off base here, someone please correct me. For example, someone who eats a well balanced diet can run in a marathon and end up with an electrolyte imablance if they don't replenish their liquids and their salts (calcium, magnesium, potassium)...that's why they have rehydration drinks in addition to water at competitive and charity runs/walks/whatevers.
Glamour girl's suggestion of Gatorade is an example of a rehydration drink that replenishes electrolytes but there are others...lots of runners and other athletes drink the stuff (I can't handle it personally) but perhaps you could interest your husband in doing so because many men rehydrate this way.
They sometimes add fruit flavors/juices to quinine water and if the quinine works, it may be the fruit additives that help and not the actual quinine.
Instead of having lab testing done, I would suggest making sure you ate something with potassium, calcium, and magnesium everyday...for example, a glass of orange juice or a banana, a glass of milk, and some peanut butter...but there are many, many other options. If improving your diet doesn't work, get the lab work done, and ask for a referral to a dietician. Although there are a number of reasons for malabsorption, a poor diet is probably the most likely.
Bethsheba
