Leg cramps and how to deal with them

Once in awhile I get cramps on my legs. I also suffer from the occasional bout of RLS or Restless Leg Syndrome. It used to be much worse, but I discovered a way how to deal with it.

Leg cramps are painful. For me they usually happen after I go to bed or, sometimes, when I get into my car. Then it is usually my foot that cramps up.

Last night I got leg cramps. Probably because I didn’t drink enough water during the day. I read that when your body is dehydrated you may get leg cramps. Drinking water is important to prevent unpleasant attacks of different pains.

I tried stretching and relaxing, but nothing helped, so I finally got up and drank a glass of Tonic Water. Within 5 minutes the cramps went away.

It is the Quinine in the Tonic Water that does the trick. Drinking Tonic Water also helps with the Restless Leg Syndrome. The only problem is, when I drink Tonic Water I usually get heartburn, which means taking a tablet of Tums. Then I’m okay and ready to sleep.

Quinine occurs naturally in the bark of the cinchona tree. Those trees grow in South America, but have been introduced into other parts of the world. Quinine was used mainly to treat malaria until about 1940. Since then other drugs were made available. Apparently, some people are allergic to Quinine, and some people experience unpleasant side effects, like ringing in their ears, dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms. I’ve never had any.

It is possible that those people took doctor-prescribed pills and they were too strong. Tonic Water contains only small quantities of Quinine and should be safe for most people.

Quinine can also be purchased in pill form: Leg Cramps made by Hylands. They can be purchased in Health Stores. (Recently, I bought a bottle on the Internet from a store in the US and they were cheaper than in our local Health Store, and they were the same pills.) You take one or two pills under your tongue and let them dissolve. They have a pleasant taste. They are not as strong as the ones you buy in a Pharmacy and cheaper. We usually take them with us when we travel with the car or flying in a plane. But we found that even in a plane they usually serve Tonic Water.

I swear by Tonic Water. I’ve been using it for years and it has always helped me. I sometimes spent sleepless nights because of my restless legs, not anymore. Now I sleep like a baby, literally, because drinking all that water makes me get up a couple of times during the night to go to the bathroom, sometimes even three times, but I can take that small side effect. Beats wrestling with the bed sheets and the blanket because I don’t know what to do with my unruly legs. It also keeps me from waking up my wife. Two grouchy people the next day are not something our little Canary Eddie could deal with.

I can only hope that the drug companies don’t ever apply for a patent for Tonic Water. Then it would just be too costly to buy. By the way, I buy it at Walmart for 98 cents for  a 2 litre bottle. You don’t need to buy the expensive brands. They don’t work any better and taste the same.

By the way, drink only the Tonic Water and leave out the Gin (^_^).