Wellness

[lellow]

Hi. My sister drinks tonic water and that has really helped her. Also as another poster has suggested try increasing your potassium intake, bananas and strawberries. Feel better!

[rockygems123]

---

@Kachina624 wrote:

@ECBG   Could be be eating so many vegetables, you're neglecting potassium-rich foods?  I get leg cramps if I neglect to eat a bananna or orange daily.  Its especially bad if you take a diuretic.

What are the signs of potassium deficiency?

The following signs of potassium deficiency are clues that you're just not getting enough:

• Acne
• Weakness, tiredness, or cramping in arm or leg muscles
• Numbness and/or tingling
• Constipation
• Excess water consumption
• Depression
• Nausea or vomiting
• Edema
• Fatigue (my favorite 8 fatigue tests)
• Insomnia

---

@Kachina624  @ECBG 

So true.  I take a daily diuretic and pee out enough potassium to warrant taking a supplement daily.  Tablet in water, salty, grainy yuckky but necessary I guess to avoid those issues you noted above.  

@ECBG 

This looks like a good article on postassium chloride.

https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/d04241a1

[Kachina624]

My doctor says potassium in pill form is very unstable and the outcome is uncertain.  She recommended I not take it and eat the oranges and bananas instead.

[rockygems123]

---

@ECBG wrote:

---

@rockygems123 wrote:

---

@ECBG wrote:

---

@nada54 wrote:

Do you take magnesium?    That is supposed to be good for leg cramps.

---

@nada54 

I eat a lot of salads and cooked vegies.  I quit the vitamin pkgs (and all easy pay) when Q was going to close the forums.

---

@ECBG 

Maybe try a well rated brand of magnesium from your local grocery store or Amazon?  My doc suggested supplements even if we are big veg eaters which we are also.

---

@rockygems123 

Thank you.  I'm between just a multi vitamin or just potassium.  I know an overload of vitamins leave the body.  

I'll get another multi vitamin that is age related.

---

@ECBG 

My mother was an RN and called vitamins expensive urine ha.  Just depends on the manner in which you take them, i.e. with food, not with a diuretic like colas, coffee etc.

[rockygems123]

---

@Kachina624 wrote:

My doctor says potassium in pill form is very unstable and the outcome is uncertain.  She recommended I not take it and eat the oranges and bananas instead.

---

@Kachina624 

I'm stuck with pill form as allergic to bananas.  So far so good, last lab showed normal levels and they were low before.  

[moonandthestars]

@ECBG Since you are having leg cramps now I would focus on taking potassium, magnesium  and essential minerals/trace minerals.   Later, when you get this episode under control you can probably go back to your normal multivitamin (it has minerals?) and then make sure you're eating bananas, etc. too.

Also, if you're getting them at night when you're in bed,  do remember there is an old remedy where you sleep with a bar of soap!  I never did understand why it would work, but people have sworn by it.  Maybe take a look on google.

Feel better .....

[moonandthestars]

@ECBG oh, also wanted to comment on the overload of vitamins just leaving your system - that doesn't mean that all of it leaves your system - just what your body can't use.  It's a good thing that it happens because that means there is no issue of having too much in your body.  some vitamins store - examples I think would be vitamin d and maybe vitamin a.

[on the bay]

@ECBG, Yes, I wouldn't take potassium in a supplement either-too much can cause severe problems.

Vitamins A,D,E, and K are fat soluble and are absorbed in our body so excess remains there and does not 

leave the body like water soluble (B and C) vitamins do.

[ECBG]

---

@Kachina624 wrote:

My doctor says potassium in pill form is very unstable and the outcome is uncertain.  She recommended I not take it and eat the oranges and bananas instead.

---

@Kachina624 

Durn!  Like I need more calories!!!

[Foxxee]

Yes, I do get them once in a while, usually after lying in bed a few hours.  

I've been checked out...no medical conditions causing it.  Doctor told me to take a potassium tablet whenever I have the cramps or eat more foods high in potassium...bananas, potatoes, and others, and cut back on drinking too much fluid.  I'm guilty of the latter.  Too much fluid can cause an electrolyte imbalance, potassium one of the electrolytes.

Some diuretics can also cause low potassium. 

A few here recommend magnesium.  

I take a multivitamin every day, but they usually contain a small percent of both. 

Taking a potassium tablet always works for me.  

Potassium is necessary for the normal functioning of all cells. It regulates the heartbeat, ensures proper function of the muscles and nerves, and is vital for synthesizing protein and metabolizing carbohydrates.

Magnesium does support muscle and nerve function and energy production.

Low magnesium levels usually don't cause symptoms. However, chronically low levels can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.