Muscle cramps

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Originally Posted by Eden

Nuun ( www.nuun.com ) is a tablet that you drop into your water. It dissolves and puts a little flavor and some electrolytes in there. It's got sodium, potassium, vitamin C, riboflavin, calcuim and magnesium. The cola flavor has some caffeine.

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Eden --- I picked some of this up lately after getting the headaches you mentioned when I was drinking lots of plain water on hot afternoon rides. First time I used it, I offered DH a taste. Got a kick out of his reaction: that stuff tastes like armpit sweat!

Funny -- I thought it was pretty good! A bit salty maybe, but yummy!

Karen in Boise

I used to get charlie horses pretty frequently. In addition to paying attention to electrolytes, salt, bananas, all the stuff above -- I also got into the habit of stretching my calves before bed.

Also, if your sleep position allows, try not to leave your feet in a pointed position as you fall asleep. For example, if you sleep on your stomach, you could scoot down and hang your feet off the foot of the bed. I think the idea is to not leave the muscles in a contracted position if there is a likelihood of cramps.

Sometimes the charlie horse just comes on all of a sudden with no warning, but after I tried the stretching and trying not to point my feet, I started to feel a few twitches before the full-on cramp. Sometimes the twitches wake me up before the muscle totally cramps up, and then I can quickly try to stretch the muscle/rub it before the cramp gets too bad.

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Originally Posted by Kano

First time I used it, I offered DH a taste. Got a kick out of his reaction: that stuff tastes like armpit sweat!

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You should ask him how he knows what armpit sweat tastes like. :cool:

Armpit sweat aside, I think I want to try this. I have been having more issues with the heat and I cramped up really badly on my hilly ride Saturday. I've tried a couple of energy drinks and they are starting to make me think they cause weight gain. I'd rather eat Shot Blocks or a Luna Bar for carbs and/or protein. Plus Accelerade is bothering my stomach from time to time.
I'm going to go to EMS and buy a sample to test tomorrow.

And to the original poster, the muscle cramping is most definitely related to your Fibromyalgia.I have the same issues, which only ramp up as the season progresses and it gets hotter out.

This

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

She's suggesting vitamin D because D helps you absorb calcium more efficiently. That's precisely why they add vitamin D to milk. The calcium may help your muscle cramps. So it can't hurt to take extra calcium supplements WITH your vitamin D. :o

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and this

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

If you are craving salt (the salsa and tortilla chips you mention), your body might be trying to tell you something.
... The longer I work in healthcare, the more convinced I am that our bodies usually send us out clues about the cause or solution we should be investigating.

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are indisputable pieces of advice.

Drink lots.

Calcium, sodium, and potassium are the three electrolytes responsible for firing a muscle neuron. Remember this from anatomy class ? ;)

He's a BOY, Lisa (granted, a sorta old boy) -- probably don't want to know how he'd know what armpit sweat tastes like!

Aside from being warm by the time I got around to it today, I didn't notice any "armpit flavor" in the bottleful I had with me on this afternoon's ride!

But I'm not very keen on warm water of any kind...

Karen in Boise

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Originally Posted by Kano

He's a BOY, Lisa (granted, a sorta old boy) -- probably don't want to know how he'd know what armpit sweat tastes like!

Aside from being warm by the time I got around to it today, I didn't notice any "armpit flavor" in the bottleful I had with me on this afternoon's ride!

But I'm not very keen on warm water of any kind...

Karen in Boise

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Which flavor do you have? Cola is my favorite(I am a bit of a freak.... last year when it was getting near 100 here I was making NUUN -soycream floats), followed closely, I think, by Berry. I burned out on lemon lime flavored stuff a long time ago, due to it being the most prevalent sports drink flavor out there... so I don't buy that one. The new Ginger-citrus is awfully good though - and nice on the tummy if you are feeling queasy.

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Originally Posted by Eden

Which flavor do you have? Cola is my favorite(I am a bit of a freak.... last year when it was getting near 100 here I was making NUUN -soycream floats), followed closely, I think, by Berry. I burned out on lemon lime flavored stuff a long time ago, due to it being the most prevalent sports drink flavor out there... so I don't buy that one. The new Ginger-citrus is awfully good though - and nice on the tummy if you are feeling queasy.

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I drink mine a little diluted when I'm riding, and I thought the Cola and Berry flavors were kind of nasty diluted, so I stick with the Lemon Lime now. Boring, I know, but it doesn't bug me. I'll have to try the Ginger Citrus though. That could be pretty good.

Another option is Elete, which probably does tastes like armpit sweat. It's "flavorless", so all you taste is the salt. In small doses, hardly noticeable. But don't drink it straight. :p

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Originally Posted by Zen

Drink lots.

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Actually, I have found that red wine in moderation has been very helpful with muscle aches.

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Originally Posted by Eden

Which flavor do you have? Cola is my favorite(I am a bit of a freak.... last year when it was getting near 100 here I was making NUUN -soycream floats), followed closely, I think, by Berry. I burned out on lemon lime flavored stuff a long time ago, due to it being the most prevalent sports drink flavor out there... so I don't buy that one. The new Ginger-citrus is awfully good though - and nice on the tummy if you are feeling queasy.

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I picked up some of the ginger citrus and the berry to try first. I've only tried the ginger citrus one so far, and it's a nice flavor - cold, anyway. Warm, to me, nothing tastes real good!

Nuun floats, eh? interesting idea!

Karen in Boise