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Very heavy cramping legs? Electrolytes?

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Posted 8/19/2020 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
My legs weigh a ton and feel swollen even though they aren't with some mild calf cramping. Feet sometimes cold but not extremely. Just feels like a Adema even though there's no visible sign of swelling it's probably just tens of millions of pathogenic bacteria swimming around in my interstitial and lymph.
far as the cramping goes how do you know when you need magnesium vs. Potassium vs. Calcium vs. Salt I'm not able to distinguish the cramping from being low on one or. the other

What are the best sources for potassium and calcium?

Thanks
Posted 8/19/2020 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Brandi, in my experience with my crazy leg cramps, it was always magnesium.
Mag is the one that *usually* gets depleted the most by lyme and its co-infections. For me, as long as I stay on some mag I do not have cramps, but I will say one of my friends with lyme did not start improving her leg cramps until she was treated properly for lyme and bart.

Truthfully, potassium and calcium arent super hard to get adequately in your diet. Cantaloupe, bananas, bell peppers, all have plenty of potassium.
Posted 8/19/2020 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you, how much magnesium are you taking?
Posted 8/19/2020 2:25 AM (GMT 0)
I take a lower amount than some, around 230mg a day. If it is a day I am going to exercise or if my cramps start up again I double it for a few days.
Posted 8/19/2020 9:32 AM (GMT 0)
for my partner and I, it was just insufficient salt intake

but we both eat a strict keto diet and that increases your salt requirements - and at the same time we are not eating any processed foods which have high salt content and your baseline salt intake actually goes down - so its a double whammy.

3 good-sized pinches of sea salt flakes on each meal is enough to stop me from getting leg cramps.
Posted 8/19/2020 11:13 AM (GMT 0)
I have been studying this topic for some time as one of my main problems are legs and heavy feeling and later also pain in them.
In case electrolytes play a role, potassium is important. However very often patients like us have imbalances in the body and to keep good potassium levels you need to rebalance salt, so I can emphasize that salt is also important. But finding balance for you personally is not easy.
The option for heaviness might be bad circulation in very small vessels of the muscles due to inflammation. Massage and everything that increases circulation, oxygen, should help.
Third version is that viruses like hsv or other infectious agents have influence on nerves which results in the leg weakness, heaviness etc.
A lot of people complain about this problem (some after DSF, others during BVT or after antobiorics) I have noticed increase in symptoms by hsv reactivation.
Try to experiment and see what might be helpful for you. Lyme & co-infections are probably the reasons for these symptoms but understanding over which mechanism this happens is a challenge.
Posted 8/19/2020 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure if there's a way to tell which minerals might be needed other than trial and error. Even lab tests only measure what happens to be in the sample that's taken, and they only compare you to the average results of people tested at their lab (i.e. mostly sick people) without taking into account individual differences like age, body size, activity level, sex, etc.

If you struggle with dysautonomia at all, then I'd go with salt first.
Posted 8/19/2020 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
If you want a general electrolyte substitute, coconut water was something recommended to me by a trainer at my gym
Apparently it has potassium, phosphorus, mag, cal, and a few other things. May be worth looking into
Posted 8/20/2020 12:07 AM (GMT 0)
I appreciate all the great ideas.
My diet is mostly keto so I will try adding more salt.
I think I stayed away from Salt because in the past that used to make me feel a little bit queasy. Maybe it's possible was having an effect on something in my stomach with some light die off.
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