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Feeling ill and cramp!!

Posted , 3 users are following.

linda17563
linda17563

I have had since yesterday afternoon had..food poisoning!  Hours later and feeling very weak....hopefully will be able to get pred into me today...but the thing that puzzled me most...both my feet had painful cramp in them at the same time...toes doing weird things...being very drained and wanting to lie down....immediately the cramp started if I did....any suggestions on this...is it because I was running (eventually) on empty...and still am?

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey linda17563

    Posted

    Linda, if you manage to get your daily dose of Pred into you and keep it there for a couple of hours before being sick, then you should be ok.  If not then you should see your Dr who may consider injecting the dose. Cramp can be a very common problem whilst on Pred, plus the effects of the food poisoning can aggravate it if you are emptying your body of nutrients and minerals.  Hopefully, you are sipping plenty of water - sports drinks can help with the sickness.
    • linda17563
      linda17563 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Thank you for that...I have now taken pred with a mouthful of yoghurt...fingers crossed it will stay there!  I will never look at a fishcake again!...
  • EileenH
    EileenH linda17563

    Posted

    Oh dear - I don't do fishcakes because you never know what is in them and proper fish is nicer I think!

    However, you are short of sodium and magnesium, partly due to the food poisoning but also partly due to pred. I had cramp like that just due to the PMR - no idea why but it wasn't pred or anything else! Magnesium did help - and it is the standard first line approach for muscle cramps in most of mainland Europe. The blood level isn't any pointer - you maintain blood magnesium at the expense of the stores in the muscles. 

    Get well soon! (PS, sympathy - because I had something while in China that made being away from a bathroom very unappealing! Several of us had it - but whether it was food-poisoning as such, a virus or just too many spices in the food wasn't clear).

    • linda17563
      linda17563 EileenH

      Posted

      Thank you for that...I will never eat another fish cake...my friend went to China last year..with a group, like yourself...she is vegetarian...and was mainly given sticky rice!  she is now sick of the sight of rice...but one or two of her group were ill who had other things...I was so ill last night, nearly fainted, so crawled on hands and knees to bathroom!...it`s been years since I`ve had food poisoning...last time, un thawed chickens at Pontins (late 70`s)...whole camp went down...I ate the fishcakes out yesterday....starting to think it`s safer to stay at home and eat!!  Once again, thanks for advice...
    • EileenH
      EileenH linda17563

      Posted

      I'd requested gluten-free - as the tour guide said "pretty much impossible"!!!! I hardly ate rice at all but did eat really well - it was easy to avoid noodles. One person was veggie but not rabid about what was in her dinner as long as it wasn't frank meat. Almost every meal was banquet-style - 10 or a dozen different things on a lazy-susan so it was easy to avoid things. 

      And interestingly - it isn't gluten that's the problem but it is the easier way to get wheat-free. In the hotel where the meeting was they had the most amazing pastry chef! All that happens is I itch badly if I eat wheat starch every day - but I did try the man's wonderful cakes and didn't have any bother at all. Chinese wheat must be different from what is used here - I can eat Canadian wheat too when in France, that's what they use to make baguette.

    • karren61208
      karren61208 EileenH

      Posted

      Lots of people recommend sports drinks to replenish their electrolytes after hot weather has its effects. Dehydration causes cramping as you say, Eileen, due to a loss of sodium and magnesium.

      My husband has for years been using a product called Emergen-C which contains 60 mg magnesium and same for sodium (sodium bicarbonate and phosphate). It also has other elements like vitamins C B12, folic acid, calcium and more.

      I really appreciate, Linda, that you started this thread today because yesterday I was suffering foot cramping off and on all day. So you reminded me and I took a glass of Ermergen C. It's easy to keep with you. the product comes in individual packets which you mix with 4-6 oz of water. You can use it twice a day if needed and it has less sugar than most of the sports drinks (20-25 calories). My husband puts a packet in his wallet. And it comes in a variety of flavors. Lemon-lime is our favorite.

    • linda17563
      linda17563 EileenH

      Posted

      Sounds good to me...does make you wonder though about our wheat...I can`t have gliadin (don`t ask) but it`s in all gluten...I find I`m ok, eating gluten free bread if I have to (pretty disgusting) but not worry about gluten in other foods......
    • EileenH
      EileenH linda17563

      Posted

      I looked it up - it's arrived in the UK!!!!! I prefer my supplements in tablets with as little sugar as possible and not in combo!

      Don't need to ask about gliadin - know about that. I know, I'm boring...

      I can eat spelt and kamut, both ancient wheat varieties and easily available here so it's a temptation. Rye is also no problem. It's just the highly processed commercial hard durum wheat used in pasta and UK bread. As you say - gluten-free bread is utterly disgusting. I decided it wasn't worth it. Cheese on oatcakes is the way to go... 

    • linda17563
      linda17563 EileenH

      Posted

      Talking about food ...fish...I just remembered a programme that was on a couple of weeks ago.  An expert, was testing the freshness of fish from different shops...he had all the equipment.....some "fresh" fish was two weeks old...at the end of the programme, they asked him about eating fish himself....his reply...only frozen, which is frozen on the ship straight away!.....then I know it`s fresh......oh dear...
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