[QUOTE=WhollyHamaca;1982704]I keep a little bottle of Hyland's quinine tabs with my flashlight in a pocket on the side of the hammock in case I get a leg or back cramp.
/QUOTE]
I'll have to check these out. A nightcap of diet tonic water with lemon helps me stave off leg cramps. I was disappointed when Sprouts discontinued their inexpensive house brand with stevia.
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[QUOTE=Sleeper;1987359]The medical data on quinine now suggest little benefit and higher risk, including a risk of dangerous heart rhythms (worsened by interactions with some other medications). Docs are now taught to recommend avoidance for their patients. If you could find something safe that reliably prevented cramps you could be very, very wealthy.Originally Posted by WhollyHamaca
I pretty much solved my friend's leg cramps by insisting she drink "real" electrolytes - not any phony "new age" marketing hype (including gatorade - I'm not saying gatorade is bad; I'm saying there are better choices). Decades ago I hiked the Oregon PCT drinking a quart of Gookin-aid (plus addition water if necessary) every day. Gookin was a track coach and formulated this drink specifically for absorption. When I drink it, I can feel it pass my throat, then it just disappears! With water, I can jump up and down and feel/hear it slosh around. Not this stuff. Several years back it was rebranded as Vitalyte.
But this is not something you take at night, this is something you drink during the day, during your hike, so you are replenished when you go to bed.
I drink a quart every time I go hammock camping or on a day hike where I bring my hammock.
Last edited by cougarmeat; 09-17-2019 at 13:21.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
@chef4, you're right about quinine interactions with meds and heart arhythmia. I'm totally med-free except for an occasional aspirin or such, so I don't worry about the small amount of quinine I seldom take for leg cramps. Looks like Hyland no longer sells the quinine tabs I have. Now they have something called "Leg Cramp Relief" or such like, and I bet it doesn't have much (if any) quinine in it, probably no more than what's in an 8-oz bottle of tonic water (not club soda). Most tonic water has other stuff in it that I avoid, and I wouldn't want to carry those little glass fizzy-water bottle bombs in my pack anyway.
@cougarmeat, that's a good suggestion about Gookin-ade/Vitalyte. I used it when it first came out but then I couldn't find it after I moved here, so I'd forgotten about it. I do recall liking it much better than Gatorade. I'll look for it again. Hydration is key to keeping leg/back cramps, headache, heat exhaustion at bay on and off the trail. Also gentle stretches morning and evening. And of course a well-tuned hammock at the end of the day!
I guess I am pretty lucky...
At home I sleep 50% of the time on my side and the rest on my back. I could sleep on my back the entire night without moving.. Done it. My cat would climb on my chest and stay there all night. I wouldn't move an inch until she got up.
While I could back sleep all night in the hammock I often roll to my side.. both sides, with my knees pulled up. No problem at all.
Yes, my pack weighs 70lbs, but it's all light weight gear....
Bob's brother-in-law
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