Quinine Sulphate for leg pain

chrisincontrol11 - high potassium is called hyperkalemia. I was diagnosed with this condition some 6 years ago (I think, not sure of exact dates), there are various causes, google it for further information. It makes for scary reading, but your doctor has not admitted you to hospital, thats a good sign and hopefully this condition is temporary and can be managed on outpatient level. My symptoms were nausea, leg pain, leg cramps, fatigue.

Mine was due to blood pressure medication and CKD stage 3, I was advised to not to eat bananas, avocadoes, oranges, nuts and a whole host of other foods.

My bp medication was changed, kidneys remained stable, at that time I was still having problems with bg control.
Eventually the penny dropped, I realised that by reducing carbs in my diet I was able to lower bg levels, it went on from there, been lowcarbing for the past 4yrs. I have been able to stop all medication with agreement of HCPs, kidney function improved from stage 3 to stage 2, it has been stable at stage 2 for the past 3 years.
Potassium levels have returned to normal, I would not eat bananas and oranges, dried fruits, etc on low carb diet, avocados, nuts, hummous are low carb and high potassium, I can eat them.

Its a shame that its not possible to test potassium levels at home, I had to have fortnightly blood tests, in between I worried myself sick wondering what my levels are.

I hope you feel better soon.

I see you are Type 1, there are members with Type 1 following a low carb diet with no ill effects.
But since I am type 2 I better zip up and let others take over from here, wouldnt want to cause problems.
There are lots of good recipes in the low carb diet section, have a look if you decide to go down that route.

All the best to you x

Hi just found this forum. If you are a diabetic, you may well consider a low carb diet. Dr. John Briffa, who writes for the Times, has published a book called Escape The Diet Trap where he discusses the benefits in general and for diabetics, of a low carb diet. He has collated a lot of research, which he references, that pretty much prove that diabetics should eat as little carb as possible.

Last week he took issue with DUK for not updating their diet advice in relation to carbs. He believes that their recommendations to include carbs in the diet are positively harmful. He also has a blog where he supports his theories and feedback from several diabetics confirm his belief. It seems diabetics lose weight, control their blood sugar much better and generally feel healthier by cutting out carbs.

My husband is Type ll and has started following this advice. So far he has lost nearly a stone, it would be more if he stuck more closely to it but a lifetime of bread, rice, pasta and potatoes is proving difficult to conquer.

I wish you all well.

I take 300mg of Quinine Sulphate each evening and have done for a while. I also suffer with horrendous leg cramps. I will say that since I started on Statins, I have had a little more trouble with cramps, but bearable at the moment. My Doctor proved to me to me he had checked my results after diagnosis by calling me to say there was a script for Vit D at the surgery for me, as I was deficient. He didn't mention anything else. The USA Food and drink administration are not always 100% reliable. I have many friends in the US and there have been times the FDA have approved medicines that have proved to be quite dangerous long term. I would always check the British Governments opinion on meds opposed to the US. I have had no problems with Quinine, infact for me they were a life saver as the nocturnal cramps got so bad I couldn't sleep, night after night.

I think it's wise to always be wary of medication. It's so easy to take it as a quick fix. Before I go to bed, I take 16 tablets, that is eleven different drugs for different issues. The number I take is really scarey, but I have decided to continue for a little while longer, before I ask my Doctor to start reducing the amount of medications I have to take. The drugs I take allow me to have a reasonable standard of living, but I think we all need to think of the effects of long term medication and it's effects on our bodies.