Quinine Water or Tonic Water for Relief

[ccepiga]

Hi All

I took Zocor for about 20 days. I too am expriencing alot of pain and difficulty mostly with my legs. I have been off the Zocor for about 2 and half months and I am still having trouble.

I have been on CoQ10, Vitamin C, and L Carneteine for most of that time. I have been going to physical therapy for the leg pain for 4 weeks. The physical therapy consists of stretching exercises, strengthening exercises and a mix of ultra sound and electric stimulation.

I have some days better than others but no significant improvement.

I am having alot of pain in my knees. But it feels to me like the pain is actually in my tendons. I am not well versed in medical terminology but it feels like the part of the muscle that attatches to the knee is sore and tight. When I try to bend the knee it hurts. I am also having pain in my heels (plantar fasciitus).

My leg muscles also feel like they are spasming or knotting up. My physical therapist said to try drinking quinine water every day to relieve this. It seems to be working more so than any of the other stuff. I am still taking the supplements and I don't think the quinine is a cure but it seems to be helping to reduce the pain.

I drink 2 tall glasses a day. I happen to like the taste which is bitter and sweet at the same time. You have to make sure the product you buy actually has quinine in it. Also, it has sugar but you can buy a diet version.

My PT is about to end. That's OK they insist on the strengthening exercizes and I think they do more harm than good. Going forward I plan to use my stationary bike with very little tension and continue all the stretching exercizes they have taught me.

I'm very glad to have found this site. I will be checking back to see the latest. Good luck to you all in dealing with this.

[Darrell]

Your PT experience is similar to mine: stretching exercises provide some modest short-term relief, but strengthening exercises just compound the damage. When the muscles are hurting, they need rest.

I'm glad the quinine is working for you. It didn't help me. My wife had restless leg syndrome for a few years and it didn't work for her either. But everybody's different.

How much carnitine are you taking? My first dose of 500 mg made a big improvement about an hour after I took it and lasted for a few hours. I now take 3,000 to 3,500 mg/day in divided doses.

[ccepiga]

Thanks for your post Darrel. Actually, when I went to check how much carnetine I am taking, I discovered that is the one I ran out of and haven't replaced. I was taking it twice a day but I am not sure how much it was.

Does that one do the most good for you?

As for the quinine, I think it only works if you are having muscle spasms. Much of the tightness seems to be easing up. But I still have soreness and pain around the knees.

[Darrell]

Yes, carnitine provides the most relief for me. This is what I take now:
*http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-GlycoCarn-ALC-CoQ10/ntt-835003008056

Be sure you are consuming carbohydrates regularly but in moderation. Zocor is toxic to skeletal muscle mitochondria and damages the fat-to-energy process, so you can probably lessen the aches by fueling your muscles on carbohydrates as much as possible. When you've used up the carbohydrates/sugars available in your muscle cells, the mitochondria start using fats and the carnitine processes to do that are damaged. I consume some carbohydrates at every meal and at snack-times between meals and at bedtime, but I make sure I'm not increasing my daily calorie count by doing it.
*http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2008/February/25020801.asp

Before starting carnitine, I found that wearing thigh-high medical-grade compression stockings (15-20 mm Hg compression) from Ames Walker allowed me some relief when I couldn't sleep due to muscle aches. I'm not sure if it was the compression (I had no swelling), the warmth, or just the change of sensation, but they definitely helped for short periods.
*http://www.ameswalker.com/joformenthhi1.html

Before starting carnitine I also used a cane for long walks, shopping, etc. to take some load off the bad leg, but I only have one bad leg.

[Darrell]

Also, try the elastic knee braces that are sold in grocery and drug stores for $10-$15 each. They may make your knees feel better/stable. I had one major muscle group out of four that was most affected in my leg and my knee doctor (I didn't need one before Zocor) said its contraction and tightness was pulling things out of balance at the knee. [My first symptom of any problem at all with Zocor was hyper-extending my knee while walking normally along smooth pavement. Things degraded rapidly from there.]]

[Cat Mom2]

I had the sever pain in my knnes, both of them at the same moment, it felt like somebody had hit me in the knees with a sledge hammer.Squatting down was impossiable, that was the worst pain I had ever experienced. Once I quit the statins and the pain suddenly stopped, I started searching for answers and this is what I found. Suffered with it for 5+ years!

"What are the symptoms of patellar tendonitis?
Patellar tendonitis usually causes pain directly over the patellar tendon. Your doctor should be able to recreate your symptoms by placing pressure directly on the inflamed tendon. The other common symptom of patellar tendonitis is pain with activities, especially jumping or kneeling. Less common, but not unusual, is swelling around the tendon itself.
I suffered with this exact symptom from within weeks of my first lipitor for years until I got off of them. Off of Lipitor, it went away! Kneeling down was so painful that it was impossiable for me to kneel down."


http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/patelladisorders/a/patellartendon.htm