We are going to try this and thought I'd share it with others. On another forum a PWP mentioned he/she has found Canada Dry's tonic water helpful for night time leg cramping. Apparently is has quinine in it, which if you look that up, in addition to helping with malaria long ago and some other things, (anti-inflammatory, which I found interesting), does help with cramping.

Quinine is in very low doses in Canadry Dry, at higher doses, there are problems. I found it interesting that Wiki mentioned quinine used to be used "off label" for muscle cramps until Big Pharma, er, I mean, the FDA, got involved. Canada Dry's tonic water is, according to this PWP, used also by cancer patients for the cramping they get from all the chemo (he/she knows this because they got dx'd with PD and cancer at the same time).

This person mentioned he/she drinks it before bedtime as it seems to help mostly with night time cramps.

It's cheap, so we'll give it a go and see.

Well, quinine never worked for me. What works for me is magnesium.

There is very little quinine in tonic water. The standard Rx dose was 260mg/tablet. About 20mg in 8oz. of tonic.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2009/...w-safe-is-ton/

I was drinking some diet tonic this summer, when it was sooooo hot here, and I started getting major GI disturbances--heart burn and other stomach discomforts. I used to drink plain tonic at parties (I don't like to drink alot in public etc) too.

I have also found that people with low calcium can get leg cramping too. Calcium channel blockers used for blood pressure can cause leg cramps as a side effect.

So do be careful.

Thanks to both of you for posting both sides of the coin. I have been plagued by leg and foot cramps for some time and nothing seems to work. It is at least worth a try. Might even make for a more relaxed evening!!