Try this again, swollen ankles

[Steve K]

At the ripe old age of 74, my ankles have been swelling up for at least 10 years when I go on a Long Range trip. Some say it’s the desalinated water, not all the salt removed, too many minerals left behind? Ray Lopez on the Angler, in his welcome seminar, taps the chilled water faucet in the galley and calls it Aqua Fina. Some suggest compression stockings and some suggest taking bottled water to drink. I’ve tried the stockings, not so great. Haven’t used the bottled water yet.

A fishing acquaintance of mine said to try a combination of the bottled water and a product called Emergen-C

He was told the desalination process removes everything from the water, not just salt but all minerals the minerals, too. So, he started doing both, bringing bottled water and using this product and, Voila! no more swollen ankles. I think next trip I’ll try the powdered mix with the water on the boat. See what happens.

Interested in what measures others have taken to handle this problem.

 

[malanx]

Hey Steve,

I'm not tooo old, but I used to get headaches past day 4 or 5 of a trip. I figured out it was because the desalination removed all the minerals from the water.

Now I drink 16 ounces of coconut water each day on a trip, and it works great!

I know others who bring Gatorade mix. Lots of sugar, but at least it keeps you hydrated.

Other drink a lot of light beer, and they seem to be fine

 

[Steve K]

Hey Steve,

I'm not tooo old, but I used to get headaches past day 4 or 5 of a trip. I figured out it was because the desalination removed all the minerals from the water.

Now I drink 16 ounces of coconut water each day on a trip, and it works great!

I know others who bring Gatorade mix. Lots of sugar, but at least it keeps you hydrated.

Other drink a lot of light beer, and they seem to be fine

I wonder how it would work out if I tried doubling my intake of gin and tonic?

I mean I have to represent as I’m Pro Staff for Tanqueray and Schweppes.

 

[malanx]

I wonder how it would work out if I tried doubling my intake of gin and tonic?

I mean I have to represent as I’m Pro Staff for Tanqueray and Schweppes.

If you shoot a bottle of straight tonic water between each one with gin, I imagine you'll be going in the right direction.

Most any canned or bottled beverage, that isn't distilled, we bring on board should have more of the salts and minerals our bodies need.

I just know that 2 glasses of wine isn't enough for me, hence the coconut water...

 

[CI_SeaWolf]

Steve, I have seen that some guys swear by Liquid IV, it is a hydration powder you can get at Costco. Going to try it on a couple of my 3 day trips. I used to use this stuff called Gookinaid, it was recommended by rangers and guides for hiking in the Grand Canyon. It is called Vitalyte now. I even used to make some up when I was nauseous, it helped me feel better.

 

[Lake]

Steve, go see your doctor. Lower extremity edema can have some underlying medical problems. You may do well with a simple diuretic. You need a cardiac work up. How’s your blood pressure? These other potential remedies are nothing more than snake oil.

 

[Ratshirt]

Steve, I have seen that some guys swear by Liquid IV, it is a hydration powder you can get at Costco. Going to try it on a couple of my 3 day trips. I used to use this stuff called Gookinaid, it was recommended by rangers and guides for hiking in the Grand Canyon. It is called Vitalyte now. I even used to make some up when I was nauseous, it helped me feel better.

I actually had Bill Gookin as my Jr High science teacher back in the 70s. He had just started selling the stuff and had a bunch of us in class try it out.

 

[CI_SeaWolf]

He was from San Diego…. Some don’t care for the taste of the drink, but it has given me relief in the past.

 

[Ratshirt]

He was from San Diego…. Some don’t care for the taste of the drink, but it has given me relief in the past.

I went to Montgomery in Linda Vista back in the day where he taught for a long time.

 

[Sawmill killer]

I always bring some form of electrolyte/hydration packs on a boat....minimum 1 per day preferably in the am.

Your body is constantly in motion and your legs and core muscles always engaged with each wave.

Tiger balm on your calves and feet before bed is pretty nice too.

 

[CI_SeaWolf]

Last year, my plantar fasciitis was so bad, I wore work boots instead of deck boots. It helped. Then I got a cortisone shot. It hurt, but the pain faded instantly.

 

[wils]

Xs 2 on "talk to your doctor"

 

[stuman]

Cut from the abstract:
The higher risk for IHD has practical public health implications and raise the need to add magnesium to DSW.

Association between exposure to desalinated sea water and ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus and colorectal cancer; A population-based study in Israel

Drinking water (DW) is an important dietary source of magnesium. Recently, Israel has increased its use of desalinated seawater (DSW) as DW country-wi…

www.sciencedirect.com

Association between exposure to desalinated sea water and ischemic heart disease​

Emergen C has magnesium and other minerals.

Ingredients Helping You Feel the Good | Emergen-C®

Learn more about the ingredients in Emergen-C formulas, including vitamins C, E, zinc, manganese, electrolytes, probiotics and other nutrients.

www.emergenc.com

 

[Jose Caballero]

x3 on talk to your doctor. the changes in dissolved salts would be easily smaller than the changes in your diet on any given week. you could imagine some changes in solutes in your liquid intake, but my hunch is, these are MINIMAL compared to your changes in solid diet on any adventure (say, going to the southwest and eating more texmex, or going to the PNW and eating more seafood)... in other words, maybe something you can measure but probably negligible.

i think your ankles are much more a function of your changing physical activity. more time on your feet, more time engaging your core because of the boats constant shifting, more time standing and less sitting given a long day of fishing... and this could be an interesting time to think about your lymphatic system and your cardiovascular health overall...

talk to your doctor. i'd bet my shoe it's not the filtered water.

 

[stuman]

Run a test... drink distilled water for ten days and see what happens. If your feet swell - its the water.

What Is Distilled Water?

You’ve probably seen jugs of distilled water in stores. Find out what makes it different from other types of water, and what to use it for.

www.webmd.com

Distilled water is safe to drink. But you'll probably find it flat or bland. That's because it's stripped of important minerals like calcium, sodium, and magnesium that give tap water its familiar flavor. What's left is just hydrogen and oxygen and nothing else

 

[alan760]

I normally bring a case of bottled water, a liter Nalgene bottle and a handful of Emergen C supplements. Nalgene bottle stays out on deck and with the Emergen C supplemented water along with a couple bottles of water in my crate. Costco sells Emergen C every once in a while or they have some other sport drink supplement.

I had one of my feet swell up one day but I thought it was more the rich food and the xtra tuff shortie boots which are tight on my feet. I switched to my Grunden shorties which are much more comfortable and the swelling went away with a day or 2.

 

[terryc.]

Steve, I have seen that some guys swear by Liquid IV, it is a hydration powder you can get at Costco. Going to try it on a couple of my 3 day trips. I used to use this stuff called Gookinaid, it was recommended by rangers and guides for hiking in the Grand Canyon. It is called Vitalyte now. I even used to make some up when I was nauseous, it helped me feel better.

I'm leaving on the PV tonight bringing few packs of IV can buy it on Amazon also.

 

[terryc.]

Careful with that stuff Steve they had a box of it at my sons work and he used one daily he got a kidney stone and when it was analyzed Doc said he had to much vitamin C in his system and that caused the stone.

 

[One_Leg]

Nutritarian diet.

 

[Cactus Chris]

Sounds like scurvy

 

[malanx]

Last year, my plantar fasciitis was so bad, I wore work boots instead of deck boots. It helped. Then I got a cortisone shot. It hurt, but the pain faded instantly.

Look into orthopedic inserts for your deck boots, that way you can get the best of both worlds. As others have said, you're on your feet all day, take care of your body and feet.

 

[dwaynesda]

We see the swelling of the ankles quite a bit on our 10 day charter every year. My wife is a retired nurse so she helps the guys a lot. It seems to be just the older folk that this happens to.

The food on the boat is excellent. It tastes great because they use a lot of seasonings that contain sodium, salt especially. We had the chef cut down on the salt in the food one year and it helped quite a bit with the ankle swelling. He was not happy as he felt his food did not taste as good but it was a charter and that was our request.

The other issue she told us is that we are all older and spend a lot of time sitting and relaxing all year long. Now we are standing at the rail for hours at a time and gravity takes over. Our veins do not work as well as they did when we were younger so stuff like this will happen.

We had one gentleman whose ankles got so bad she told him he needed to see a physician when he got home. He discounted the idea but the ankles did not get any better. He ended up having kidney cancer once he did go see the doctor, but he ignored it too long and there was not a lot they could do to save him as it spread.

 

[CI_SeaWolf]

Look into orthopedic inserts for your deck boots, that way you can get the best of both worlds. As others have said, you're on your feet all day, take care of your body and feet.

I have orthotic insoles now, I am a lot better this year. Now to lose a bit of weight.

 

[Russ Scholl]

x3 on talk to your doctor. the changes in dissolved salts would be easily smaller than the changes in your diet on any given week. you could imagine some changes in solutes in your liquid intake, but my hunch is, these are MINIMAL compared to your changes in solid diet on any adventure (say, going to the southwest and eating more texmex, or going to the PNW and eating more seafood)... in other words, maybe something you can measure but probably negligible.

i think your ankles are much more a function of your changing physical activity. more time on your feet, more time engaging your core because of the boats constant shifting, more time standing and less sitting given a long day of fishing... and this could be an interesting time to think about your lymphatic system and your cardiovascular health overall...

talk to your doctor. i'd bet my shoe it's not the filtered water.

Jose,I agree completely. Steve, if the support socks were not medical grade obtained with a doctor prescription that is why they didn’t work.

 

[RichG]

STEVE, I agree with Lake. Get it evaluated!!!