So Freakin' Tired

[monkeybard]

I'm feeling totally wiped lately.  Ironic since I've slept pretty well since the kitty came home from hospital (or "hostipal" as Baldrick would say).  Yes, there is stress over the kitty, but I don't see how that alone could cause quite the level of tiredness I'm living in.  Maybe my iron count is low.  I think I'll try taking my usual supplement twice a day for a few days to see if that helps.  Of course, a nice rare steak would go down well, too.

Comments

[devinam.livejournal.com]

stress can cause fatigue. residual stress from kitty. and since stress is one of those nebulous causes of things, no one really knows how to fix it, or how much it affects people. Also, low potassium could be a culprit. i just learned that from my naturopath. eat bananas and potatoes and see if that helps too. :)

[monkeybard]

Low potassium, huh? Interesting. My legs did try to cramp a couple of days in a row. Mmm...potatoes. I'll take any excuse to eat potatoes. :D

[devinam.livejournal.com]

AND, muscle cramps can be from low calcium. (it's actually the calcium that makes the muscle fibers "go". and release.) so more milk?

[monkeybard]

More dairy is always a good thing, but I thought it was calcium that made muscles tense up??

[devinam.livejournal.com]

calcium is the trigger that makes the muscle fibers do whatever it is they do...contract and release. if i'm remembering my chemical chain right, it takes a calcium molecule to get the muscle to contract, and another one to get it to release. when there's not enough, it can get to the contract phase, but can't release because there's not another one to trigger it.
kinda make sense?
i remember thinking when i learned it "oh, it's NOT the potassium, it's the CALCIUM. WIERD."
but now i'm curious. i'm going to go look it up tonight when i get home. ;) will report back. :)

[monkeybard]

Isn't magnesium the component that releases? I think there's more magnesium than calcium in my calcium supplement.

[devinam.livejournal.com]

I shall look up the muscle chain reaction and get back to you...

[devinam.livejournal.com]

So you're right and i'm right. ;) There's a lot of technical mumbo jumbo about ATP and Action potential, but in essence, Calcium is needed to basically prepare the muscle so it can contract. ATP is what enables it to release. not enough ATP, muscle can't release. hence, cramp. i tried looking up specifically "muscle cramps" but no luck in my books. however, the web says muscle cramps can be due to low potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron. ;)
there's nothing in the specific muscle reaction that uses potassium. so maybe it's a residual thing that triggers something else that makes muscles cramp? i don't know. it would take me many hours of studying this process to completely re-learn it.

[monkeybard]

Fascinating! Thanks for the bio lesson! :D

[devinam.livejournal.com]

there should also be some kind of vitamin c-ish thing with your calcium to help absorption...

[monkeybard]

There may be, but I'm not getting up off my lazy butt to go see right now. ;)

[devinam.livejournal.com]

someday check it out. if there's not, take it w/ oj or something. ;)