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> > My husband is suffering from severe leg cramps at night and the doctors > have told us Quinine would help. but that it is no longer made > available. He is taking tonic water which contains some quinine, but > it isn't helping enough. > > I was wondering if anyone knows if Quinine is available in Canada. I > have a son in Detroit who could go to Canada to get if for us, if it > were available. I've tried giving him milk, calcium, vitamin E. > > He also saw a orthopedic doctor who gave him an anti-inflammatory to > try before doing anything else. However, these affect his balance > after a period of time. I expect the anti-inflammatory somehow inter- > acts with the other medications. He could also have a "pinched nerve" > for which we will be seeing the orthopedic doctor again. > I would appreciate learning from our pharmaceutical experts why quinine is no longer available. My husband, Jamie (who has PD), has recently had terrible problems with either gout or a severe arthritic condition. He develops terrible, painful swelling of one or more joints. The joints remains afflicted for 5 days, then get better. Jamie has a history of gout, but since this condition moves to more than one or more joints over a period of 1 month, his doctor doesn't think the condition is gout. At any rate, Jamie was taking Indocin to relieve his joint pain. He developed loss of balance (he hasn't had that problem with PD), and dizziness. We stopped the Indocin, and the loss of balance disappeared. WE noticed in the PDR that this is one of the side-effects of the med. We are now very careful to check out the side effects of NSAIDS. Jamie now takes over-the-counter Ibuprofen and has adequate maintainence of his pain without that uncomfortable side effect. ----- Peace and joy Mary Ann