Post: #1

Hi all,

Has anyone else suffered from tropical malaise ?

I'm getting a few health problems that may or may not be related to living in a hot and humid country for too long. First I lived in Southern China for 4 months, now I've been in Bangkok for a couple of months (the world's hottest city on average temperature records).

As a slightly overweight white guy I tend to sweat a lot here, while the local girls I've been dating barely sweat at all .

About 3 weeks ago I started getting really bad pain when walking. I think this is plantar fasciitis, as my symptoms are worse when I first get out of bed. I never had it before despite having to walk everywhere because I've never owned a car. I've bought some decent shoes which seem to help a bit.

But the latest episode occurred last night when I woke up and there was a huge lump in my calf, as if all my muscles had knotted together. I was pretty sleepy at the time, but my leg felt rock solid. That was really scary . I've heard this could be a charlie horse. Maybe workout bros know more about these. It went after a minute or so, but my leg feels really cramped up today.

I just wonder if I'm dehydrated, or lacking in certain salts. I don't know if I could have a sodium deficiency, after all most food I eat here has plenty of salt in it.



I've been eating some of these guys to see if they help:

Post: #2

(08-08-2013 11:25 PM)TopPanda Wrote:  Hi all,

Has anyone else suffered from tropical malaise ?

I'm getting a few health problems that may or may not be related to living in a hot and humid country for too long. First I lived in Southern China for 4 months, now I've been in Bangkok for a couple of months (the world's hottest city on average temperature records).

As a slightly overweight white guy I tend to sweat a lot here, while the local girls I've been dating barely sweat at all .

About 3 weeks ago I started getting really bad pain when walking. I think this is plantar fasciitis, as my symptoms are worse when I first get out of bed. I never had it before despite having to walk everywhere because I've never owned a car. I've bought some decent shoes which seem to help a bit.

But the latest episode occurred last night when I woke up and there was a huge lump in my calf, as if all my muscles had knotted together. I was pretty sleepy at the time, but my leg felt rock solid. That was really scary . I've heard this could be a charlie horse. Maybe workout bros know more about these. It went after a minute or so, but my leg feels really cramped up today.

I just wonder if I'm dehydrated, or lacking in certain salts. I don't know if I could have a sodium deficiency, after all most food I eat here has plenty of salt in it.



I've been eating some of these guys to see if they help:

Drop the extra weight, bro. It is probably contributing to your problems of sweating too much and leg/foot pain. White people will tend to sweat more here than Thais though. They have lived in this climate their entire lives, but it is fairly new to most of us. I sweat less than when I first came here, but still sweat more than most Thai people.

Post: #3

Sweating a lot, your calf suddenly cramping hard while you're sleeping... Was it also extremely painful while this episode occurred?

If it was, it's most likely dehydration. I used to get those knots in my left calf, where I'd wake up in excrutiating pain in that calf, like it was going to explode or something (best way I could describe the feeling). My leg was basically locked in place, bent at about a 60 degree angle, as though my muscles were frozen, and it took a tremendous amount of effort to stretch it out, and when I did, the pain lessened. Once I began increasing my water intake and stretched daily, the problem went away.

Since you're walking everywhere, it may be a good idea to stretch every so often.

Post: #4

I was thinking dehydration as well. Muscle cramps are the a sign of the second stage of dehydration.

Drink water. Drive on.

Perhaps you should see a doctor. You shouldn't really fuck around with your health.

Post: #5

Drink coconut water and stop being a fat fuck.

Post: #6

I noticed in Florida when you eat heavy it slows you down and you sweat but if you eat light, fruit and drink water you have more energy and don't sweat. I turn my office a/c on at 92 degrees until then it stays off but if I have something like a burger for lunch it gets hot at 84 degrees.

Either way I don't sweat here. I never was able to understand Dominicans..I never see them drinking water much but it hot as hell there.

Drink water 64 oz a day and take some potassium.

Post: #7

I got leg cramps non stop. I was getting them once a week in cold weather. And when I went to Thailand and other nearby countries, I would get the leg cramps almost every night.

You need to be eating more salt because it is getting removed from your body as sweat. Get lots of sodium. You also need to eat lots of potassium such as from bananas etc. Maybe even take electrolyte tablets (mix with water).

Also the more you walk around, the worse it is. Especially if walking up hills as your calves are used more. From personal experience, wearing flip flops or footwear with not much support will increase the chances of tightening in the calves as well.

Post: #8

High blood pressure makes you sweat like crazy too. Sounds like it may be a problem since you're overweight. Drink more water like everyone says and reduce your salt intake.

Post: #9

Drink water and stop being fat.

Change your socks, too.

Post: #10

(08-09-2013 11:17 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  I noticed in Florida when you eat heavy it slows you down and you sweat but if you eat light, fruit and drink water you have more energy and don't sweat. I turn my office a/c on at 92 degrees until then it stays off but if I have something like a burger for lunch it gets hot at 84 degrees.

Either way I don't sweat here. I never was able to understand Dominicans..I never see them drinking water much but it hot as hell there.

Drink water 64 oz a day and take some potassium.

2nd the water potassium recommendation and will add take some taurine, it's cheap as hell but it's benefits are numerous and it'll help with cramping as well. Regular bb'ing supplement for guys on fat burners who are throwing off their electrolyte balance from intense sweating.

Post: #11

Thanks for the suggestions bros.

Actually, I'm overweight, not obese. Hell, there are Thai school kids who are bigger than me! But if I could shift a stone I'd be right in the normal weight band on that BMI chart.

I did lose a fair bit of weight in China, but I seem to have put some back on in Thailand. That's mostly to do with the food being pretty bad in China - I just couldn't find enough food I wanted to eat.

Not sure where you get potassium supplements from - it's kind of hard to find stuff in Thailand. Also it's a not a good to eat too much potassium as it can fuck up your heart.

I'll try Taurine - there's a GNC in Bangkok which has all kinds of useful stuff.

One other problem with Thailand (and China) is that the sidewalks are in pretty bad shape. There's just so much stuff to trip over that my ankles must get endless micro-strains when I just go to the nearest 7-11. My neighbourhood is especially bad as the road is narrow and I often to walk down the V shaped storm drain culvert to avoid getting squashed by a taxi or a Thai guy with his entire family on his motorcycle.

Post: #12

Theres some good advice on here.... I am just not sure if "to much living in the tropics" is your problem
I stayed in the Philippines for 3 months and walked miles everyday in the middle of the day when even the filipinos said it was to hot to be out and I didn't have any problems.

Post: #13

(08-09-2013 11:17 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  I noticed in Florida when you eat heavy it slows you down and you sweat but if you eat light, fruit and drink water you have more energy and don't sweat. I turn my office a/c on at 92 degrees until then it stays off but if I have something like a burger for lunch it gets hot at 84 degrees.

Either way I don't sweat here. I never was able to understand Dominicans..I never see them drinking water much but it hot as hell there.

Drink water 64 oz a day and take some potassium.

You sweat like crazy, bro..dripping torrents