Cruise ankles?

[gottacruisemore]

12 hours ago, pcur said:

This will sound weird, but it works:

 

1.  Write the alphabet with your feet and ankles.  This is what is recommended to reduce swelling after foot surgery.

 

2.  (Weird part).  Lie on the bed, feet to the top of the bed.  Scoot your butt up until you can comfortably rest your bare feet on the wall above the head of the bed.  I read a book.  You will be surprised how quickly the swelling goes down after doing the alphabet exercise.

 Wonderful tips!

I do the alphabet or spell my name while flying

The "L" position on the wall is great for circulation and your heart.

[The Fun Researcher]

Cruise ankles?  What about cruise belly?  I work hard before cruises to get in bathing suit shape only to feel like I look like a beer chugging champion by day 4 or 5. 🙂

 

Dan

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Cruise ankles?  What about cruise belly?  I work hard before cruises to get in bathing suit shape only to feel like I look like a beer chugging champion by day 4 or 5. 🙂

 

Dan

 

Need to start another thread: "From Six-pack Ship Shape to Cruise Keg in One Week: How I did it." Almost looks like a National Enquirer front page headline. 🤣

[The Fun Researcher]

36 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

Need to start another thread: "From Six-pack Ship Shape to Cruise Keg in One Week: How I did it." Almost looks like a National Enquirer front page headline. 🤣

Yeah no doubt.  I used to hit the gym every day on a cruise but I gave that up after 3-4 cruises.  I can do that at home.

I want to maximize my cruise days.  My normal daily run is 5k so it takes a little while to cool down from that and shower so it takes a chunk of time from the day.  Would rather lounge by the pool with a drink in hand or something else. 😉

[Engineroom Snipe]

10 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Yeah no doubt.  I used to hit the gym every day on a cruise but I gave that up after 3-4 cruises.  I can do that at home.

I want to maximize my cruise days.  My normal daily run is 5k so it takes a little while to cool down from that and shower so it takes a chunk of time from the day.  Would rather lounge by the pool with a drink in hand or something else. 😉

 

Sounds like a "vacation" to me 😁

[A&L_Ont]

On 2/16/2023 at 1:55 AM, pcur said:

This will sound weird, but it works:

 

1.  Write the alphabet with your feet and ankles.  This is what is recommended to reduce swelling after foot surgery.

 

2.  (Weird part).  Lie on the bed, feet to the top of the bed.  Scoot your butt up until you can comfortably rest your bare feet on the wall above the head of the bed.  I read a book.  You will be surprised how quickly the swelling goes down after doing the alphabet exercise.

I’m going to give the alphabet trick a try.

[4shines]

I struggled with the swollen ankles every cruise. I switched to bottled water while cruising, and that solved my issue. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

22 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

On cruises, we cannot control the amount of salt added to the food.

you can in MDR. We worked with the headwaiter to order no-salt added dinners for both of my parents.

[Engineroom Snipe]

24 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

you can in MDR. We worked with the headwaiter to order no-salt added dinners for both of my parents.

 

I read your earlier post and I do not have any reason to doubt your statement. If it seems otherwise, my apologies for not being clearer in my writing.

 

I am not worried as much about the salt in the MDR dinners as much as I am worried about the hit or miss of how the food is prepared. I should not have to be concerned over which vendor supplied them or what the quality is which can vary due to which vendor sells them the food.

 

I would not like to lock myself in the night before as my wife and I tend to be a bit more spontaneous on cruises as we get older. We use MTD and try MDR once early in the cruise. If it fails the first night to meet expectations (I am talking a 6 or 7 on a 1 to 10 scale), we normally stop going and use the Windjammer. 

 

I am beginning to like the Windjammer more as I can have a small taste of this and that without being wasteful if I do not like that individual item. I am talking about maybe one tablespoon per item for tasting. I can always go back for more if I like it. I have no control of the salt added but I can control my portions if I feel it seems salty. If I am going to have salt in my food, I want that food to be worth it.

 

I like salt. I just have to be careful. It does have to be added to many meals as part of their preparation. Odds are I would not like the taste and flavors of a no salt added MDR meal. There might come a point where I will have to do what you are doing but not quite yet.  😉

[Itchy&Scratchy]

9 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

Odds are I would not like the taste and flavors of a no salt added MDR meal.

nobody does.

 

But if my mom's BP is out of control because her food is full of sodium - that's no bueno.

 

To add insult to injury, she never got her sense of smell or taste back after having Covid in 2020. So, all she can taste is straight up sweet, salty, bitter and sour. That's all she gets. Take away salty and you are eating the plainest main dish ever...Thankfully, mom is not a glutton like me or my dad.

[Engineroom Snipe]

3 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

nobody does.

 

But if my mom's BP is out of control because her food is full of sodium - that's no bueno.

 

To add insult to injury, she never got her sense of smell or taste back after having Covid in 2020. So, all she can taste is straight up sweet, salty, bitter and sour. That's all she gets. Take away salty and you are eating the plainest main dish ever...Thankfully, mom is not a glutton like me or my dad.

 

That is really hard. My Mom had a similar problem and she tended to only taste the sweet and salt. She tended to snack on sweets and desserts which leads to so many more challenges. Good Luck.

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

I’m going to give the alphabet trick a try.

Depending on the number of drinks you have, you may fail that test/exercise. At least that's what a friend told me. 😇

Edited February 17, 2023 by davekathy

[The Fun Researcher]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

To add insult to injury, she never got her sense of smell or taste back after having Covid in 2020. So, all she can taste is straight up sweet, salty, bitter and sour. That's all she gets. 

Same with my parents.  Can't imagine. I lost my taste and smell for only a few days when I got covid in 2020 and it was terrible.  Still feeling hungry, but not tasting the food when taking care of the hunger.  Sad

[cementhands]

On 2/14/2023 at 5:31 PM, colesc15 said:

So I know I'm not the only one lol. I'm generally a fairly healthy male, but when we travel on cruises to the Caribbean, the humidity, sugar in drinks, Sodium, it all hits my ankles and balloons them by day 2 or 3 & goes back to normal a day or two after being home. What do you guys do to help alleviate this? Other than raising them at night. 

So listen up! I’m age 68 male with a daily workout at ymca several times a week power pump yoga barre, walking and line dancing with my wife. Practice yoga daily amazing for my spinal fusion L4-5. Used to play basketball and many other sports. Never ever had the swollen ankles! Then low and behold got em on RCL Anthem. Asked the chef in the solarium bistro about it and said it’s from the oils they use! He suggested I eat there and he’d take care of me, and somewhat of an improvement but still bad.

Then I remember legs up the wall pose!

In my cabin on the bed I layer every morning and night with my legs up the wall immediately improved!

I’ve always prided myself in skinny ankles as the key to good health and long life!

Once onshore off the ship got better with exercise and we do 20,000 plus steps onboard dancing and walking?
Practice yoga learning your body! 

[allyfree]

Lots of water inside and out ... spend time in the pool swimming gently and rotating your ankles in the water as you float ... the buoyancy really helps!

Edited February 18, 2023 by allyfree

[vjmatty]

On 2/14/2023 at 6:39 PM, DaniDanielle said:

Try a low dose water pill.

I tried those on my last two cruises….worked like a charm. 

[superduper123]

15 hours ago, cementhands said:

So listen up! I’m age 68 male with a daily workout at ymca several times a week power pump yoga barre, walking and line dancing with my wife. Practice yoga daily amazing for my spinal fusion L4-5. Used to play basketball and many other sports. Never ever had the swollen ankles! Then low and behold got em on RCL Anthem. Asked the chef in the solarium bistro about it and said it’s from the oils they use! He suggested I eat there and he’d take care of me, and somewhat of an improvement but still bad.

Then I remember legs up the wall pose!

In my cabin on the bed I layer every morning and night with my legs up the wall immediately improved!

I’ve always prided myself in skinny ankles as the key to good health and long life!

Once onshore off the ship got better with exercise and we do 20,000 plus steps onboard dancing and walking?
Practice yoga learning your body! 

Awesome, love this!

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, superduper123 said:

skinny ankles as the key to good health and long life!

Based on that, I'm going to live a very long time. Hell, I'm already old. 😁

[Mr. Spock]

I have this issue by the second or third day of a cruise. Ankles swell by later in day, but back to normal in morning and as soon as back home.  Discussed with my cardiologist and kidney doctors. Both said that as long as swelling is gone when return home, don’t worry about it. Most common cause is the way food is prepared. Enjoy cruising and don’t be concerned about swollen ankles as long as back to normal when back to home and eating normally. 

[angelhelly]

On 2/16/2023 at 12:34 PM, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

Are your symptoms the same on an RCI cruise or was it something to do with Viking?

In my first RCL cruise I had the issue drinking "tap" water. Then I started to drink bottle water and never did drink the ship water until that Viking cruise as bottle water was not readily available.

[cruisin from florida]

On 2/14/2023 at 7:41 PM, silentbob007 said:

I thought I had read at one point this could also happen in some people because desalinated water may contain more salt than you are used to. 

I switched to bottled water - and lots of it- on one cruise when my feet and hands started to swell badly. That really helped.

[NJoynCruisin]

Just returned from a 7 day on Navigator.  Slightly swollen ankles after 1 hr flight but continued swelling all cruise.  Drank tons of bottled water daily.  Moderate drinking.  Did the alphabet routine.  Will see Dr this week for routine chemo/immunotherapy, which I think are contributing.  Can't stop cruising, so hope has some ideas.  We've cruised 5 times in last year and always swelling.  Thought I'd post to bring this back up to a top issue.  I did notice quite a few others swollen cruise ankles.  Any other ideas?

[sandy toes]

On 2/14/2023 at 7:41 PM, silentbob007 said:

I thought I had read at one point this could also happen in some people because desalinated water may contain more salt than you are used to. 

You are so right. I used to have issues on day 3. It is an issue for lots of people and especially those with high BP, cardiac issues, and kidney problems. One thing I always invest in is a case of water in my cabin. I always drink lots of tea, it is a diuretic, around ship plus, now I make sure I drink 4 bottles of water each day, and since doing that, I have seen a huge improvement.

[OCSC Mike]

My legs (it went from my feet to my calves) blew up like balloons many cruises ago. I was freaked out until I read about it.

 

I have taken Diurex (diuretic/water pills) ever since and that takes care of 90% of the swelling for me. I somehow forgot them on one cruise and spent time in my cabin bed with my feet up on the wall everyday as mentioned above and it worked well enough for me to get through it but not as well as the pills.

[sandy toes]

On 2/17/2023 at 10:11 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

nobody does.

 

But if my mom's BP is out of control because her food is full of sodium - that's no bueno.

 

To add insult to injury, she never got her sense of smell or taste back after having Covid in 2020. So, all she can taste is straight up sweet, salty, bitter and sour. That's all she gets. Take away salty and you are eating the plainest main dish ever...Thankfully, mom is not a glutton like me or my dad.

I had a college Nutrition class and was told that it takes 3 times as much salt to give the same flavor when added while cooking as it does when we salt our food on the plate. I do not add any salt unless making a baked good and allow everyone to self-salt their plates. It seems to work well for our family. Not sure if anyone is a nutritionist and knows more, but this is something I have now been doing for over a decade.