Opening NIght

Yesterday was a long day.  We had a dress rehearsal at 1 p.m. with the house half full, and then opening night at 7 with a full house.  In between we went hone for some rest and an early dinner.

The show went very well.  We got a standing ovation at both the rehearsal and the opening show. Many of the biggest glitches have come from the sound men, and they got almost everything perfect last night.  The cast is amazing, too. One of the men is actually a professional actor who has performed at the Mad Cow Theater in Orlando.  We suspect one or two of the other women have also been professionals.  It's awesome to work with these talented people.  I'm so happy to be doing this, even if it is exhausting.

Mark and I were both plagued with leg cramps last night.  I've been having them many times for years, and I'm starting to blame them on my 20+ years on statin drugs.  Mark has been on the statin for about six years.  Last night wasn't my worst night ever. I had a cramp on the right ankle that took about 20 minutes to resolve and a calf cramp at 8 a.m. that went away quickly with some walking.  Sometimes I'm screaming in pain from the inner thigh cramp.  That is by far the worst, most painful and most difficult to get rid of.

My friend Barbara N put me on to some pills called Hyland's Leg Cramp Pills that are sold at Wal Mart.  I bought a bottle earlier in the week after I had a horrible night.  Last Sunday night I had cramps in TEN separate muscle groups simultaneously. On the left leg I had cramps in the calf, the shin, the top of the foot, and the outside of the ankle.  On the right leg I had cramps in the calf, the shin, the top of the foot, the outside of the ankle, the three middle toes, and the worst of all, inner thigh.  Since many of those cramps require stretching in directions that are opposite to each other, it was very painful and difficult to manage.  I remembered that Barbara had loaned me a couple of her Hyland's pills that were still on my dresser.  After getting no relief from walking, stretching, drinking water, and screaming, I finally remembered the pills.  I got relief from all the cramps except for the toes within ten minutes of taking the pills.  All in all I was up for two hours from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. dealing with those cramps.  I went right to WalMart the next day to buy a bottle.

I have been taking two at bedtime all week trying to prevent them.  I still got cramps three nights this week, but they were milder, only one at a time, and I took more pills immediately, which seemed to shorten the duration.  These pills will ALWAYS be on my dresser!

Mark got his cramp in the back of his right thigh. I've never had one there, so I had no suggestions for help.  Getting up and walking took care of it almost immediately, so he was lucky. He declined the pills because they have lactose as an inactive ingredient, and he's lactose intolerant.  I really can't believe the amount of lactose in that small of a pill could be a problem, but he didn't want to try them.

Today we are relaxing, reading, watching TV, and going up to The Palms for the second show.  Call is 6 p.m., so we'll be ready!