Hyponatremia
jessspurr
Posts: 258 Member
Hello! Got a question...do any of you endurance athletes have any experience with hyponatremia? I drink A LOT of water. Not just when I run, but every day I drink around 2.5-3 gallons? I ran a 10K last night in hot, sunny weather and when I got home I just felt like crap. I was thinking I was dehydrated so I just kept drinking water, but I kept peeing it all out. Also, I know this sounds gross, but my skin was more salty than it has ever been. I tasted it. Like pure salt, all over. I don't think I drink an exceptional amount of water when I run...on 13 miles I fill up my two 10 oz. bottles about 2.5 times and then I have like 12 oz. of Gatorade (I just started that because I've been thinking about replacing salt recently), so that's like 62 oz. during about 3 hours. What I'm curious about it if maybe my excessive day to day water consumption is having a cumulative effect or something. Any thoughts?
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Replies
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If you are drinking that much water and are still thirsty you are probably losing more electrolytes. Try electrolyte enhanced water on the run and maybe skipping the gatorade (the sugar can make you extra thirsty), and when you get back have a banana with peanut butter and maybe some frozen grapes with your water to get stuff back into your system? If you are feeling that awful after a run you might want to talk to a doctor too. They are better than any of us internet MDs anyday.0
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Why are you drinking that much water? It's completely unnecessary and is probably messing with your electrolytes (think back to that Grade 10 science class where osmosis was discussed).
I agree with smarionette's banana suggestion for the after run snack - get some potassium back into your system.
Seriously......cut back on the water.0 -
If you have healthy kidneys, no drinking water does not have a cumulative effect. However, your kidneys can handle only so much excessive water compared to salt intake, eventually too much water intake without a corresponding salt intake (or excessive salt loss) can cause hyponatremia.
Take it easy with the water, you can always eat some salty food along with it.
Severe hyponatremia can cause brain edema and is nothing to be trifled with.
http://www.marathonguide.com/training/coachmindy/hyponatremia.cfm
http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/2/1/151.full
Used the above article to quote:
Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia
Table 1.
Risk factors for the development of EAHa
Exercise duration >4 h or slow running/exercise pace
Female gender (may be explained by lower body weight)
Low body weight
Excessive drinking (>1.5 L/h) during the event
Pre-exercise overhydration
Abundant availability of drinking fluids at the event
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (not all studies)
Extreme hot or cold environment
↵a EAH, exercise-associated hyponatremia.0 -
I would recommend reading Dr. Timothy Noakes book "Waterlogged". Hyponatremia is no joke. Pushing fluids isn't a good idea unless you really are dehydrated or getting dehydrated. That is why he says to "drink to thirst" only. If you are a salty sweater, then you probably have a fairly high salt diet and your body is just getting rid of the excess. Taking salt supplementation just adds to that excess. The book goes into great detail and I commend it to you.0
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Next time you feel a thirst that you can't seem to quench with water, try as others have suggested, an electrolyte supplement such as Nuun. (Nuun is delicious! Unless your electrolytes are too high then it tastes like pee.)I would recommend reading Dr. Timothy Noakes book "Waterlogged". Hyponatremia is no joke. Pushing fluids isn't a good idea unless you really are dehydrated or getting dehydrated. That is why he says to "drink to thirst" only. If you are a salty sweater, then you probably have a fairly high salt diet and your body is just getting rid of the excess. Taking salt supplementation just adds to that excess. The book goes into great detail and I commend it to you.
I just want to point out that most of the work Noakes uses to support his argument are from experiments that did not include female athletes. Anecdotally, way too many of hte the women I talk to that run ultras seem to have experiences that directly contradict some of Noakes's advice. I can be more specific, but I just want to warn the OP about that because It looks like the OP might be female.0 -
It looks like the OP might be female.
Are you saying I look like a chick? :frown:
Jokes. Yes, I'm way female :laugh:
Really though, thanks everyone for the replies and really the only reason I drink that much water is because I enjoy the taste of water. I just wanted to see if it seemed like an excessive amount (I couldn't find anywhere on the internet what would be considered an excessive amount of water to drink) and it sounds like I am. Do you think excessive in day to day consumption or excessive when I run, or both? I will check out Noakes and the other research provided keeping in mind the potential differences for female athletes- thanks for mentioning that, it might not have been something that I would have thought to question.0 -
Table 1.
Risk factors for the development of EAHa
Pre-exercise overhydration
This gets to the root of my question about the "cumulative effect" I guess.0 -
Seriously......cut back on the water.
You think cut back on the day to day drinking or the amount I'm drinking during runs or both?0 -
If you are feeling that awful after a run you might want to talk to a doctor too. They are better than any of us internet MDs anyday.
Really that was the first time I had felt crappy after a run. Well, crappy as in headachey and energy-wisey.0 -
If you are feeling that awful after a run you might want to talk to a doctor too. They are better than any of us internet MDs anyday.
Really that was the first time I had felt crappy after a run. Well, crappy as in headachey and energy-wisey.
Crappy and headachey after drinking after exercising is a great description of mild hyponatremia.0 -
It looks like the OP might be female.
Are you saying I look like a chick? :frown:
Jokes. Yes, I'm way female :laugh:
Haha! Your avatar and screen name.... I'd guess female but wouldn't put money on it because there are men named Jesse (but they don't usually go by jess), and, well, winter clothes in the profile.
Edit: Oh, just clicked on your profile and it SAYS you're female. It also says you're in Alaska so I'm wrong about those being winter clothes.0 -
Crappy and headachey after drinking after exercising is a great description of mild hyponatremia.
Lame. I love me my water! I will try the NUUN. Now, you say that if you are overhydrated it tastes like pee? How is that possible?? Is that like a feature of the product? To help people avoid overhydrating? If so, that's kind of awesome. If not, then I'm pretty sure that should be invented. What do people think about the salt pills? Would that accomplish the same thing?0 -
Crappy and headachey after drinking after exercising is a great description of mild hyponatremia.
Lame. I love me my water! I will try the NUUN. Now, you say that if you are overhydrated it tastes like pee? How is that possible?? Is that like a feature of the product? To help people avoid overhydrating? If so, that's kind of awesome. If not, then I'm pretty sure that should be invented. What do people think about the salt pills? Would that accomplish the same thing?
No, if your electrolytes are high it tastes too salty and gross. Ever eat so much salty food that you're like, "Another pretzel? YUCK!" But other times you crave salt? Nuun is just an electrolyte tab for your water. It's super delicious if your electrolytes are low.
Anyhow, I use drinkable electrolytes rather than salt tabs because, while your cravings aren't perfect, you WILL enjoy the salt if you're hyponatremic. If you've had too much they are all bleh.0 -
Crappy and headachey after drinking after exercising is a great description of mild hyponatremia.
Lame. I love me my water! I will try the NUUN. Now, you say that if you are overhydrated it tastes like pee? How is that possible?? Is that like a feature of the product? To help people avoid overhydrating? If so, that's kind of awesome. If not, then I'm pretty sure that should be invented. What do people think about the salt pills? Would that accomplish the same thing?
No, if your electrolytes are high it tastes too salty and gross. Ever eat so much salty food that you're like, "Another pretzel? YUCK!" But other times you crave salt? Nuun is just an electrolyte tab for your water. It's super delicious if your electrolytes are low.
Anyhow, I use drinkable electrolytes rather than salt tabs because, while your cravings aren't perfect, you WILL enjoy the salt if you're hyponatremic. If you've had too much they are all bleh.
I agree with this0 -
No, if your electrolytes are high it tastes too salty and gross. Ever eat so much salty food that you're like, "Another pretzel? YUCK!" But other times you crave salt? Nuun is just an electrolyte tab for your water. It's super delicious if your electrolytes are low.
This is interesting. I've tried nuun and it just tastes sickly-sweet to me. Does that mean I get to eat more pretzels? :happy:0 -
Runners, especially beginners, drink way too much water. There is real thirst, and then there is drinking water to try to lessen the suffering. It's a psychological thing, imho. Chugging a bunch of water prior to, and during a run, is at best unnecessary and at worse, can kill you. My own rule of thumb is to stop drinking and eating at least two hours before a run. I do have a cup of coffee or espresso, and sometimes a banana if it is a long run, first thing in the morning. It takes some trial and error to find your body's sweet spot and that seems to work for me. I'll carry water if I am running for over two hours or if it is especially hot and I am doing some quality (intervals or tempo),
Yesterday, during a run, a person passed me on bike, moving pretty slowly. I ended up catching the biker on a hill and I noticed that there was a bottle stuffed in the shirt and a gallon jug of something that looked like sports drink hanging off the handlebar. That's an example of psychological thirst. It's like a security blanket. There was no need for all that water and sports drink.
That's my two cents, anyway.
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Next time you feel a thirst that you can't seem to quench with water, try as others have suggested, an electrolyte supplement such as Nuun. (Nuun is delicious! Unless your electrolytes are too high then it tastes like pee.)I would recommend reading Dr. Timothy Noakes book "Waterlogged". Hyponatremia is no joke. Pushing fluids isn't a good idea unless you really are dehydrated or getting dehydrated. That is why he says to "drink to thirst" only. If you are a salty sweater, then you probably have a fairly high salt diet and your body is just getting rid of the excess. Taking salt supplementation just adds to that excess. The book goes into great detail and I commend it to you.
I just want to point out that most of the work Noakes uses to support his argument are from experiments that did not include female athletes. Anecdotally, way too many of hte the women I talk to that run ultras seem to have experiences that directly contradict some of Noakes's advice. I can be more specific, but I just want to warn the OP about that because It looks like the OP might be female.
Duly noted! 0
