Im having trouble beating the dehydration problems

allen levine

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Its been around a week and Ive been suffering leg cramps and muscle cramps pretty strongly. Suffered a few nights really bad.
Started drinking tons of gatorade and mixing bottled waters in with it.
Seemed to help a lot, had a few days of pain free cramps.
Today, I guess I slipped, only one bottle gatorade, went for a walk after dinner, my legs locked up so bad I couldnt stand up, the pain was intolerable. I buckled over and my wife was panicking.
got home, ate a banana and downed 2 waters and a gatorade and cooled off quickly in a cold room.

this is a serious thing. when it hits it hits hard. Just because iM working in AC now doesnt mean I hydrated properly in this heat.

Please take my words seriously. This stuff hurts, and can get worse.

Keep tons of liquid available and lay off the coffee.
 
Allen, I have been going through the same problems. I had one so bad the other night I begged my wife to call 911. I never felt such pain before. Fortunately it started getting better about the time she called so we called them off. When it happens I actually feel that permanent damage is occurring. It is pretty scary. I drink Powerade Zero and water so I think I get plenty to drink so I need to ask my doctor what else I need to do. Maybe I need to start eating more bananas like you said.
 
Out here I really have to watch the whole hydration thing. Nothing can give me a headache like getting dehydrated.... Good advice Allen.
 
I had double pnuemonia and severe dehydration in '77. To the point the doctor told my dad I was only leaving the hospital in a casket. I am susceptible constantly. I overheated a week or two back. To the point of dry heaves and couldn't get off of the bale of hay I fell on in the barn. Once I made it to the house, what generally helps me, besides a bunch of gatorades, is laying in luke warm bath for a couple of hours. Doctors now say no to salt tablets, but had to take three or four daily when I was shoeing horses, guess the theory was to replenish what I lost. I can drink all but the yellow gatorade, that is the only flavor available or the hospital offered. Watermelon, cantaloupe, anything to take in fluids.
Be safe. Glad you are home.

Couple other things, wear a hat with a wide brim to keep the sun off of your head, face, ears and neck. A ziplock baggy of cold water with ice on your head while you work. There are some good gel neck bandanas that keep your blood cool also. First thing I generally do, immerse my hands in cold water in a bucket or trough past my wrists almost to my elbows. The blood is closest to the skin above the wrist and this will help cool you down on the inside reducing the moisture being lost .
 
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Hope you do better, Allen

Be sure to drink liquids spaced out evenly throughout the day. There is such a thing as too much hydration. People die from it, as documented on radio shows that had drinking water contests.

I once had to get my annual blood test and with fasting and work getting in the way, I just kept drinking water. Didn't show up for the test till 1pm. It messed up my results, showing my electrolytes way too low.

A banana a day, keeps the leg cramps away.
 
jon, I keep saying Im getting some of those hat and gel headbands and I havent ordered one yet.. Not waiting anymore. Gonna do it tomorrow.
and with a neuro disease its very important I keep my body temp down.
Just get lazy and concentrate of the project in front of me.
 
What I have found is that if I eat one of those giant dill pickles a day in the summer, I usually don't cramp up. Must be the salts and other stuff in it, that does it.
 
Sodium is as important as potassium. We generally get enough through what we eat though.

When I coached football we were constantly on the kids about hydration during the first of the season. I'd always tell them you start hydrating for Friday on Monday.

A cool pack in your arm pits will also help bring down your temp.

I hope you get it worked out Allen. Cramps are no fun.:(
 
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I think my excessive weight is really torturing me during this hot summer.
I sweat alot more and it takes more energy to move this big fat body around, so Im just not used to it.
I think I have to lose some weight before anything else, wish I could summon up some discipline for myself.

john, the older I get, the less fun everything seems.
 
Steve brings up an old memory of the guy about 1/2 mile from our driveway. He was in his 70's when we bought this farm in '92. His wife was in the nursing home about 9-11 miles from here. Andy everyday would visit her. He never had a driver's license but he had a bike. Would see him buy a small jar of pickles and drink the juice. He said it was better than water for you.
 
I think I have to lose some weight before anything else, wish I could summon up some discipline for myself.

john, the older I get, the less fun everything seems.

Allen, I too need to lose a few pounds. How about us starting a weight loss program for us members here and help encourage each other to stay on track? It's always hard when you think your all alone in your battle to lose weight. If we make it fun and stick together....maybe we can all benefit.
 
Steve brings up an old memory of the guy about 1/2 mile from our driveway. He was in his 70's when we bought this farm in '92. His wife was in the nursing home about 9-11 miles from here. Andy everyday would visit her. He never had a driver's license but he had a bike. Would see him buy a small jar of pickles and drink the juice. He said it was better than water for you.

I used to have terrible leg cramps. Charlie horses all night long. Since I started eating several sour pickles with lunch, no more cramps.:dunno:
 
Good thread Allen. I helped a friend pour a concrete patio about 1980 and got way too hot. Ever since then I can't tolerate heat. I had jobs that didn't allow me to miss the heat in the summers of 89 and 99. In the fall of each of those years I had kidney stones--Dr. said she would have predicted the stones if she had known my history at that time. Now I avoid that heat and work--period, no way around it. No stones since--hope I don't jinx myself. Bananas are good for this as is Gatorade, lots of water and, apparently pickles/juice.
 
I lost 35 lbs after my surgery and it hasn't been hard to keep it off. Easy on the Gatoraid though...the mineral salts and electrolites can be rough on the kidneys if your not sweating it off.
 
I alternate with around 32 ounces of gatorade and approx 2 bottled waters, 33 ounces of water for each 5-6 hour of work or activity in the heat.
Seems to keep the cramps away.
the gatorade is a bit too sweet and the other gatorade has an aftertaste for me, so I mix in the water.
I start sweating as soon as I go outside and dont stop till I come in to cool off.
 
Yesterday I rode my bike down to Zushi about 80Km/50 miles and it was HOT and humid.

tim_stu_seaside_hut_july_2011_c.jpg


I drank at least 6L of water, and I use these electrolyte tabs that you just drop into the water >> Zero Five5 << these are great!!

Take it easy in the heat!
 
Dehydration

Hi,

I have had to deal with dehydration almost every working day for 30 or 40 years. Why? Because I fit contact lenses. Unless you are hydrated, you probably cannot wear contact lenses.

CL is a misnomer. Unless a contact lens is a horrible misfit or you are dehydrated, the lens does not touch the eye...It floats in a pool. The pool has to be large enough to float the lenses. I will give a ridiculous analogy: You cannot float a battleship in a pool.

When you are dehydrated all fluids in your body are reduced---your tear volume is low and viscous, your saliva volume is low and viscous, your urine is probably dark in color.

I will expand on this. You may feel like you have too many tears because the tears are so viscous that they cannot drain through your drainage system properly; they spill over your lids. However, reality is that you do not have enough tears---you just have tears that cannot drain properly. (Analogy: You have two sinks with stoppers removed. You pour water into one and honey into the other at the same rate. The honey sink flows over the top because the fluid cannot drain fast enough. The water sink drains properly. Remember the fluid was going into each sink at the same rate.) You may feel as though you have too much saliva because it is so viscous that it does not drain down your throat properly so there is more fluid in your mouth (usually thick and gooey). Dark urine is very frequently a sign of dehydration---however this is not always true. Light color urine is frequently a sign that you are hydrated: however not always.

Many things can make you dehydrated:

1) Not drinking enough water (big surprise here).
According to the nutritionists the water intake should equal or exceed: Take your body weight (how much you weigh) and divide it by two. Example: If you weigh 200 pounds---you divide it by two. That gives you an answer of 100. A 200 pound person should drink 100 ounces of water (You cannot count soft drinks, orange juice, electrolyte drinks, milk,etc. You count only water) each day.

2) Excess caffeine (coffee, tea, etc.). There are a bunch of studies going on at present about the proper amount of caffeine to consume. There is quite a bit of conflicting data on this (probably caused by whoever is paying for the study). My guess from what I have read is: You probably want to consume 135mg to 300mg of caffeine per day. 135mg is probably a typical 8oz mug of coffee in a cafe.

There have been studies that show you are more apt to get Altzheimer's or Parkinson's if you consume NO caffeine. I am not sure how valid the studies were. I saw only the results given to the general public. I did not see the original data.

If you consume too much caffeine, the fact that it is a diuretic really starts to be a factor. Years ago, when I took nutrition classes, they considered 6 cups of coffee absolute red-line. When you consume a diuretic, the water you consume tends to go through your system without you getting as much much use out of it. The greater the amount of caffeine, the less use the water is to your body.

3) Excess sugar tends to thicken the solutions in the body. This reduces the use the body can make of water that is consumed.

Most energy drinks, soft drinks, Gatoraid type drinks, etc. tend to contain a lot of carbohydrate (sugars and starches). Electrolytic drinks and similar are a very good thing up to a certain point. Then you hit the negative effects of the sugars and the very good electrolyte, etc. type drink becomes a negative factor instead. Like most things in life, Think Moderation.

4) Alcohol tends to have the same general effect on the body as a combination of diuretic and excess sugar. Think about this: Two guys are out mowing their lawns (push, not powered mowers). One of them is drinking beer and the other is having water. Guess which one is sweating the most fluids out of his system and which one is retaining the most fluid.

5) Many medications tend to dehydrate. If you are taking anything for allergies, sinus, nasal drip and similar, be suspicious that they may be dehydrating. If your med says to drink a lot of water there is a good chance it is dehydrating. Ask your physician if any of your meds tend to make you dry.

Re Potassium: Personal experience: My physician has told me that my potassium is too high and to stop eating bananas and stop nutrition drinks that contain potassium. The reason is that excess potassium makes a person more prone to heart attacks. This is a sample of one person. One is not a good number for statistics. However, if you are consuming potassium in drinks, pills or bananas, you should probably ask your M.D. what your potassium level was at your last physical. He/She can tell you if it is too high.

Enjoy,
Jim

ps My last nutrition class was many years ago.
 
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