Im having trouble beating the dehydration problems

allen levine said:

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.

Click to expand...

Have you tried the G2 gatorade allen? I liked the taste a lot better than propel, but it's not so sweet as the regular stuff. I think it's like 1/2 the calories or so of regular gatorade.

What an informative thread!!!
Thanks Allen for the start, what about that old man with leaking brains!
Wonder what he knew before he realized they were leaking out!!
Jim, that was a great explanation by the way!!

My doctor doesnt care for all the sugar in the gatorade, but tells me like Jim if I drink only one 32 ounce a day in this heat, I should keep consuming water.
I like coffee, and Ive cut my caffeine intake down loads by drinking decafinated most of the time.

My problems with dehydration are usually costly if like this weekend, its hot and I dont keep up with the liquid.
I start IVIG therapy tomorrow and the most important thing is to be extremely hydrated.
Ive been drinking bottled water continously since dinner, but I really missed the boat this past 2 days, so Im sure the headaches this week will drive me up a wall.
My nurse is a huge fan of gatorade while she infuses me, since the IV makes me go alot, she wants me drinking gatorade all day long.
She doesnt mind me having decaf coffee and sodas as long as IM getting fluids into my body.
Im going to keep drinking tonight for hours, because It makes the IV go that much smoother tomorrow and the next few days.

I know this sounds weird, but before NY state put water bottles on the returnable list, my wholesalers carried it and I used to order 6 or 8 cases a shot and have a kid load my truck and bring it home. Even though its in my house all the time nowadays, it seems I dont drink it as much, strange, I know.I guess I feel guilty making my little woman schlep the heavy cases, Im thinking its time to subscribe to a water service or just drink tap water.

and Im keeping the shop alot cooler, today when I got home and did a bit of work, I had it down to a nice humid free 75 degrees.
The problem is when I turn on the dust collector, that sucker throws off alot of heat, I can actually feel it coming from the motor area of it.
Its like a losing battle.

We were at Ft. Hood Texas during the summer for six months of training. Most of this required we wear full body armor, kevlar helmet and carry our weapon, ammo and a full ruck. The temperatures were around 110 to 115 degrees. Our command ignored the wet bulb since we were going to the mid east and they said they wanted us to get acclimated. The first day we went to the range we had 15 heat casualties. The second day we had 10 heat casualties. They all had two things in common. The first was lack of intake of water. Some of them drank enough water to be mildly dehydrated but not enough to be suffering the way they did. The second thing they had in common was either no breakfast or a lousy breakfast of pop tarts or donuts and coffee. We started pushing the breakfast thing. We had everyone get in formation and went to breakfast together. Nobody had a choice. Our next day was free of any heat casualties and it was 115 degrees. Water and Gatorade helped but a major factor was the proper nutrients before we started the day. We went to Kuwait from Ft. Hood. The temp was an average 140 degrees with a 40 MPH wind. It was early September. The whole time we were in the Iraq we didn't have one heat casualty even tho the average summer temp was 125 degrees in the hot months. Breakfast, water and Gatorade were the main deterrents. Breakfast was just as important as the water or Gatorade.

Allen, is there anyway you can get your DC outside of your shop? I built a shed against the garage/shop wall on the outside. The reduction in noise and heat is VERY noticeable.

Mark, that is a very interesting story. That is a relationship to dehydration that I had not encountered before. Were there any particular foods for breakfast? Did they specify any specific amount of water intake?

Thanks for the input.

Enjoy,
Jim

at this point in time, the dust collector has to stay where it is.
Id be playing with fire if I moved it outside or into the new shed.

Yes, I have never heard of the breakfast connection and it is the meal I miss the most.
Allen, any chance of putting the DC in the trusses/attic/above the ceiling?? (nope not advocating you blowing the dust outside onto your neighbor although that would be good!!)

Jim thank you for all the info. I am going to be phoning my dad this morning and educating him the way you have just done for me. What is worse in his case his doc has him on a diuretic and due to mobility and the frequency that he has of having to go he cuts down on the fluid intake. Now the give away in you facts was the tears. He is always complaining about his eyes watering.
During my military days we were all supervised and marched off to meals as a platoon. Ate together sat together suffered together if someone had an issue lime heat stroke, logic at the time was "we" were not looking after each other and" we" were not co operating with our corporal and working together. That was cause for much physical pain. In the evening of each day the entire platoon after roll call to check everyone was there, had to line up and take a" smartie" . This was a salt tablet which took an age to issue as each guy had to crunch down and swallow before the next guy got his. It was issued one by one You get the feeling they did not trust us
Oh talk about military logic at the time, if you got heatstroke, you also got charged with damaging government property.

Gives you a taste for our version of "freedom" an" justice"

sent from my Atrix

This is a very serious subject.
Years ago folks just died and little to no thought was given to why, it was just accepted.
Today, we understand more about how the body acts and reacts.
You seem to know what to do but may have more concerns than some others. Do take care and watch your activities and fluid intake.
A/C is, literally, a life saver. Heck with those stories "in my day, we lived without it". Nonsense, lots of folks died unnecessarily.
Check in frequently so we know how you are doing.

And, Stu, you are looking good.

Jim C Bradley said:

Were there any particular foods for breakfast? Did they specify any specific amount of water intake?

Click to expand...

We just made sure we ate a good breakfast. Not anything in particular. Since it was a mess hall there was a lot to choose from. I would eat three boiled eggs, french toast, grits, orange juice and a cup of coffee. I think all of it was good except for the french toast with lots of syrup. If I need a good breakfast now I eat three boiled eggs, toast and orange juice. But I am not burning the energy that I did in those days.

Frank, thanks for reminding me, thought that also, "Look'in good there Stu!!!!!"

allen levine said:

.... or just drink tap water.

Click to expand...

+1 +2 +3

Count me among the folks who just don't get the fascination with bottled water.

At work, there is always a cup of water beside the computer on the desk.
At home we have refillable water bottles that we take when we go anywhere with the kids, and really push the drinking of water.

(No coffee drinkers in our family: Juice at breakfast, water at other meals. Pop is a rarity.)

Allen

We used to drink bottled water but in the motor home we don't have the room to store it. We purchased a PUR water filter for the faucet because there is a lot of iron in the water here as well as other things that make it taste funny, works great.

This one looks a little different than ours but does the same thing. The mineralclear filter lasts for about 100 gallons of drinking water. I think we purchased our filter system from K-Mart for about $22 & it comes with a filter, we purchased a 2 pack of filters don't remember the cost but it is reasonable.

http://www.purwater.com/pur-products/faucet-watermineralclearfilter/

Our filter turns from horizontal to vertical to draw water these filters shown can be purchased either vertical or horizontal & have a control knob on the opposite side of the faucet.

Yep we bought a similar unit in Wal-Mart. It paid for itself in a couple of weeks. We are now buying the cases of water for the kids and anyone working on the farm just for convenience sake.

these temps are insane.
Its in the 90s everyday and the humidity is not letting up, supposed to be a heatwave starting friday up here in northeast.

allen levine said:

these temps are insane.
Its in the 90s everyday and the humidity is not letting up, supposed to be a heatwave starting friday up here in northeast.

Click to expand...

Hot and humid here also Allen. Our A/C in the house has been out since last Friday. They had to order a part. Thank goodness for the window a/c in the garage/shop. That's where most of my time has been spent.

What an interesting thread! I think I have something useful to add.

Iced tea with lemon is a good thing. Yes, it can have caffeine in it, but not as much as you think. If you make (black) tea with a tea bag in a mug, and you pour out the first cup, that's the cup that has 95% of the caffeine in it. So if you make iced tea with it after that, then almost no caffeine. And iced tea with lemon actually has a fair amount of nutrition in it (including potassium) and very few calories if you don't drown it with sugar. Black tea including green tea, oolong, etc. is believed to have all kinds of health benefits (aside from the caffeine). And if you don't believe me, you can read here, here, and here. Except for the part about decaffeinating a tea bag--you'll have to take my word on that--I did a lab on that in univ. in General Chemistry.

So I highly recommend iced tea with lemon. When I was young in the South and played lots of sports in the mid-day sun, I used to drink it all day long.

Allen, I also don't drink enough, and I also need to lose some weight--but that's another story. I got read the riot act a couple weeks ago about losing weight (because of back problems). Anyone who needs moral support for weight loss, I'm here.

Hi Allen,

What an informative thread. Some other things you might consider. Are you taking a cholesterol lowering drug such as Lipitor or Crestor? One of their side effects is cramping, especially if you are taking a higher dose. I take Lipitor 10mg and often wake up in the middle of the night with leg cramps. Also, it has been noted that if you are taking a diuretic it will cause dehydration.

Steve first mentioned dill pickles. This is an excellent source of salt. During the Civil War the Red Cross nurses (not called that in those days) used to venture onto the battle fields and give the wounded pickles to help them with their thirst.

I was in the Marines during Vietnam and we were always told to take salt tablets. No one has mentioned that. Perhaps that is no longer recommended.

I have some concerns about iced tea. The tea acts as a diuretic -- not what you want. Something I drink and I am told the Italians drink is balsamic vinegar. I add it to water so that the water is the color of iced tea. I really like it although if the truth be known I am probably in the minority.

At any rate, be careful. It is hot and the weather is not always our friend.

There is a lot of good professional advice out there.
I believe in just staying hydrated with water.
Except in the a.m. BTW, what's wrong with caffine? My breakfast is 90% caffine.
I recall when I was in basic training the Air Force, in Texas in July, we were required to take salt tablets often. Now, I understand, the tablets are a thing of the past and just water is all that is deemed necessary.
And, yes, the heat this year is tough on everyone.