Dehydration thread

[scout24]

Water, lots of water. I get plenty of salt and sugar from the food I eat. After watching someone flopping around on the floor like a fish 30 years ago, and finding out dehydration was the reason, I try to stay ahead of the H²O curve...

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I willl drink Propel or Gatorade Zero if I'm feeling overheated. I've also used ThermoTabs in the past (salt + potassium tablets) and that's helped me out. I try to judge my state ofo hydration by urine color as well as how I generally feel. From everything I've read, urine should be a pale straw color when one is properly hydrated.

 

[bykfixer]

I remember one year Kyle Petty said he'd lose as much as 12 pounds during a race back when he drove on the NASCAR circuit. Back then there were no cool suits, and on the big tracks no airflow inside the car, except for hot air coming from the floor where exhaust pipes were inches from the seat. They wore a fire retardant coverall suit and full face helmet. He was competitive at that time until a day when exhaust gases entered the car and he was overwhelmed. He was never compeitive after that day.

One race Bill Elliott won, he had 3rd degree burns to his feet. He was sitting down by the car while being interviewed in the winners circle. When asked how he felt, he replied "I think I'll have a car sale tomorrow" meaning Bill Elliott Ford would probably have a lot of customers that next week.

Those guys were tough! They knew how to hydrate too. They'd start preparing their body on Monday for the taxing on their body a week later while probably 70% of the fans were at least partially dehydrated (including me).

 

[bykfixer]

I started this thread when dealing with a daily barage of muscle spasms and cramps in my torso. Something was out of whack and I was in the recovery part so I was looking to learn how others deal with hydration issues or prevent it.

After working in non climate controlled conditions for a few decades it has taken a toll on my body. Not like I'm sick or dying, just an aging body that is fighting against an easily overlooked routine of daily hydration techniques. If you have a few minutes read on.

At about 10 years old I started playing baseball all summer. All day, nearly every day. The neighbors garden hose was our source of water. As time passed it was like any normal kid, play until time to go home. Take a warm bath to thwart off leg cramps a couple times a week. My dad ate a lot of fruits and vegetables, but as a kid I did not understand why. Yuck, why eat strawberrys when there's chocolate cake? When I reached adulthood I worked in road maintenance so sweat soaked clothes was the norm in summer. Back then I drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of high salt tuna from a can so hydration was not an issue. But I turned that beer drinking habit off like a light switch one day. And had grown tired of canned tuna.

I got away with not properly hydrating for a few years. I worked mostly at night then. Then in about 2012 my body said "enough fool!!" I got over come in the heat one day. Strangely enough it wasn't all that hot that day. It happened again a couple of weeks later. I blamed it on the new style safety vest we had to wear. It was no longer a vest without arms, but was more like a shirt. Sleeves, more area of the chest covered, and a thicker material. To this day I think it did indeed play a role because other veteran construction guys also got over heated around that time. The following year, same thing. Make it through hot days of June and July only to be over heated in late August when the temps were in the 80's.

After that life took me back to night work for a few years so a decent diet and a couple of extra bottles of water was good enough. Then in 018 in Spring a daytime project resulted in me thinking I'd have to find another line of work. Dizzyness, weakness, and dozing off to sleep at the darndest times started occuring. Now at that point I had been taking a thyroid pill for a few years and had gotten through the adjustment period where funky heartbeat, hot flashes, and other side effects while the body adjusts were merely a bad memory anymore, but what if that's it? Again? Crap!!

My wife was all upset. See, it had been going on for a few weeks but I didn't tell her. One day she came home from work and saw the mower in the middle of the yard, stopped mid-cut. And me taking a nap in our bed. I told her then what was happening. I was working out of town at the time so she'd call my hotel at 7 to chat, I'm in the shower so she's freaking out like thinking I'd stroked out or something. "I'm fine dear, sorry to scare you dear, yes I'll go to a doctor dear". So I did..... eventually.

One return trip home I was feeling especially lousy. I saw a rescue squad station in a one horse town on my route and thought about stopping there when traffic lights overhead started flashing and the ambulance goes rushing out. The building was empty so I kept going. About 30 minutes later I realized I did not remember the last 30 minutes. Uh oh!! That aint good. Being near home I called the Mrs to say I'd be stopping at a dox in a box before coming home and why. "You're dehydrated, go to the ER" they said. Man screw that I need to unpack, hug Mrs Fixer and get some stuff done around the house, but the Mrs drove me to the ER after I'd unpacked. "You're dehydrated" they said and sent me home. Mrs Fixer had made an appointment with my regular doctor by then knowing I probably wouldn't.

That dude put me on a heart monitor for a month. Imagine wearing EKG dots glued to your chest and an 80's walkman fastened to your hip via your clothes all day, every day for 30 days. Well after about day 8 I get a call from some doctors office saying "get to an ER NOW!!" "Man I'm in a meeting, I'll go later" I said. 10 minutes later Mrs Fixer calls. "Are you at the ER yet?" WTH? "Ok ok, I'll drive home and see one there. I felt fine actually and saw no reason to panic. I call the boss "boss I need to leave, some doctor says I need to go to an ER". Boss says "Are you ok?" "Yeah, this issue I'm having hasn't gotten better" "What issue? Why haven't you told anybody?" "I'm on a diet and excersize plan and my body is pissed off, but I'm ok"...

On the drive home the doctor calls back and says "come see me tomorrow, you're ok now". Next day I meet this guy who could be PK's cousin or something and he sent me for a bunch of tests. By now I'm thinking "medical copays are going to bankrupt my dum@$$". I got through all of that. After losing about 30 pounds through proper diet and lots of excersize I felt great again.

In 019 it was back to work near home, sitting behind a desk, then in 021 back to nights. Muscle cramps were still an issue. Having survived Covid my body had added some 20 pounds. Then 10 more, and 10 more, and another 10. My 30 pounds were back and along with that another 20. Too many Burger King meals, too much time sitting behind a desk, forgetting to hydrate then trying to make up for that in an hour. It led to high blood pressure and colesterol. I was down to 2 daily pills. A thyroid one for life and one for the hearbeat issue caused by the thyroid pill (probably for life). Now up to 5 in the day and a colesterol at night? Screw that, I'm getting rid of these 50 pounds.

That began in June. The excersize thing included some strength routine so the number on the scales were going the wrong way at first. A month in they actually started falling even though my muscles were showing again. Then the day I was cutting grass and the plague of cramps began knocked me in the nose. I had already begun a routine of eating electrolites and drinking plenty of fluids. Trouble was the fluid intake was being done wrong.

Think about really dry dirt, then dumping a bunch of water on it at once. Most runs away and does not soak in. I took 4 days off from life and took in fluids at a slow but steady pace. On day 5 the cramps were all but gone. However they were still popping up on occasion. It seems as though that resulted from all that sitting behind a desk. My brother called it "atrophy". Now that's a term normally reserved for decaying muscles from being bed ridden. But in small doses we can have atrophy set in a little here, a little there.

It really seems to boil down to a lifestyle over a few decades that have led to reactions that are not so pleasant, but are reminders of why my dad ate all those fruits and vegetables, got plenty of sleep, avoided excess caffiene, got plenty of light excersize each day, and in general took good care of his electrolite balance.

 

[orbital]

... reminders of why my dad ate all those fruits and vegetables, got plenty of sleep, avoided excess caffiene, got plenty of light excersize each day, and in general took good care of his electrolite balance.

+

You obviously know a good path.
__________________________________
Is there a possibility of Crohn's ?

 

[bykfixer]

One doctor thought the spasms in my lower abdomen may have been from that but it was ruled out too.

 

[knucklegary]

Byk, could it possibly be too much workout crunches combined with insufficient diet?

 

[orbital]

+

Fiber in ones' diet is underrated.

 

[bykfixer]

Byk, could it possibly be too much workout crunches combined with insufficient diet?

Man, I don't know. I threw a bunch of ideas up against a wall and went with the ones that stuck. Something worked.

Now the body rejecting fluids thing was resolved by staying hydrated a little at a time. The client I work for joked "I'm not paying you to do yoga" to which I replied "yoga causes muscle cramps, no way dude". He said "you're the first person I've met who's living a healthy lifestyle is killing them". I replied "my body is rebelling the lack of chocolate cake and cheeseburgers".

I am done with crunches for a while though. It could have been that simple. Too many, too fast, too often. And yes maybe not enough of the right kinds of proteins and other muscle healing chemicals. I used to be bull strong many moons ago and sometimes I forget I aint anymore.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

"I used to be bull strong many moons ago and sometimes I forget I aint anymore."

Have you tried an (easily absorbed, not cheap stuff) magnesium supplement? I take it when feeling off, takes a little time to get better but never have I overdone it. Some take it in conjunction with calcium but I usually have some dairy item with it. If you have not already tried it, consider researching it? Seems like continuing to try stuff is a plan.

 

[bykfixer]

400mg before bed time sir. That was one of the ideas I threw against the wall that stuck.

 

[Poppy]

400mg before bed time sir. That was one of the ideas I threw against the wall that stuck.

Some take it in conjunction with calcium but I usually have some dairy item with it.

You should keep calcium and magnesium in balance. Twice as much calcium, as magnesium.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

The whole story rings true for me too. In my 20s I fasted for several hours between meals, gave preference to fried/greased/superprocessed foods, looked tilted at salads, and you'd have to put a .38SPL on my temple for me to eat fruit. No wonder I was miserable.

Most of this changed after a few visits to Weight Watchers. Most of the "calorie accounting" schtick is a fart in the wind by now, but the good habits have remained...
Have a salad with your main meal, seasoned to your palate.
Fruit is great, whether eaten raw or processed into shakes or fruit salads.
EAT FIBER. Fiber is great for calibrating your internal metronome.
Have small snacks between meals. Don't fast too much.
Don't abuse salt and sugar. Vary your spices. Oregano, pepper, garlic, clove, cinnamon, honey, there's so much to pick from.
Have a generous breakfast, a satisfying lunch and just enough at dinner.
Drink plenty of water, enough so you urinate generously even in dry or hot days where you lose most of your intake to sweat. If drinking anything else like juice or soda, use them as a chaser to a glass of water.
Fat is not really bad, but grease is. Carbs like starch even more so. Watch what you eat.

I got me some nasty 40 pounds during COVID survival myself, because I took quarantine VERY seriously, but going back to the routine of waking up early at a fixed hour, commuting to another location during my day and not having a fridge to raid 24/7 have been gradually getting me back on track - I've lost 6 pounds between the last time I stepped on a scale and now.

Now I'm in my early 30s and, despite having a ways to go still, I feel awesome.

On a tangent that's still very relevant to hydration: guys, check your #2 when you answer nature's call. Lumpy or hard poo is a sign that you need more and better fluids and electrolytes in your life. I can't even remember the last time I had a hard time passing after I changed diet and habits.

 

[jtr1962]

Byk,

The cramps reminded me of a problem I had in early 2006. I had gotten the point where I was walking like I was 90 years old. At first I thought maybe this was caused by cycling. I've always gotten leg cramps towards the end of a long ride, or if I have to start and stop too much. Usually they go away a few hours after the ride ends. These didn't. They were so bad I was actually considering ending my life. Then I started reading online to see if there were any solutions. As a (now retired) self-employed person I have no health insurance, can't afford to see doctors at all, not that they would have found the cause anyway. I'm five years and 3 months away from Medicare, which will be the first time I'm insured since I was kicked off my dad's work insurance plan in college.

While reading up, the thing mentioned most often was vitamin B12. I figured I have nothing to lose. So I took some. Forgot the dosage, but it was the highest I could find. It cleared up the problem so fast it was almost miraculous. Within a week I was completely back to normal. I can't pin down any particular reason why I ended up vitamin B12 deficient. The only possibility was my mother, who took care of food for the family, was on a "less meat" kick. Now as Italians we never ate anywhere near as much meat as the average American. It was always just a garnish to go with the rest of the food. Unfortunately, she reduced even that small amount to virtually zero. If you've cut most or all meat out of your diet, you might be B12 deficient. Probably less than I was, but enough to cause some cramps. Now any time I feel even slightly "crampy" I take some B12. I'm also more mindful to include a little more meat in my diet.

My mom used to experience awful cramps, to the point she woke screaming at night. Probably partially caused by dehydration and loss of electrolytes, although she has a litany of joint issues-arthritis, scoliosis, severe carpal tunnel syndrome, and also had two hip and one knee replacements. The doctors were never able to do much about most of these issues, which is one reason I lost faith in doctors in general. Thankfully, I took more after my father's side and only inherited the severe CTS (since my late 20s).

As an aside, stress also interferes with health, and it sounds like your job is very stressful, especially physically. As I wrote in my earlier post in this thread, just going to permanent work from home in 1990 did wonders for my health. I was laid off from my job. I decided at that point to just do what I wanted to do eventually anyway, go into business for myself and work from home. When I retired in 2018 the only remaining source of stress in my life was caring for my mother. Can't really do anything about that, but retiring made it a lot easier on me.

 

[bykfixer]

jtr I hear what you're saying about meat, stress, B12 etc. I had stress so bad once that I landed briefly on the funny farm with a minor nervous breakdown. Depression is anger without enthusiasm and when your internal juices simmer long enough bad things result. But one day I stepped off the planet, stood back and watched it spin past for a while. Very profound experience living life as an observer.

At 40 I began eating less red meat, prepared meals and dining out etc. Doc said "get away from x y and z or you'll die". Nuf said. Bought a bicycle that day (even though I already owned a few) and started riding it every day. Not long after that I was rekindled with a long lost love... the skateboard. Or in this case long boards. Sidewalk surfers if you will.

This was me circa 2005 or 6 sidewalk surfing on new pavement of an off ramp of an interstate highway at 2am one summer night. It was a custom shaped giant slalom board by Comet skateboards with Revenge trucks, Seismic wheels, Bones ceramic bearings and 1/8" rubber pads between the board and trucks to smooth out the ride. Boy was it fast!! Later it was stolen out of my pickup truck one night.

Part of my issue is old sports injuries. Broken bones, torn tendons, and the bones spurs that result. Ortho docs and rehab sessions have managed to keep me all original parts with some minor surgeries at times but that also leads to rough starts at those times I decide to get going again. At 47 I hung up the 20" bmx bikes and shelved the skateboards. At 58 some of my high school mates still play football, water ski etc. I celebrate each time I can stick my leg through a leg hole in my undies without losing my balance.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

You should keep calcium and magnesium in balance. Twice as much calcium, as magnesium.

My father lost a kidney in his 40's, with the other one failing him in his 60's. Occasional magnesium helps take away kidney pain for me. Excess calcium I avoid, as well as greens like rhubarb and spinach because of the oxalic acid. None of this is meant to be medical advice of any kind.

Listen to us old guys... talking maladies.

 

[Stefano]

I can't pin down any particular reason why I ended up vitamin B12 deficient.

A person can eat meat and/or eggs and still be B12 deficient.
The causes can be numerous, hereditary genetic factors, drugs (aspirin, proton pump inhibitors, reflux drugs) gastric problems, chron's disease and others.
Alcohol abuse can also interfere with the absorption of B vitamins.
With age, the body's ability to assimilate vitamin B12 decreases a lot, over the age of 50 it is good to supplement.
But rather than taking only the B12 it is better to take a supplement that contains all the B group.
However, a high-dose B12 supplement can be useful for those who are distracted and prefer to take a weekly or monthly dose.

(None of this is meant to be medical advice of any kind)

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

To avoid dehydration, drink water or Gatorade as you go before you start to feel thirsty. Having a hydration pack and drinking from a tube will make it more convenient to drink frequently. Once you feel thirsty and you stop sweating, you're already dehydrated and need to take more drastic measures like resting in the shade or air conditioning, drinking some Pedialite, and/or wrapping a wet towel or bandana around your neck to cool the Carotid artery.

 

[bykfixer]

You should keep calcium and magnesium in balance. Twice as much calcium, as magnesium.

The magnesium suppliment before bed was something that eased spasms and cramps so I could sleep. Now that things have mostly returned to normal I'll cut one in half each night for a time then perhaps take one per week or similar. And get much of what I need through foods.
I take a vitamin suppliment each morning. Yeah, yeah, yeah I know you cannot get a full days dose of B vitamins to absorb like a bunch of carrots and cod from a little pill. But doc says take 'em and so I do.

My pop used to take a B12 suppliment in the morning. We called it his purple happy pill whenever he'd "what's this pill for?" B12 to me is like caffiene. Example, I drank 16oz of water with 8oz of a Sports drink called Prime mixed in that has like 200% RDA of B12 with my supper and I tossed and turned all night after staying up 3 hours past my bedtime.

One thing I noticed a few years back whenever the doctor adjusted my thyroid pill dose and it was hot out was the source of water I consumed seemed to make a difference. At that time I carried frozen tap water in quart bottles and drank it as it thawed out like my dad used to do. See, for the longest time at a construction site you'd see round yellow coolers with red tops with a water spigot at the bottom and little cone shaped paper cups on the side. But some companies decided bottled water was more sanitary. I'd always refill a gatorade bottle with water from the cooler as the day wore on. But kept frozen water for times the big cooler was empty. As an inspector I always felt a little uncomfy drinking the water meant for the construction workers so again I'd have my own supply.

In many people the thyroid goes into idle mode at some point. A magic pill called thyroxin can kick start it and keep it running at near optimum. But a sudden burst of the stuff is dangerous so a month at a time it is introduced and checked for how well it works. Each new amount causes weird feelings in the body at first. Month 1 was "eh, I don't feel a thing". Doc ups from 25mg to 50. "Now you're cooking with crisco doc I feel great". He says "yeah but tests show you need more". At 75mg, "yikes, Jane stop this crazy thing". Hot flashes, cold sweats, heart palpitations and feeling all jittery. It was awful the first week but settled down. It seems 75mg is the ideal amount for most. Same with me. My dad took 125mg. My mom had her thyroid destroyed and took 125mg. Some ten or so years later it's still 75 for me.

The year of the thyroid pill adjustment the project I was on the had a contractor who had bottled spring water. "Hey inspector, want one?" I'd always decline, but one day I was about a half mile from my water and thirsty so I reluctantly accepted one. I noticed I felt better after just 16oz. "May I have another?" I asked. "Sure" and the guy tosses me one. Man it made all the difference in the world. But part of the reason I re-use gatorade bottles is litter. That and it takes petroleum burning to make the bottles.

I'm not a tree hugger, save the gnat kind of environmentalist, but more of a conservationist instead. Knowing tap water has stuff in it to kill fish poo and cow pee bacterias called fecal matter I also know it affects how the body absorbs the water we drink. I can feel it in how it does not quench my thirst like other water sourced from springs. Nor does distilled water, which aint bad by any means. Vessel matters too, but it does not seem to matter as much as the water itself.

These days there's all kinds of hype around water. Ph 8.5, 9.8, 10!! Volcanic filterization, and the like. A buddy I used to run with used to run his tap water through a filter and store it in glass wine bottles. Probably not a bad idea really. I buy mine in bulk now and re-use plastic bottles a few times. Each month I rotate to new ones. A company called Core sells water in recycled bottles so I use those. I still carry frozen water to keep my food cold in the lunch pale and if the worse comes to worse have a supply to drink or wash my hands etc.

 

[Shorttime]

Dehydration is something I've struggled with for decades, although it was only in my late thirties that I learned how to get ahead of it. My metabolism is very efficient at eliminating water, and seems to be on a quest to see how little of the stuff a human being can survive on.

We have Gatorade in at work, and while it may not do much, it sure tastes better than straight water. I'll fill a 64 oz thermos, and empty it, twice, in an eight-hour day if I'm busy. Sometimes I'll add a pinch of salt from the container I keep in my cooler. Yes, it does make it taste better.

I take a supplement, too. Five hundred milligrams of Calcium, two hundred and fifty of Phosphorus, five hundred of Magnesium, and ninety-nine of Potassium. If we have to swap out a piece of equipment, it can take six to fourteen hours to do the job, and it wouldn't be courteous of me to always be running back to my truck for a fruit snack.

Sure, it's not the healthiest way of doing things, but it got rid of the headaches, and there aren't enough words that mean "it's good", to explain what that's worth.