Drinking too much water, IV infusion and chronic fatigue

[Alive]

As a matter of fact I've been suffering from chronic fatigue for a few years. I also drink about 1.5 gallon of water everyday. It just feels good to drink water. What do these have to do with each other? A couple of months ago I visited ER for a "near syncope". (My blood pressure spikes when I take stimulants such as coffee.) They gave me an IV. It was just saline.

It made me feel so good for a couple of days. That day after being released I went out, something I hadn't (and haven't) done for ages. My interest in photography (my old hobby) came back temporarily as well. I did some research and turns out saline IV can be a remedy for CF. Apparently folks with CF may have low blood volume and IV helps with that.


I'm not sure what to make of all of these. Getting IV therapy, even though possible, is not very convenient. Taking Himalayan salt is suggested for adrenal fatigue and that's easier to do. However going that route I'd be worried about my BP. Also not sure why I drink so much water. My fasting electrolyte levels are OK.

 

[Blackhawk]

Your lab values don''t match your story well. Do you have labs from your ER visit when you were symptomatic prior to your infusion?

And BTW, 1.5gal/day is A LOT if you don't exercise hard and/or live in a very hot environment and have very high sweat losses. One third of that is a healthy well hydrated level to shoot for on a daily basis, again unless you specifically have high sweat losses or some kind of metabolic problem causing hyper urination. In the latter case, figuring out the metabolic problem could be important.

With that much water, it is essential to get enough electrolytes as over hydration can cause hyponatremia (which can cause fatigue along with a bunch of related symptoms). It is possible the reason that the infusion helped you feel better was the NaCl which is the salt that makes the saline saline.

And, excess thirst is a main symptom of diabetes Edit: Oh, also anemia which also can have crushing fatigue, but typically comes with other circulatory symptoms; tachycardia, dizziness especially when standing up from sitting or lying down etc

 

[Alive]

I'm perpetually anemic for genetic reasons. My HGB is about 12.2. The same problem causes high RCB which may be why I drink so much water. I've heard similar things from folks with the same problem (called thalassemia minor.)

It seem the moral of the story is that I should take more salt, or electrolytes i general.

P.S. The lab I posted must be from the ER visit.

 

[Blackhawk]

I'm perpetually anemic for genetic reasons. My HGB is about 12.2. The same problem causes high RCB which may be why I drink so much water. I've heard similar things from folks with the same problem (called thalassemia minor.)

It seem the moral of the story is that I should take more salt, or electrolytes i general.

P.S. The lab I posted must be from the ER visit.

Re: Thalassemia, do you know if B12 and folate support can help? I don't know, but I'd also want to know MTHFR status in this context.

If your lab electrolytes are always good, just throwing salt at the problem may not be the right thing to do. It sounds like repeating CBC and CMP and consulting with a hematologist, especially potentially an anemia specialist may be worthwhile.

 

[DixieWrecked]

Please watch the video above. Ever since I boosted my salt intake, I feel like a million bucks. I have experimented with salt intake and I definitely thrive when my intake is higher. Mental clarity and physical performance improve drastically.

The less sodium in your blood, the less volume of blood you will have (thicker blood). The more sodium in your blood, the more blood volume (thinner blood).

What this means is that your sodium intake, unless extremely low or extremely high will not affect your sodium blood test because the ratio of sodium to blood volume generally remains constant.

This also has implication when trying to manage hematocrit.

 

[DixieWrecked]

Please watch 16:50-30:00 in the video above

The latest cutting edge recommendation of fluid intake states that you are most likely drinking too much water. For peak performance it is recommended to only drink when thirsty. If you are peeing clear that means you are excessively flushing out electrolytes.

 

[CROM]

I started experimenting with sodium intake a few weeks back. My hematocrit did decrease 2 points during that time. I did a blood test before and after sodium intake.

I consume a little extra salt 3 to 4 times per day. Each time I also take a potassium tablet. I’ve heard that you should consume salt with potassium. I also take in a little magnesium.

It is said sodium intake makes you a little more vascular, more blood volume and will help preserve muscle when on a low carb diet, which is what I am doing. I can’t say it made be feel like a million bucks cuz I usually feel like that anyway when eating and sleeping right.

On a side note, few years back when I went to the hospital they did bloodwork before administering IV fluids. My Hematocrit was 47. Twenty-four hours after IV it was 44. Main ingredients in IV are sodium and potassium. Also gained 10 lbs from it.

 

[DixieWrecked]

For a vast majority of people there is no reason to take a potassium supplement. Potassium works opposite sodium in the Sodium Potassium pump so it actually negates some of the positive effects of the sodium. Potassium is administered to combat high blood pressure because of sodium's supposed blood pressure raising (blood volume increasing) effects. You most likely get plenty of potassium from your diet because you don't need nearly as much Potassium as you do Sodium and there is plenty of Potassium in everyday normal whole foods. I will add that the negative effects from Sodium that most people worry about are based on archaic studies and in the studies only a very small percentage were sodium sensitive. Similar to an allergy.

If you sit in a cubicle all day and don't exercise you probably don't need to bump your Sodium. Also if you are eating a bunch of garbage processed foods you probably don't need to bump your sodium. But if you are eating clean and exercising I can almost promise that you will feel better from upping your Sodium.

 

[Blackhawk]

Standard OTC supplemental doses of potassium (99mg) are just about irrelevant in the context of established "Adequate Intake" of 4700mg.

But, if you randomly use high doses of potassium without blood tests, you can wreck havoc on nerve signalling, muscle contraction including contraction of the heart muscle, and the electrical signalling in the heart itself. Hyperkalemia can cause life threatening arrhythmias including v-fib leading to asystole.

This is close to home right now for me...I am currently in the hospital receiving cancer treatment, and the dying cancer cells can elevate potassium to dangerous levels so K is closely monitored 4x/day. I realize this is a special case, but bottom line is don't overdo any kind of high dose potassium supplementation without serial lab tests and medical supervision. Hyperkalemia is not something to monkey around with.

 

[Alive]

Re: Thalassemia, do you know if B12 and folate support can help? I don't know, but I'd also want to know MTHFR status in this context.

If your lab electrolytes are always good, just throwing salt at the problem may not be the right thing to do. It sounds like repeating CBC and CMP and consulting with a hematologist, especially potentially an anemia specialist may be worthwhile.

I take those. My HGB was in the normal range last year. I'm not sure what caused the drop and a hematologist that I saw was of no help. My endo said it maybe because of using propionate (and messing with the protocol). I've been on cypionate for 2 months now but last blodd work was similar in terms of HGB.

 

[Alive]

Please watch the video above. Ever since I boosted my salt intake, I feel like a million bucks. I have experimented with salt intake and I definitely thrive when my intake is higher. Mental clarity and physical performance improve drastically.

The less sodium in your blood, the less volume of blood you will have (thicker blood). The more sodium in your blood, the more blood volume (thinner blood).

What this means is that your sodium intake, unless extremely low or extremely high will not affect your sodium blood test because the ratio of sodium to blood volume generally remains constant.

This also has implication when trying to manage hematocrit.

Yeah I once read an article on workout nutrition and sodium and potassium were on top of the list. (Cream of tartar is a good source of potassium.)

@Blackhaw Sorry to hear that bro. Yeah I take only half a tsp of cream of tartar. There is a story of a dude who took 6 tbsps and ended up in ER.

 

[JohnTaylorHK]

Blackhawk, I wish you a full and speedy recovery. I also found more water (at 125lbs 3 litres is plenty for me) advantageous. Supplemental potassium didn't appear to have any benefit. I tend to dehydrate a lot if I am sparring, and take extra salt as it is mainly sodium that is excreted when sweating. I also take magnesium (citrate) which has stopped my feet cramps, and am currently experimenting with Boron supplementation for general aches and pains. I am no longer on a full keto diet, but it completely stopped my (not so severe) skin cancer for 18 months. This demonstrates the Warburg effect. Zero-carb is the only thing I am aware of which both slows tumour growth and makes chemo less painful. Namaste.