Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Hyponatremia

Anybody here ever been diagnosed with this or spent some time in the hospital getting sodium rich IV's until the appropriate level of Sodium was re-established? They feed you the IV at such a low pace.........seems unnecessary.

I had three episodes a month apart last fall with three admissions to the hospital. We're still trying to figure out what caused them. My fluid restriction is now 1 quart water plus 1 quart of low-cal Gatorade per day. Seems to be working.

First time my Sodium was 109, which turned out to be REALLY low. Thought I had Ebola or something as I was tipping over and puking and passing out and was incoherent. I had no idea that an electrolyte imbalance can be so serious.

If I eat too much sugar or carbs and not enough proteins I will almost literally go down for the count and can't move.

Seriously, happened like 7-8 times in the last 10 years, turn pure white and go down hard. Just weak beyond believe, like you think you might die or pass out.


I told my doctor, and this is no bullchit. This is what he actually said.

"You know that's why people always die in the drunk tanks..."


I laughed because I know is fuucking with me and then he said get your blood work done.

Yes it is a very serious condition, almost as dangerous as abusing prescription meds.

SBH... I don't want to sound morbid or frighten you, but certain cancers will cause blood sodium level to be low.

That is correct-a-mundo, IG. Just had a bunch of work done, including kidney detailing. Liver, pancreas, stomach, lungs all fine. So is colon and esophagous.

So........I'm more worried about a brain tumor. Brain CT scan is next.

Having a brain tumor will explain to 12344Mag why I have a neverending tendency to mix Ambien, Xanax, and Percocet on a daily basis.

Seriously, anybody here been hospitalized due to hyponatremia??

Tick
Tock

Well, did you want to vote dimocrap in last fall's election?

Seriously hoping you, and Sam, get well soon.

I'm fine, just don't eat too much pasta.

Over the mono, huh? Well thats good to hear. I was a little concerned with you treating it with Rogers home made medicine.

SBH, have you been bitten by a nutria, muskrat or any other mammal?

EB,

Only the nasty, filthy, vile, and STIMULATING female human type. But, that has been a few years ago.........

I thought it was iffen you got bit by a rabid coon,or possum was hypothermia

Eyeball yer the onliest smartr one on here exceptem me

DJ,

What in the world is a possum???

I'm a Rocky Mtn man..........

Damm good eatin is what it is

But you do carry the scars for a lifetime! seriously I do hope they find out the cause and you get better.

You replace with 3 percent slow because it messes you up to correct to normal (135-145) too fast.

No different than correcting a really high blood glucose.

I met a woman diagnosed with hyponatremia and she told me she tried to eat low sodium. I told her to stop doing that. Gotta have enough sodium in you diet so if you cook at home start adding it. If you eat out or eat store bought meals you get way too much.drinking a lot of liquids also depletes your sodium. A lot of medications can cause this also.

SBH... sorry it took me so long to see this thread and reply.

I see this ALL the time. The underlying diagnosis is usually Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion (SIADH), which is a very, very common problem. Most folks only find out they have it after they have a hyponatremic crisis like yours, and we can only diagnose it as a "diagnosis of exclusion", which means we need to exclude all the really bad stuff like adrenal tumors, lung cancers, etc.

The only proven safe longterm treatment for SIADH is water restriction, and even then your doctor needs to keep close tabs on your electrolytes, so another hyponatremic crisis can be averted.

We replace your sodium with IV fluids very slowly, as you learned. I have learned through bitter experience that correcting it too fast can lead to serious and severe brain injury, which may be irreversible and even fatal. Normal saline is 0.9% NaCl, and that's the ONLY solution I will use to correct hyponatremia. If your doctor uses twice-normal (1.8%) he's taking risks, and if he uses 3% he's flirtin' with death. I'm not joking here.

So if you need another IV correction, just resign yourself to being there a while. Bring a comic book and a friend and try to relax and enjoy the visit.

Thanks for the responses DocR, Goalie, and you other medical folks.

My research has led me to just exactly what you've stated here.

First time, my Na was 109 in the ER. Being my usual stubborn self, I waited 2-3 days too long to go in. The intriguing thing about hyponatremia to me is the huge variety of physical plus mental symptoms. I had puking, tipping-over dizziness, bad muscle cramps, blurry vision (for 10 days), mental drifting in and out, incoherence...........wow. Sickest I've ever been. I'll never forget the look in my buddies eyes who walked in my front door one morning to check on me...........and I spit out a bunch of incoherent gobbledygook.........cuz my brain was swollen. He was quite alarmed! Several of my other electrolytes were out of whack due to my several days of puking/dehydration, including Potassium, and Ketones??.........but the Sodium is the critical one. They put me in ICU and 2 days later I was perfectly normal.......except the blurry vision took several more days to go away.

The second time, a month later, I went in on time and said 'ditto a month ago but I'm here earlier so symptoms not quite as bad'. My Sodium was 118. They said 'good choice coming in right now'. Was admitted for 2 days and then perfectly normal.

Third time I was 126 and they just fed me one IV in the ER for several hours and sent me packing.

I'll tell you guys what, I think there is no better medical doctor than an experienced ER doc. Ditto this for an ER nurse. Boy, these folks were right on their A game.