Thread: Headaches, Sodium & Dehydration...Oh My!

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the help! Geez! WTF?

2 tbsp. morning and night.

Have you had any tests done?

Have you seen another doctor?

What kind of doctor diagnosed you?

If you want to increase your sodium intake, eat more sodium (sea salt is an option).

Maybe it is something else that is causing your headaches

Originally Posted by Big G

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the help! Geez! WTF?

Hey, ass, don't be a douche!

When I'm feeling less than salty, I normally take my sea salt crusher grinder thing and grind a bit in my palm, then lick it up!!

Seriously. What easier way is there to get salt than eating it directly?

Get a second opinion.

3 weeks and the same symptoms.

It doesn't sound like it's just sodium (although I'm not a doctor).

Shoot if you lack sodium be happy...salt your food...it'll taste better.

Lucky fucker!

Hey G!

As i've said in your journal, we are always told when training at high intensity or for long periods of time, to drink isotonic solutions, so Lucozade or the likes.

But, im sad and am subscribed to a rowing magazine, and in it they were reviewing lots of sports drinks, and comparing them to one another. Well, you can guess that they discovered that using sports drinks is better at keeping you hydrated than water (Doh!), but they also said that you can make your own home-made sports drink, which is just as good, if not better than the ones you can buy in the shops. They recommended:

In 1L: 300ml Coke (not diet!)
700ml water
1 teaspoon of table salt

Mixy-mixy . . . . . drinky drinky

Doesn't sound too good to me, but its worth a try, no?

Originally Posted by SamEaston

Hey G!

As i've said in your journal, we are always told when training at high intensity or for long periods of time, to drink isotonic solutions, so Lucozade or the likes.

But, im sad and am subscribed to a rowing magazine, and in it they were reviewing lots of sports drinks, and comparing them to one another. Well, you can guess that they discovered that using sports drinks is better at keeping you hydrated than water (Doh!), but they also said that you can make your own home-made sports drink, which is just as good, if not better than the ones you can buy in the shops. They recommended:

In 1L: 300ml Coke (not diet!)
700ml water
1 teaspoon of table salt

Mixy-mixy . . . . . drinky drinky

Doesn't sound too good to me, but its worth a try, no?

I wonder why Coke? I would not want to be drinking carbonated drinks while working out. Or right after.

Im guessing for the sugar? And the gas would be long gone after diluting with water then shaking it up with salt!

Mmm, yummy.

Originally Posted by SamEaston

Im guessing for the sugar? And the gas would be long gone after diluting with water then shaking it up with salt!

Mmm, yummy.

My guess would be for the carbonation? If you drink something carbonated with alcohol you get drunk faster....maybe it helps get other things into your body faster too?

Hmmm, well i don't know much about carbonation, but i do know that it is the presence of dilute carbonic acid that produces the 'fizz'.

Dissolved CO2 also lowers the pH, maybe its got something to do with that?

Originally Posted by SamEaston

Im guessing for the sugar? And the gas would be long gone after diluting with water then shaking it up with salt!

Mmm, yummy.

Hmm, maybe. I'm not trying to dispell it, but I find it odd that whoever came up with that would use coke.

Originally Posted by fufu

I wonder why Coke? I would not want to be drinking carbonated drinks while working out. Or right after.

I'd probably puke.

Have you looked into eating canned tuna? There are several brands of canned and packaged tuna that are loaded with sodium. Most of us stay away from it for that very reason but for you it could be a viable option.

OK. Thanks all.

Good news... I've been salting my food. I'm getting used to it. I think it was just weird at first because I hadn't ever done that. I've found these really good sourdough pretzels too, at Dollar Tree. They're only a buck and it's a great big bag. There's 20% RDA sodium in 1oz. I ate 5-6oz of them for a few days, plus salted my food and started gaining my weight back. When I got back up to 176lb (which is where I was when they discharged me from hospital) my headaches had almost completely disappeared. I even went back to the gym and did a press/bi workout. I'd lost some strength compared to my last workout (a month ago) but I pushed it pretty hard and nothing bad happened. I couple of days later (yesterday) I went back, ran for 30minutes than tried some WG Pullups before I left. 3sets of 6. No pain. I decided to give some squats a go. Again, no pain. Dips. Again. Everything was cool.

These days I get a very, very slight ache periodically throughout the day for no apparent reason. It only lasts a second or two and it's only dull, then it goes away again. It's as if I'd honestly injured something inside my head and it's taken a month for it to heal. The slight ache is in the same place as the horrible killer hedache I got initially, but it's not bad. And it seems to be diminishing, day by day.

I've decided to change from the muscle/strength-building program I'd been on, to a 2,000cal cut for 6-8weeks. I've never been lower than about 8%bf, and right now I'm about 10-11%. I figure I'll go for 5-6% for kicks and giggles. It'd give my head a bit of a break from heavy lifting and allow it to finish healing whatever it's healing. Plus, it keeps me focused on something instead of moping around P.O'd I cant be going bazerk in the gym every other day.

I've been on the elliptical machine, I've been rowing (in the gym) and I've even taken to the streets, jogging around my local neighborhood. Both my head and my old scateboard-weathered knees are holding out well, so things are looking up. I certainly feel better. Man, it was depressing thinking of MRI's and freakin' brain surgery! I'm only 34 for God's sake! I only got into all this about a year ago. But now I'm completely addicted and it'd suck to not be able to do this shit. Pumpin' iron rocks. End of story!

If I have any more incidents of crippling head pain in the gym I'm definitely going to do the MRI next year. I'm going to opt to put $50 per paycheck in an FSA Account (offered at work), so that'll give me $1,300 next year to use (at any time) for medical bills, Dr's visits, and what-not. Plus, it's tax free money. If I take it as pay I'd only get about $950, so it's like any medical bills next year are 25%-off. Not too shabby.

For now though, the plan is to keep a gallon to a gallon and a half of water going in daily, keep munching on my salty dollar pretzels, salt my food, run-row-run-row-run and stick to lighter weights until I'm consistently doing 3 sets of whatever reps with ease, then up the weight (a little). No more pushing it hell for leather. I'll get myself crazy cut and completely headache free for a month or so, then see how it goes. The full $1,300 I'm electing to put in the FSA account will be available on Jan1 even though I haven't put a penny in yet, so I'll have cash on hand should I need it for MRIs, MRAs or whatever (God forbid!).

Who'da thunk sodium could reak all this havoc!? It certainly seems like it really was a sodium issue. Time will be the true judge of that though, I guess.

Still... for now... pass me that dumbbell. I've gotta get my pump on!

How many grams of sodium are you consuming in daily?