play Mango Tree - Angus & Julia Stone
Chocolate & Cigarettes
03:41
I was severely dehydrated, sooooo thirsty, trying to drink more water.
I had had a headache all day (the only time I get headaches is when I am dehydrated), and had been unsuccessful in making it go away.
Earlier in the day...I exercised in the hot sun for an hour (there was a breeze so I didn't feel hot), but when I stopped, realized it was a good thing since I was beginning to feel the nausea from heat exhaustion.
Then, was disappointed because I love resting in the sun after my workouts, so just laid in the sun with a wet towel covering my face since it was the only part of me that I thought might burn. Stood in the freezing cold outdoor pool shower every few minutes (felt AWESOME).
I tried eating tomatoes after exercising so as to help with electrolyte stuff while trying to re-hydrate.
Tried bouncing on the mini-trampoline a bit (most of the time this helps somehow--moving the water around in the body?--and makes the headaches go away within a few minutes)...still had the headache.
Decided to try to get some studying done, but really wanted to be outside. Sat in the shade with a breeze, but it was still hot and humid out and I was still sweating.
Decided I had better move indoors, and found a cool indoor place to study. The headache was so bad, though, I tried to drink a LOT more water...not sure how much, maybe a half gallon to a gallon in an hour?
Got quite lightheaded and started to feel nauseous. Went home.
Took a hot-cold contrast shower, which has worked in the past. I could see my face was swollen, and thought maybe the cold could help me squeeze out the bloating in the cells. Thought maybe my body could absorb some water to hydrate myself from the hot part. Decided to take a hot bath, hoping to hydrate my body without drinking anything else.
Finally felt so lightheaded, nauseous, intense headache, and very weak, asked my hubby to take me to the ER. I knew both dehydration and water intoxication are fatal, and I didn't know how to fix either one.
Had to wait a little bit at the ER, but my entrance in was probably speeded up by the fact that I started vomiting in the waiting area...loads and loads and loads. That barf bag was FILLED to the brim. I felt much better after vomiting...the headache and abdominal pain were much less.
The lab tech tried to draw blood but busted my veins because there was nothing to draw...finally, after 4 attempts, he got something. FINALLY, the part I was waiting for, they put me on an IV and started hydrating me. They also gave me potassium after getting my blood results back. They gave me pain and anti-nausea medicines for my tummy and head, and though I tried to resist, I was too weak to argue so just let them.
My lab results were normal aside from the low potassium and they were ready to discharge me. I was frustrated because I knew I was still dehydrated--my lips were not as dry as they had been, but I was still SOOO thirsty! I persuaded them to give me another IV bag before sending me home.
Overnight, even though I wanted to drink LOADS of water at a time, I have been trying to moderate, and just drink a smaller amount each time I am thirsty.
SO, just wanted to share that. I was really glad that I have done some reading on both dehydration and water intoxication, so that I was not totally unaware what was going on (just unable to do anything about it once it happened!) I felt kind of silly because there were car accident victims in the ER and there I was, begging them to let me stay to get more hydrated, and they did not seem to take me seriously.
My discharge paperwork included information about migraines and abdominal pain. They gave me prescriptions for pain and anti-nausea medication. I don't think they really knew what to do with me. I am glad I was not an uninformed patient.
Today I did a search for water intoxication and dehydration and found this article. Thought it was pretty helpful. http://suite101.com/article/water-intoxication-a22501
Hope this can be helpful to someone else.
Tash
Tags: dehydration, food, intoxication, raw, water
Permalink Reply by InTheRaw on This happened to me years ago due to severe restriction. "Eat more to live more!" I hope you feel better!
Permalink Reply by mel marley on 
Permalink Reply by Rawbert on it might, but than again that water is in your skin and not going any further inside of you so it can hydrate you. it also evaporates quickly once you get out of water.
Permalink Reply by Janna Bannanna on 
Permalink Reply by HealthySkinnyBeautiful-TashaLee on Thanks for all your replies--very helpful and interesting. So...a couple of thoughts and questions:
1) several times i recall having the experience of heat exhaustion, where i felt sick and needed to get cold water on me and drink fluids and lie down, and then it eventually passed. When I feel that I am dehydrated, I do not get to that state before I realize I need more fluids and get something in me. But does severe dehydration feel the same as heat exhaustion--IS it the same? Or just similar?
2) usually when I wake up in the morning, i drink a good amount of water after getting dehydrated during the night. after reading your replies, i decided to try something different this morning. i drank only a little amount of water, then immediately prepared a smoothie of 1.5pounds lettuce and 2 large tomatoes (no added water) to see how this helps to re-hydrate my body after a night of sleep. (i am a diabetic so sugar in the morning does not work well for me.) of course, right now i am not severely dehydrated. what would you suggest to re-hydrate someone who is severely dehydrated (feeling quite sick)? i don't normally juice things because i am a diabetic and need the fiber to help with absorption.
thanks guys- i really appreciate your feedback.
Permalink Reply by Dominic Schumerth on I used to drink way too much water and probably came close to intoxication. When you drink too much water you get a headache and just feel thirsty for more. I've mentioned this in several other posts. To moderate how much you drink consider this: the average human body can only filter out a liter of water per hour. So obviously make sure you drink less than a liter an hour or else you're just water logging your body.
Permalink Reply by HealthySkinnyBeautiful-TashaLee on good to know...i saw something that said water intoxication symptoms mimic dehydration but i couldn't find what those mimicking symptoms were...being thirsty, ah, yep, very interesting, thanks. :)
Permalink Reply by Leslie on Half a gallon? That how much I drink mostly in a day!
I hope you feel better. You might not have the appetite, but if it's not severe then it's better to eat something. Most people on 30BaD I hope would agree with me that sweet fruit is best after intense exercise, followed by a savory at night.
I love being in the sun, too! But I feel that I'd much prefer running after sundown or early morning (except I tend to sleep in, haha) , it's cooler and my mind is way clearer. The only sport I do in the hot sun now is swim. That helped me get a good tan in the summer without being dehydrated and sweaty. But now that our community pool's closed, I aim to wake up earlier during the weekend so I can get my sun in. If you're near a pool, I definitely recommend you go swimming instead of ending up like a raisin in the sun.
Permalink Reply by HealthySkinnyBeautiful-TashaLee on boy, i sure do love swimming in the sun, but...have made a concerted effort to stay away from chlorine. i get headaches for sure afterward and dehydration. sometimes i give in but make sure my skin and hair are saturated with water before getting in the chlorine water. but i am pretty sure that the chemicals from chlorine on my skin interact with the sun...dries it out so the oils to make vitamin D aren't there..or the chemicals interact with the sun to make cancer-causing damage...i don't know; i feel much better when i avoid chlorine.
but yeah, perhaps evening or early morning exercise would be better. but...like you, i tend to sleep in so that's why it ends up being mid-day when it is "morning". :)
thanks :)
© 2013 Created by TheBananaGirl.
Powered by
