GAINZZZ: Wednesday Water Warning

Thanks to the cobloggers for filling in for me yesterday.

Yesterday morning, after a hard work out including some running in the sun, I started to feel very woozy and dizzy, and I became very uncoordinated and barely able to stand or lift my arms. Ultimately I realized I must be dehydrated (lots of exercise in the heat), and I went to the kitchen to fill up on water. But I wound up collapsing before I could drink it.

I crawled to the phone and called 911. My blood pressure was dangerously low -- 64/40 or something like that. My tongue was white, I had no color in my face, and my brain was sluggish to the point of near stupidity.

After a few hours of saline IV, I started to feel better, but tests showed my kidneys were very distressed from the dehydration, and they kept me around for observation while they continued filling me up with saline solution.

Eventually they said I could go, but that I should drink lots of water, and return to the emergency room if I had any relapse.

So in short:

1, sorry for missing yesterday;

2, thanks to the cobs for covering on such short notice;

3, I'm still feeling drained and foggy, like I'm coming off a bad hangover;

and 4, I always say "Drink lots of water" but usually fail to do so myself. Turns out, this is really important.

I just got a real wake-up call about how important that is. I've heard of athletes collapsing and dying during summer workouts, but never really thought that was something that happened except on TV, and only to real athletes, guys really exerting themselves and pushing themselves to the limits.

Well, Not Real Athletes also have limits, and those limits can be crossed in a hurry.

If you're doing any kind of exercise, or if you're on a ketogenic diet (which uses up water in the process of turning fat into usable energy), or if you're fasting (which again uses up water), or (especially) if you're doing all three, you really do have to make drinking water a top conscious priority.

BTW, I've mentioned I had suspicions that I was sensitive to potassium chloride. I have no idea if I have a particular problem with it, but I did take some (too much -- I free-handed it) before working out, thinking it would help prevent dehydration.

The dosage you're supposed to take is 1/8th of a teaspoon, if I remember right, and I took more than that. I don't know if this has anything to do with my becoming sick, or if it's just a coincidence, but I'm staying away from that stuff.

Maybe some can take it safely, but apparently I'm too much of an idiot to do so.

I must have been dehydrated for a while, but I didn't feel much effect from it until I felt all the effects of it. I did feel some minor problems during workouts, but nothing I was alarmed by.

So I guess you can function close to normal even when you're dehydrated until you hit the critical level, and then things go really south really, really fast. Like within an hour, from merely dizzy to collapsing on the ground and crawling to a phone literally in the danger zone of possible death.

Even if you feel okay, if you're doing stuff that makes you sweat and you're also losing weight, keep dehydration and its potentially lethal effects in mind and drink water like your name is Mario Roobo at a debate in front of any audience besides the Weekly Standard Snooze Cruise.

I'm trying a regimen now of three 12 ounce glasses of water before noon, cutting down on soda (which of course causes water loss, in addition to cock-blocking any water you might drink instead), and one big glass an hour before a workout and maybe two after.

Another one an hour before bed (long enough before that I don't have to pee when I'm trying to sleep).

I made that up myself and I don't know if that's the right amount. I have to read more about it.

I do know I have to make a conscious effort to drink water, and get it out of my head that if I beverage doesn't have caffeine in it, it's not something that's helping me. I'm both physically and psychologically dependent on caffeine, which I guess is not a good thing if you're already drinking too little water and prone to dehydration.

Thanks for the concern and support many you expressed in the comments.

Now I'm gonna power down this grape Powerade Zero.

posted by Ace at 02:53 PM

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