Low sodium

[catwoman2015]

Hi I have been feeling user the weather last few days or so. I had blood test done via GP Monday ! Had call from surgery today my salt levels are low again Does anyone else get this at times please and what can I do to help raise salts

[Tico]

Hi catwoman, I regulary get low levels of sodium in my blood tests. When they get too low my Gp normally prescribes a course of sodium chloride. I have spoken to my consultant about it who said " you should put extra salt on your chips"! Unbelievable. I spoke with another doctor after being admitted to hospital earlier this year with a chest infection and very low levels of sodium again. He said it was probably the medication which was depleting my salt levels. Can't really offer much advice but to tell you to keep well hydrated as some side effects of very low sodium levels are dehydration and terrible leg cramps which unfortunatley i've had. Atb,Tina.🤗

[catwoman2015 in reply to Tico]

Thank you Tico , yes I regularly get that also ! I have never been offered sodium chloride though ! I have been using salt now on my dinner ! I was feeling under par when I asked gp for test ! I had bad headache and bit nauseous at times ! I do think plenty fluids ! The consultant doesn’t seem bothered ! I’m guessing because have to stay on hydroxy as it is eh ! Hope you keep well 😀

[Parktrees in reply to catwoman2015]

I suffer from SIADH which is a form of hyponatraemia

I was suddenly ill I had funny turns cutting story short ended up in ambulance as I was confused severely ill they did bloods and discovered I had SIADH had brain scan to check I didn’t have excess fluid

I was in hospital a week my treatment was strict fluid balance of 1000 mils aday and 10 weeks later am still on 1200 mils aday

Endocrinologist put me on this as he neede to get my body to store the sodium

My sodium is now up to nearly a normal reading

I just want to stress the importance of sodium and sometime too much fluid can do the opposite as my specialist said it flushes out the sodium

I have weekly blood tests now so please keep being aware of your symptoms and good luck

[hunter5582]

Hyponatremia can have a number of causes. It can cause a variety of problems as Tico noted. There is no way to know exactly why you are experiencing the low sodium, but I would not just ignore it. FYI - something to check with your hematology care team about is the hydroxyurea. HU can cause renal impairment. There is some indication in the literature about hyponatremia as a (rare) side effect of HU. Here is one example.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/151...

This is not to say the low sodium is from the HU - just one more thing to check off as you figure out what is going on.

Hope you get is all sorted out ASAP.

[Friktie]

Please DO keep a close watch on those low levels. I spent 10 days in a induced coma after levels plummeted 6 yrs ago. Scariest thing I’ve ever gone through.!Turned out I had been having low levels for least 2 years and not one Doc. thought anything of it. All they kept telling me was “cut salts to keep my blood pressure under control” and giving me meds with Thiazide! Sheez!

Cut back on the copious amounts of water I was drinking to slake that constant thirst; take a Emergen-C brand supplement every day, and whenever feel that “dry-thirst” add a half bottle of Gatorade. Can always tell when levels ARE low by how Un-Sweet the Gatorade tastes.. When levels are ok; I can’t stand the sugary taste....weird?

Other than that I don’t specifically add table salt to foods as that really doesn’t help, and in fact is not great for High Blood Pressure. It’s a balancing act, but you get used to it.

Here’s a wacky GOOD tip the specialist gave me; if you feel like you’re plummeting ( super thirst, serious out of it, etc) “ drink some pickle juice”. It WORKS FAST! Good luck.