[pct-l] mistakes I made while hiking the PCT

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

Yes, I'm talking about hyponatremia.

Prevention is always best, but if you read the trailjournals, you'll  
see that so many people suffer from it but they have no idea what it  
is. They keep powering down gatorade and energy bars and feeling  
worse. Once you get to the point that you feel this bad, prevention  
is too late. You need a cure.

Lay off the sugar. Eat some salt. Forget about what your doctor told  
you about salt!! I can't believe how many times I've read about that  
on trailjournals, too. People say their doctor warned them to avoid  
salt and then they collapse on the PCT from lack of salt. Forget all  
that modern medicine stuff aimed at sedentary people who only get  
exercise walking to the mailbox. You are sweating your way through 20  
miles a day of hot sun and shadeless scrub. You need salt.

I used to make fun of my old Geology professor for his old-fashioned  
ways, carrying salt tabs and forcing us to carry them too. But he was  
right. You need salt. You can get it from food or bring a little of  
the lite salt and put it in your drinks.

Just be aware of the symptoms of hyponatremia: You are thirsty,  
drinking lots and not feeling quenched. You're feeling weaker and  
weaker, queasy and just not right. Stop drinking until you can  
consume some salt. Lay off the sugar. Once you get your body back  
into balance, you'll feel better.

Diane

On Mar 9, 2010, at 5:33 PM, Gary Wright wrote:

>
> On Mar 9, 2010, at 8:07 PM, Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com  
> wrote:
>> I've been dehydrated a million times. It really isn't that big of a
>> deal to get a little dehydrated. You can get over it easily by
>> drinking water.
>>
>> The real problem is when you find yourself drinking a lot but you are
>> still dehydrated. No matter how much you drink you can never feel
>> your thirst being quenched. Then you start to feel really horrible.
>> Weak, queasy, thirsty and generally not good.
>
> It sounds like you are describing hyponatremia:
>
> <http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/hydrationandfluid/a/ 
> Hyponatremia.htm>
>
> This has been discussed before on PCT-L.  Prevention is the best cure.
> Make sure you are eating as well as drinking to ensure that your
> electrolytes don't get out of balance.
>
> Radar