Low sodium hospitalisation

I have been hospitalised 4 times this year due to extremely low sodium levels, the condition is called hyponatremia. I have had very little help from the medical professionals, one of whom tried to blame my appalling symptoms on a mental health problem! It was only on my final hospitalisation that a doctor spoke to me about what I should do going forward to prevent this from happening again. Two of my blood pressure medications have been stopped as they are known to cause low sodium levels. They are Indapimide and Perindopril. Amlodipine can also be a cause but I am still taking that as my blood pressure needs control.
I have been advised to increase the sodium in my diet. This is a tricky one, I have avoided salt for years due to kidney disease. I am now being less strict about searching out low sodium foods. I need to keep hydrated but too much liquid can wash the sodium out of your blood. I aim to drink 6 glasses of water a day. I drink decaf coffee. I drink one cup of tea and 3 cups of coffee a day. I take one multivitamin tablet a day. I take one vitamin D capsule a day. I drink one sports drink with added electrlolytes a day, I also eat one bag of Walkers ctisps a day.
I have my blood electrolyte levels tested every 12 weeks.
I can’t think of anything else at the moment, my sodium levels have been OK for the last 3 months and I am feeling much better so hoping I’ve cracked it now! It’s difficult keeping a balance between my kidney function and my sodium levels.

@Alie2Oxon I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter, that's just so awful.

As you have back pain I’d check with your GP if your urine infection has affected your kidneys. Keep an eye maybe also on the colour of your urine (should be pale yellow). If almost colourless perhaps you lost too much fluid with the Indapamide (diaretic). How quickly you recover probably depends on the cause (and your health in general). If interplay between drugs you are still on I would think you need medical advice on how to manage that. I hope you feel better soon

Following some tests by my GP she rang me on my mobile to tell me to get down to the surgery IMMEDIATELY as there was a problem. I was in a field 25 miles away in our caravan, about to pick up our DGS from nursery, so I did that first and arrived at the surgery nearly two hours later. She told me my sodium levels were "rock bottom" and to try eating lots of salty foods but report back the following morning. I "dosed" myself with those pepperoni sticks and apparently they did the trick. She told me she had expected me to be whizzed to hospital but in the end I had avoided that.

In hot weather I always have a few pepperoni sticks to hand!

I had low sodium due to BP tablets. After trying several different ones I’m now on Felodopine and sodium levels are normal.

My daughter S was caught on the hottest day of the year, (July 19th 2022) arriving by train in Birmingham and not able to get a taxi to her hotel. She had to lug her bags and walk. I know she was drinking a lot of water, but not eating or taking anything salty. She was found by paramedics at 5am unresponsive in her room, after begging the hotel to get an ambulance earlier.
She was in intensive care, where I saw her on the 21st, having been given a lift there by a very good friend. I am not sure that they had actually diagnosed the condition by then; they did later! I knew she was confused, but don't think the staff realised that.
I was speaking to her on the phone at intervals after this.
On August 1st she was discharged, and I reckon she was still confused. She stayed in a cheaper hotel and finally got home to Carlisle; where she was not in a good situation, wanted to move but was not well enough. She stopped speaking to me by phone...I was trying to help but couldn't seem to say the right things.
On the 10th November she was found dead.

Why is is that any heat warnings on the media only ever say to drink more water? I've spent time since then when hot weather came just telling any and everybody to for heaven's sake take salt/ electrolyte drinks to prevent this!
And I've read that about 50 people a year die of it in Australia.

My son has low blood pressure and has been told to eat more salt.

Drinking water exclusively can cause low sodium/potassium levels. Something to do with osmosis and the pure water pulling salts out of the body. My daughter had this when she was in her 20’s. It was the only thing she drank, and she chugged a lot of it! As with all things dietary, variety is key, colourful foods and drinks give us most vitamins and minerals we need. Until medication comes in and messes the balance up!

wow, I have bouts of very high bp.. 200! trying to get it down with medication. I thought high bp donot add salt to meals, I am not enjoying my meals with a bit of salt... so how can I find out if I can add salt to my meals..

It’s always a tricky balance Fflaurie I take medication for high bp, advice - little salt, but I have low sodium, I’m also on blood thinners, advice - drink plenty of fluids , wash away the sodium?

Hyponatraemia is a serious condition, it occurs when your mineral salts have diminished in you body. Very often it happens because you’ve washed them away. You said you were hospitalised in August, August was extremely hot and we were told to drink plenty of water, but if you drink too much and too quickly, you wash your salts out. It’s better to drink regularly than gulp down several glasses of fluids.

I was diagnosed with low blood sodium, not dangerously so but still low. My GP decided to do a urine test and found that was high sodium. He was perplexed, because high urine sodium indicates too much sodium in the blood. So it seemed that I was getting rid of sodium I needed. Basically I was just given weekly blood and urine tests for about a month and instructions to call him if I started feeling ill. Luckily it stabilised pretty quickly but no reason for the anomaly was ever found.

Dh was taken off Ramipril because it raised his potassium levels and lowered his sodium levels. This was before dangerous levels were reached.

My husband had this. Out of the blue. He was talking twaddle for some hours, then the GP said to get him to hospital. It was more than a day before the hospital found out what it was. We now keep some packs of urea drink at home which helps balance the water and sodium. He's only had to use it once and keep a general eye on not drinking too much water. Seems like he'd taken the general advice to "drink plenty of water" to heart too much. People need to understand that "plenty" means enough, not too much.

Last March, I was in hospital for a week due to low sodium. My blood test results are often a few below the recommended level of 135 which were accepted as normal for me. By the time I was admitted to hospital, my score had plummeted to 109! This was caused by the recent addition of indapamide to my blood pressure medication.

The physician was so concerned that he sent for my son and daughter who live over 200 miles away. My other daughter lives in Australia! I was also treated for anaemia and low potassium, so I had infusions to boost those and the sodium levels. My medication was adjusted, so I was taken off indapamide, lansoprazole and ramipril and prescribed amlodipine and famotidine instead plus a short course of sodium tablets. In hospital, I did experience some hallucinations but have been free from them since being home.

It took me a few weeks to regain my strength but six weeks later we managed to enjoy a cruise to visit the Keukenhof tulip gardens by hiring a wheelchair for me to use when necessary! By the autumn, I was well enough to participate in a performance of Bach's B Minor Mass and last week, I took a small role in a play: It's A Wonderful Life.

I am 75 years old and grateful for all that was done for me at the time and regard each day as a blessing. I hope you soon feel completely well, Quietlife.

My mother in law was increasing unwell, with no help from her GP.
A weekend call to 111 resulted in a house call from a doctor who recognised her symptoms and arranged a same day blood test.
She received a phone call at 1 am in the morning telling her that an ambulance had been dispatched and to go to hospital immediately. Not to waste time packing a bag.
She had a seizure in the ambulance, and another on arrival at hospital.
She spent 3 days in ICU and a further 5 days in high dependency.
She was a long term user (over 10 years) of Omeprazole which was the cause.

My sodium was down to 111. I was confused and couldn’t walk but could have gone into a coma. My GP said he had never seen levels so low. I have always taken a lot of salt on my food and continue to do so. Thanks for all the comments.

Jaxjacky I had to have a kind if scan to look at my hiatus hernia.So for 7 days I was told to come off Omeprazole and use Rennies etc. I was in utter agony and o the day of the investigation had to go without food for a few hours. The result was that my hernia which is very large was bleeding. Had to go on massive doses of Omeprazole. That was a months supply in a week for 6 weeks. It healed up and when they looked at it again while I was still on them they reduced Omeprazole down to 20mg and added Famotidine in the evening. To be taken for the rest of my life.Just hoping it doesn’t get any bigger. My last blood tests the other week was 31. So all that salt must be working. Also my bp is quite good.So I have no choice but to try to manage it. I am 84 now.

My sodium is naturally 130 so I was swiftly taken off Omeprazole and take Famotidine, I notify any medical professionals as necessary. I’ve just had an op and straight after was on a drip with mixed elements, including saline.

After a hernia operation I was keen to pass urine so drank quite a lot of water (so I am told and from reading texts I sent to dh who was waiting to take me home). I remember nothing about that day as I had a seizure and was taken unconscious to another hospital which had an intensive care unit. I had strange and unpleasant dreams until I was woken up surrounded by dh and dd and a doctor bending over me and asking if I knew where I was. Of course I had no idea and I got the date of the first world war wrong!!!in hospital for over a week and a half. When I had been home awhile I looked at NHS app to see that I used to have a sodium level of 140 but this had been going down to 130 which is just acceptable. This coincided with me taking Omeprazole which is known to lower sodium. Plus I had very little salt due to my bp and then drank too much water to enable me urinate. Apparently I hallucinated and I think resuscitated but not sure. Coming home at first my brain wasn’t a 100%. Couldn’t remember without effort how to order my Sainsbury’s order until I remembered I had an app. Woke up and thought there was a helicopter and fire engine outside but nothing was there. Told the doctor and he said that being in intensive care plays with your mind as so many noisy machines are there. My dd who used to work as an ITU nurse said she doubted that I would be completely back to normal until the following March and I think that was still the beginning of Autumn.She was dead right though. From the time I got home I started putting a good amount of salt on all my food. I was also aware of not having too much water. I had to continue Omelrazole as it was discovered I had a very large hiatus hernia and must take it for the rest of my life together with another tablet. I am too old for an op. Do hope you will soon be back to normal. It’s frightening but the brain needs time to recover. I would check your sodium levels when offered blood tests and consume more salt but check with your doctor if you have medication which may have caused this. If that is the case Google each medication you take as my doctor (and difficult to believe, the pharmacist at our local pharmacy) seemed unaware of the connection. Try not to over worry. You have missed a bullet but can sort out the best way ahead. Look after yourself.

Quietlife

In August I spent a week in hospital being treated for dangerously low sodium. I experienced several side effects from this which are only slowly subsiding. Has anyone had this condition ? It is very rare and I cannot find anything online about the after effects.

Google hyponatraemia and you'll find plenty of info about it.

<https://patient.info/treatment-medication/hyponatraemia-leaflet#what-is-it-hyponatraemia>

Mine was caused by some medication I was taking. (Indapamide and fluoxetine). When I was discharged I had severe tremors, eye disturbances and hot flushes. I was not told to change my diet but to be on the lookout for symptoms. I also had a bad urine infection (e-coli) which took three lots of antibiotics to clear. I am looking for anyone who has experienced anything like this. I feel as though I have lost a lot of strength and stamina. I also have back pain. I broke 3 ribs in a fall before this.

My late mother was hospitalised with low sodium. It was caused by her blood pressure tablets.

Could you ask a pharmacist this week especially if you take any prescribed medications. What did your hospital discharge letter say?

I have read some posts on Gransnet by people who were hospitalised with low sodium levels. I seem to recall they said it was to do with their high blood pressure medication and that they were told to add salt to their food at the table.

This only from memory so I may have misunderstoood entirely but medications might be worth thinking about if you take any.

Hope you feel better soon.