Can Dehydration Make Symptoms Worse?

[zeropoint]

I am in the early stages of recovering from whooping cough, which is altogether just nasty.

Yesterday I started up early with coughing until I threw up, which persisted over a 15 hour span, resulting in me being so dehydrated that I had to go to the ER for fluids. During the mid-afternoon part of the day, I had a weird kind of break where my symptoms were much worse, as far as dissociation, hypervigilance, and an exaggerated startle response. By the time I went to the hospital, I was shaking and very weak from dehydration, and I realized that it was possible that the dehydration contributed to my symptoms being worse.

Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[shandemonium]

Absolutely!!! Body/mind/emotions are all connected in my opinion.

I have kidney stones and I am convinced they were brought on via emotional stress. I now drink a huge jar of water every morning to start, everyone makes fun and calls it my "moonshine" lol because it's that big.

Take care of body first before heart and mind can heal...

We are made of water! I forget the percentage, but it's a lot. Drink your water and I really hope you feel better!!

 

[Barberian]

Any mental or physical stress(es) can reduce your ability to deal with PTSD or any other mental issue.

https://www.myptsd.com/threads/the-ptsd-cup-explanation.13737/

 

[WillyKat]

I agree. I do a fair amount of backpacking and general knocking around in the wilderness. Dehydration can kill you in three days or so, but it can kill you even faster because it literally prevents your brain (and the rest of your body) from functioning. Without adequate water, your ability to make sound decisions begins to erode, but worse, you don't notice that erosion and are I think more likely to assume everything you think is a stroke of genius. Once your ability to make good judgements goes, you make bad mistakes that can kill you faster than the dehydration alone.

I believe that we do our best in dealing with PTSD when our mind and body are working as designed. And that requires adequate hydration. Every day at work, I fill a qt size bottle full of ice water and make sure I finish it before the day is out. I drink more at home.

Oh, and coffee, tea, soft drinks, beer, schnapps doesn't count. Water or fruit juice.

Drink up!

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

Absolutely. Dehydration is serious stuff. I've had to be especially careful of that because sometimes when I am in a low period, I don't want to drink. That's when I bring out the fruit juice and lots of ice cubes to make the water really cold. At least that's what I do in summer time.

 

[Changing4Best]

I have problems with low blood sodium, because of some of the meds I take. Sodium regulates the amount of fluids in the system, it helps the body to retain fluids. However too much of it can cause too much water retention too. On the other hand, too little of it can cause dehydration and dizziness and even passing out (or fainting). I have had a few close calls where I did almost faint, so I take a 1000mg salt tablet sometimes now when I get that dizzy feeling. However, I can become too far gone when I do get that dizzy feeling to feel anxiety or an emotion that makes me feel inclined to drink water and take the tab, so I need to be very vigilant on this matter and take it as soon as I feel the slightest problem! Thankfully, my blood pressure is low to normal, so at least that is not a problem for me (salt or sodium can raise your blood pressure).

In reading up on sodium depletion, I read that drinking too much water can cause it too, so I tell you this to give you an incentive not to drink too much water. I am told that 6-8 8 oz. glasses of water evenly spaced throughout the day is a good amount. This was from my nutritional advisor, so I think it can be taken seriously.

 

[Friday]

@SheilaKathy How much water / fluids depends on where you're at and what you're doing.

An athlete in Arizona (hot arid, 100degF+) typically needs gallons a day, an athlete in Florida needs a little less water, but more salts (Gatorade was invented for the FL Gators). An athlete up in the cold/snow needs a fraction of the water a desert or swamp athlete needs. Meanwhile healthy relatively sedate people need less than their active counterparts, but a sick sedate person may need more.

6-8 8oz is good for relatively sedate 70degF otherwise healthy person.

 

[Cherry_Bluebell]

Zeropoint this is a good post, I thought it was just me! :-O I am aware I must keep hydrating myself because it makes my chronic insomnia 10 times worst and I feel more irritable

 

[Go Hungry]

Oh yes, absolutely... Dehydration generally just makes -everything- worse, no matter what it is. I myself drink so much fluid a day that I've been accused of breathing water on some occasions! LOL..

 

[Changing4Best]

@SheilaKathy How much water / fluids depends on where you're at and what you're doing.

... An athlete up in the cold/snow needs a fraction of the water a desert or swamp athlete needs. Meanwhile healthy relatively sedate people need less than their active counterparts....

6-8 8oz is good for relatively sedate 70degF otherwise healthy person.

I live in the mountains, so this might explain why I suffer so. I hardly ever feel any inclination to drink water, so when I do feel thirsty, I make a point of going and getting water immediately. At other times I forget that I need to drink it! However, when I ran into the salt depletion problem was when someone told me to drink a lot of water and that it was good for me. I was probably drinking about a dozen cups of water a day when the worst of the salt depletion happened. On the other hand, due to diuretics I take for my heart, the low sodium level in my blood has been a problem for years.

I need to find balance, I know! I have not quite gotten it figured out yet, other than to be taking the salt tabs.

Thanks for the info.

 

[The Albatross]

I had chronic dehydration at one point. Google it and look at the symptoms.

Shiela Kathy... the signal for "hunger" is often confused with "thirst" If though you're taking diuretics... you need to speak to a physician.

 

[Changing4Best]

Albatross, I am seeing my dr. tomorrow. I have talked with them about it many a time, and we always check it when I get blood tests. I just had a blood test, so we will undoubtedly go over the results of it tomorrow.