Health warning please read this as it may save a life.
in December my husband was taken into hospital with a chest infection. he is almost 86 and had been ill for a while suffering from trembling and loss of memory and sleeping a lot and with little appetite and also having headaches. I can hear folk saying well its his age what do you expectOn his discharge from hospital a week later i went to give him a shower and help him dress when i saw some rather large bruises on his stomach and asked him what had happened, he told me he had had several injections into his stomach
i fetched his discharge papers and read them through to find that the injections were for lack of sodium in the blood. sodium is salt
He had been fitted with a urine catheter in 2011 and prescribed diuretics to flush out the excess fluid from his body and had been told by the doctor to drink lots of water. so my husband did just that.
ow these days we are warned about the amount of salt in food and not to add it as its bad for us. however as i cook most of the meals from fresh i did not add salt but followed that health warning,It was ok for me as i do not drink a lot of water but for my husband it was lethal.
Yes I almost killed him.
I googled the effects of lack of sodium in the human body and guess what the symptoms are.
Yes all the above and towards the end the person would go into a coma and die.
WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS ?
because you may know of someone taking diuretics who remove excess water and who is also drink lots of fluids then please warn them to up the salt in the food.
This need not be an elderly person as i know that often teens take these tablets to loose weight If you know anyone in this situation them please warn them or their family what to watch for.
since adding a small amount of salt to his meals there has been a great improvement in his health and he is no longer trembling or sleeping and no more headaches either plus his appetite has improved.
Such a small thing that saved his life. so why do the doctors not advise this.
thank you for reading this. annie in the uk
14995
158716Thank you for this information. I shall warn my dancing teacher, who is 93 and also has a permanent catheter. She has been advised to drink lots of water to stave off the bladder infections she frequently gets now, and although she is generally healthy, she never takes salt - can't stand it she says. I have suggested she drink a small amount of bicarbonate of soda as she also suffers with a lot of leg cramps at night. Maybe a little salt will do her good.
1 comment
by eggyannie
13 Feb 2013
tell her to eat tomatoes and to add a little salt to them as it also makes the tomatoes taste sweet it works with strawberrys too,
11329Thank you so much for this! I am glad that your husband is improving.
I have read the comments here and realize that I have to look into this .Thanks again,Hugs, Nadyne
24424111379Thank you for sharing this with us, I am glad your DH is doing well.
26714
25546I am so glad you got to the bottom of your hubby's problem Annie and so glad you managed to turn his health around.
People see me putting salt on my food and always make comments, like: too much salt is bad for you; you shouldn't put so much salt on your food, etc, etc.
My body tells me when I need more salt.... if I am lacking salt I get terrible cramps in my legs at night, the least movement will make me cramp up and they are so painful. I think you have to balance your salt intake very carefully, it is obvious now, that too little is as bad as too much.
I don't use it in cooking though, so it is up to the diner to salt their own meal, or not. I choose to salt. :-)
Thanks so much for sharing this with us. hugs n roses, Meg
122864Thanks Annie, it's a very common misconception. I do pray that you and your husband are doing fine now. How wonderful of you to check it all out too, you can never have enough information. Love and blessings Chris
234497Wow, hope he is on the mend now, and thank you for the warning.
Hugs Pam.
30988Thank you for warning us of this, I had no idea this could happen as all we hear is not to eat to much salt. So glad your husband is improving. Juanita
26316Wow, Annie, Thank you for sharing that! My 86 year old dad has a problem with low salt. When he was in the hospital for a heart surgery, they wouldn't let him have any salt on his food. He told them he needed more salt, but they wouldn't believe him. Then when it came time to go home they wouldn't let him go because his blood salt was too low. He had to stay another day to get more salt into his system. Crazy, but so true! i'm glad you found out in time for your husband's health and his LIFE!
59631
255050The hospitals I've been at sends you home with instructions that they go over with the patient and usually a family member and then every one signs off on it. The paper work involves medications and dietary needs and any other issues that made the hospitalization necessary. This should not have happened to your husband. He is so fortunate you were there looking out for him and his needs. Another issue we came up against was the doctor. My mom came right out in front of me and her doctor and said, "You really don't like to take care of the elderly." She changed doctors when he was evasive on his answer.
3 comments
by eggyannie
13 Feb 2013
just be thankful it was not Stafford hospital in the UK. so many needless deaths from pure neglect.
89895Annie, thanks so much for the warning. You never know when it may happen and I drink loads of water but have been told to curb my intake of salt. Hugs Sally
1 comment
24342Thank you so much. I think there are many times our doctors don't "tell us the rest of the story" so we don't pay attention when if informed we could.
My hubby diagnosed with diabetes and we were told his Vitamin D was almost non existing. They put him on high dose of Vitamin D and when his Vitamin D levels got up to normal his blood sugar readings came back down to in the 90's. We both make sure we take a gel cap Vitamin D each day, mine is 5000 IU.. This Vitamin also helps with seasonal affective disorder.
Sandyqueen
5271wow I had this too when I went into my surgery for the brain tumor. I had never heard of it before & was not aware that my sodium intake was sew low. Too much salt makes me swell up sew I was limiting the salt intake for some time, It wasn't until the hospital started giving me the shots that I found any of it out @ all. Lucky for me I had surgery. I have wondered what would have happened to me if I didn't learn of it then? It is good that you went the extra steps to discover this on your own! I am a Canadian & until the surgery no one told me either? I have no answers for you but am thankful that it was discovered in time for us both! Hugs Loralye
299559My husband had to go on a reduced salt diet because of congestive heart failure. I was eating the same diet as him. I started feeling naseated as finally got very sick one night. I had started a new medicine. The next day I read the literature from the pharmacy. The medicine caused a reduced salt level and nausea. I added to it by eating a reduced salt diet. I started eating things that were salty. Have not been sick since then. Luckily I did not get as bad as your husband. No one warned us of teh low salt. Joyce
5469Annie the working of the heart depends on a balance of Salt, potassium and Chlorine. These electrolytes are involved in making the heart beat. An imbalance of any one can cause an irregular heart beat. It's a thousand wonders his heart was not affected. I am so glad they found out in time to help him. When we reach the age he is we really need a physical with lab work every 3 months,. Geriatrics has always been my field and now I myself fall into the geriatric class. Any imbalances can cause us problems, my hubby was hospitalized sometime back for an imbalance of potassium and sodium. His blood pressure meds were washing it out of him. that's why physicals are so important. i am so glad and thankful for you that your hubby is now doing well. Hugs/'Lillian
145791thank you for sharing--this could turn out to be really important for someone
2848What an eye opening posting. I'm not sure I would have believed it - if it had not happened to someone like yourself whose postings I can believe in. Thank you Annie. I do know someone who should receive this info.
Wow the things you can lean from other Cuties. Thank you again.
1 comment
19439Thanx for the heads up!!! My husband (81) has been told to stop the salt, he takes water pills also, and I have not succeeded in lowering his salt intake much at all!!! Maybe that is a good thing after all! Hugs, Judy
1 comment
by eggyannie
12 Feb 2013
please ask for regular blood test for sodium levels and watch for any changes in behavoure especially if his liquid intake has been increased
92391Annie thank you for posting this. I am glad your husband is improving.
109774Thank you for sharing this personal experience. I pray you are both doing better now! You have soared us all who are reading this a similar experience! Hugs and God Bless you both!
19452What a close call, glad the effects were easy to reverse; there is so much that we need to know and caring people like yourself help save others, hugs & TU.
18403
57675Oh Annie thank-you for telling us of your personal life .God be with you .How are u doing with those neighbors wanting rides for free .hugs your friend carolyn
1 comment
360643Oh Annie - what a scare for you. You are very correct in what you were saying, I would talk to the Dr again - it is possible that he doesn't need the diuretic anymore or maybe not as much? The Dr and/or nurses should have gone over all of this with you when you brought him home from the hospital. Please, anyone - always ask question if you do not understand or wonder why something is being done - don't just assume. There is a saying about assume - it makes an ass out of u and me.
1 comment
by eggyannie
12 Feb 2013
the dosage was lowered by the hospital but never a mention of adding salt to his diet
13250