Just got bloodwork back from the doctor, low sodium..

[completeme]

@deniseojinaga No I feel the same way . There’s so much “ legwork” that can still be done . I feel your ire.

 

[bjlytle7]

@deniseojinaga btw, just got off the phone to schedule my referral. 3 months. 3 fucking months to see an endo.

And people want to get on my ass for coming on here and asking some general questions lmao.

 

[deniseojinaga]

@bjlytle7 Sorry to hear that, it’s definitely tough to quickly get a sub specialist referral.

But based on what you described maybe you are drinking too much water. I would consider cutting back and repeating the labs to see if there’s an improvement. But you should obviously discuss this with your actual human doc over a random anonymous redditor

 

[bjlytle7]

@deniseojinaga I am currently increasing potassium in the meantime. That is something I have neglected. If I honestly had to guess, I was probably getting anywhere from 500-800mg or less a day, and that might even be a generous estimate I read the RDA recommendation is 4500mg. Either way, I know that plays a role in helping the body deal with sodium.

 

[bjlytle7]

@deniseojinaga So my family practice has a handful of doctors. I've primarily seen 1, but I have twice seen another (because I wanted to get in and the first one wasn't available). A couple of those times it was about headaches.

One of those times the concern was possible muscle tension in the neck, again per my OP and the lifestyle I have. I was not aware of those muscles behind the back of the head though and now that I do, this might cause me some form of relief I didn't have before. Another time I visited the other doctor, and she prescribed me tizazidine which is a muscle relaxer and sumatriptin because I was experiencing occasional migraines. You don't get many triptins, so I used those as sparingly as possible.

So there IS a history of me visiting my family practice with a history of these headaches. It was this final visit where my doctor said "ok, it's time we do something. Let's first get you on topiramate (which is a medication my kids are on due to some headaches they have dealt with) and let's get you a CT scan and some blood work.

No history of any of those things you mentioned. I've never done drugs, not once. I've never smoked, not once. My alcohol habits are very limited and IMHO, weak. Is it possible my pre-workout is laced in MDMA...maybe, I doubt it..but who knows: (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CPBGP9K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I've since cut it off since going on topiramate. I drink a lot of water. I probably get up 3-4x a night to pee. In fact, I feel like I pee an unusually high amount at night, now that I think about it.

AFAIK, I am not suffering from kidney disease. At work annually we get blood work as part of a health program and I always do very well, but one level that always sticks out is Globulin. It's been low the last 2x, at 1.7 with the range starting at 2. Not sure if related to kidney but just bringing that up.

edit - oh goodie!

Low globulin levels can be a sign of liver or kidney disease. High levels may indicate infection, inflammatory disease or immune disorders. High globulin levels may also indicate certain types of cancer, such as multiple myeloma, Hodgkin's disease, or malignant lymphoma

 

[deniseojinaga]

@bjlytle7 Your globulin is fine.

 

[bjlytle7]

@deniseojinaga love how my response to you and simply informing you my globulin level is below normal is downvoted and being told it is fine is upvoted...as if this seems like common knowledge lmao.

 

[sweeby20]

@bjlytle7 I can’t tell from the post... have you gone over your results with your doctor yet or did you google the condition about low sodium after seeing your numbers? Either way make sure you follow your doctor’s advice and avoid trying to diagnose yourself. These types of things aren’t usually diagnosed by one category result on a single blood test.

 

[bjlytle7]

@sweeby20 I got my results digitally on Saturday. My doctors office called this morning and brought up my numbers and about scheduling a referral for an endo.

 

[michmass]

@bjlytle7 I also have low sodium but I was told by the doc office (i think) that it was a different type than table salt?? I am sensitive to salt so i rarely use table salt. I eat well but figure I get enough thru other foods. Sensitive as in I can taste it in small amounts and am repulsed by too much salt which seems to be way more sensitive than others.

I am female. I used to get orgasm headaches that went away if I sat or stood up. And ocular migraines which are annoying but do not hurt. I was told none of this was serious and was probably due to hormones. I am older so hormones are an issue I guess. Menopause has been easy for me. I think it is a problem.

I will be following this post and I hope you post more info as you get it.

 

[bjlytle7]

@michmass

I used to get orgasm headaches that went away if I sat or stood up.

can you elaborate on this? I've never heard of this.

I've had ocular migraines before (zigzag pattern) while working on computers...and it gets to the point where the brightness of the screen becomes too intense I can't look at it, and then I have to get into a dark room immediately and take medication because the pain isn't too far behind. I've never had ocular without the pain. Luckily for me, migraines where I require a dark room and sleep occur maybe 3-5x a quarter.

 

[michmass]

@bjlytle7 Funny story. Searing pain immediately post orgasm. I thought I was dying and super freaked my husband. It kept happening but NFW I was going to let pain get in the way of my orgasm. Lol. Priorities, amiright? I masterbated and had searing pain so I experimented and learned if I stood up it went away. Then I thought maybe it was my blood pressure so I asked my husband to do the cuff blood pressure test while I was orgasming. He said " um, no". So I had to it myself. It is not easy, let me tell you. Top number was 185. I forgot bottom number. So I researched more and I could not find info on blood pressure during orgasm for women. Right? Of course. I did learn not to hold my breath during pre-orgasm, breathe steady and to keep my head straight forward. The pain stopped. I don't know and the doctors dont seem to care.

Also. Ocular migraines fir me are just the whiney lights where I cant see for about 10 minutes. It seems to be random.

I did read that 10% of women get migraines post orgasm with no known reason and it starts and happens for an extended while then stops. All unknown. This is common for women to hear "hormones cause it" with no action required. It generally sucks. (On mobile)

 

[bjlytle7]

@michmass oh wow. Well I am very sorry to hear all that and what you have had to deal with. Sounds like quite an adventure in experimentation to figure it all out though lol.

 

[michmass]

@bjlytle7 It was an adventure and funny. I laughed the entire time and still do when I think of it. I really enjoy life's little hiccups.

 

[guilhermesilva]

@bjlytle7 Who ordered the lab work? That is 100% who you should be talking to. And they should also be contacting you for follow up or at least giving you a heads up about an abnormality

Edit to add: this is the approximate algorithm that provider will follow:

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/i...5f54&source=contentShare&imageKey=NEPH/101823

This stuff isn’t really open to opinion, especially not on Reddit!! (You already knew that though)

 

[bjlytle7]

@guilhermesilva My family doctor, who I first saw about the headaches. The ordered the CT scan and the bloodwork. They are the ones who contacted me about the follow up on the bloodwork. Because I'm the patient, I also allowed myself to have access to my health online portal when the blood results were completed and I was notified via email.

 

[guilhermesilva]

@bjlytle7 If they recommend seeing an endocrinologist then you should do so. They can do further evaluation and get to the bottom of it. Now, the final answer may very well be “oh it’s fine now that we rechecked your level and it’s normal. Let’s just keep an eye on it”.

 

[rodofmoses]

@bjlytle7 My dad has low sodium. He was instructed years ago to... add salt to everything he eats.

 

[bjlytle7]

@rodofmoses is your dad my dad?

 

[rodofmoses]

@bjlytle7 Only if your dad is my dad...

Is your dad my dad?