Electrolyte- can you overdose?

shinobishoryuken

After growing tired of post-ride headaches I have been given the green light to start using sports supplements such as electrolyte tablets again by my nurse (had a calf DVT last year).

My question relates to is there any negative effect of 'too much electrolyte'?

For example, tonight during and after a hard WattBike Interval session i had three 800 ml bottles of water each with a single Zero electrolyte tablet. I am now on my fourth and to be honest feel better for it.

During & after long rides (for me) of 35+ miles or heavy turbo / WattBike sessions I can drink water until the cows come home but still suffer with headaches the next day.

How much / many electrolyte tabs do people take on a ride of say 40-50 miles, or an intense turbo session?

Tom Dean

One bottle of water.

alihisgreat

http://www.livestrong.com/article/500907-can-you-drink-too-many-electrolytes/

MattyDeez

40-50 miles, im lucky if i had about half to 1 bottle of torq energy drink.

In the summer, it's a whole different ball game.

johncp

shinobishoryuken wrote:

After growing tired of post-ride headaches I have been given the green light to start using sports supplements such as electrolyte tablets again by my nurse (had a calf DVT last year).

My question relates to is there any negative effect of 'too much electrolyte'?

For example, tonight during and after a hard WattBike Interval session i had three 800 ml bottles of water each with a single Zero electrolyte tablet. I am now on my fourth and to be honest feel better for it.

During & after long rides (for me) of 35+ miles or heavy turbo / WattBike sessions I can drink water until the cows come home but still suffer with headaches the next day.

How much / many electrolyte tabs do people take on a ride of say 40-50 miles, or an intense turbo session?

May be too much water! Too much dilutes everything leading to "Symptoms of hyponatremia include nausea and vomiting, headache, confusion, lethargy, fatigue, appetite loss, restlessness and irritability, muscle weakness, spasms, or cramps, seizures, and decreased consciousness or coma"

many (most?) of the problems relating to hydration in endurance events like marathons come from too much water rather than too little. Google "Waterlogged" by Tim Noakes for more

Omar Little

How long was your wattbike session? Because 3 bottles of 800mm during it and another after it is alot of liquid!

ut_och_cykla

Less than an hour you can do without anything, 2 hours perhaps some top up of carbs/electrolytes if you are riding often and/ or water (depending on temperature of surroundings of course) Sounds like you might be drinking too much water. Do you urinate a lot too, feel thirsty despite drinking - might want to check you're not diabetic!

shinobishoryuken

Session was 90 minutes including warm-up and cool-down.

Sweat pouring off me as usual within 20 minutes for the duration.

Even with the water I usually end up weighing up to 3 kilos less the next day! And I eat plenty afterwards.
(By the way I'm over 120kg so got a lot of weight to play with).

I'm under the impression that we are supposed to rehydrate lost fluids and that's what my body tells me to do.

I'm happy with the amount of fluids I drink, was keen to know other cyclists' use of electrolytes in regards to not overdoing it.

By the way- after yesterday's water and electrolyte tabs I had no headache and have actually felt pretty good!

rsands

http://www.livestrong.com/article/50090 ... ctrolytes/

You can overdose it seems. With excess weight (if thats what you meant by saying you have weight to play with) your going to sweat heavily. Your urine must be crystal clear after all that water??

I would flucuate by 2-3kgs. Part of training but i personally dont lash water into me even when sweating heavily - was never fond of loads of water. Drink when thirsty and all that...urine colour is best proof of hydration state i guess

team47b

is it only after exercise that you drink like this or do you normally drink this quantity?

how much do you drink on your 'rest' day?

mamba80

That article does actually say that its difficult to overdose using sports drinks, a slice of bread would contain many times more Sodium than a sports tab, assuming you ve nothing else wrong with you?

I would ask your Doctor first, your not small and maybe you need to drink alot more than some who is 70kg + you ve had a serious medical condition, so wtf do we know about that?

Drinking small sips often is better than gulping down mouthfuls at a time, which just go straight to your bladder.

shinobishoryuken

Just thought I'd update:

I've been using the electrolyte tabs in my water bottles on each ride (2 bottles, so 2 tabs in total) and not suffered a headache since. Depending on length of the rides, I've either finished both or almost finished only one. Seem to be drinking less if anything.