I just returned home from my bypass surgery (august 12).  And other than low blood pressure my biggest issue at the hospital was that my Sodium level was dangerously low.  So low that I ended up passing out at PT on the Monday following the surgery.  I was wondering if anyone else had trouble with there sodium levels?  I'm still having my sodium checked now that I am home.

I have never heard of problems w/ sodium levels related 2 MM but we r still learning. I have wondered about sodium levels and staying hydrated? Good luck. Hope your doing well. Danielle

Here is what I learned about my sodium levels.  I was drinking sooo much water I was "washing" all the sailt out of my body.  Which is very dangerous for an average person but especially dangereous for those of us with moyamoya.  What low sodium does to the the brain is ;"When there is not enough sodium in body fluids excess water may enter cells and cause swelling. This is especially dangerous for brain cells. Low sodium can cause confusion, limited alertness, irritability, and can lead to hallucinations and coma. Without treatment a brain herniation could occur. This happens when pressure from the swelling causes brain tissue to move. It can result in a massive stroke and death. The lack of sodium in the body is a very serious condition and medical attention should be sought immediately if any symptoms arise."  These are all things that we are already at such a risk for we don't need any extra risk!  So the leason I learned... drink more gatoride and less water!  Just thought I would share what I had found out from my Dr and from the internet just in case anyone else was experincing anything similar.  Katie

Hi Katie,

Thanks for sharing this information.  It is good to know.  Hope your recovery is progressing smoothly otherwise!

Best regards,

Jenn

Katie,
Thanks for the information. I will be sure to put it to good use with my son Tyler.

He was diagnosed and had surgery, at 11-years-old, in 2003.

Good postings on Sodium levels.

I too can 'feel' the effects of not getting (and/or flushing away) sodium. When I feel a need for sodium (good description KatieSD) I take a little table salt (just a little !) or some other salty food. I call it my potato chip therapy!  The balance of water to sodium seems to need frequent attention.

Thanks!  I'm glad I'm not alone in dealing with the sodium issue...  So many people (who don't know anything about moyamoya) keep telling me you need to cut back on your sodium you have had 4 storkes... they don't get that it's not at all  relate to why I had the storkes. :)

I was told after my surgery to drink lots and lots of gatorade. In fact a year later I'm still doing that. What is okay but in limitations. You need all the electrolytes and other items that gatorade is able to provide for healing of the brain. (In fact the next day after surgery my nurse brought me 6 cans of gatorade and told me to drink them over the next 4 hours.) :)

Thank you very much for such helpful information.
My question  is how baby (around 1 year old) keeps the balance of water to sodium?
Leonie is 13 months old now and her doctor told us keep her hydrated. We try to give her more formula and more water every day as doctor's require. However, as she is so young and could not eat something contain sodium ofter like adults. So anyone know how much should a baby eat sodium per day to keep water and sodium balanced?

Katie,

Right after I got this information I started having Tyler drink 32 oz of Gatorade daily. Then on an ER visit' for some "episodes" he is having, they asked about how much water he drinks. When I told them that I had heard that too much water would wash out his sodium and I had him drinking the Gatorade as well as 32 oz of water a day they were impressed! I took care of one less test they would need to do!

Thank you for sharing!

Rena

LeonieC,

Have you tried Pedilyte (sp)? If I remember right it is the equivalent to Gatorade for small children. You Family physician should be able to help you out on this.

Thank you Rena, I'll take a look.

Hey LeonieC

Luca was also very young when she was diagnosed and operated on. Here's my opinion: Don't get too panicked about the sodium issue. I'm definitely not dismissing it, but caring for such a young child with moyamoya comes with another set of challenges.

The important thing is to have fluids (water, juice or whatever is Leonie's preference) available to her at all times and she will know when her body requires it and she will drink. Kids operate on instinct, not the predefined set of rules that life has thrown at us adults. When her body requires fluid, she will drink.

As mentioned before, I'm not dismissing the sodium issue. I'm merely suggestion that you choose your battles with babies, and most important is to get them to drink. If you start trying to force a sodium enriched supplement down their throat and they are flat refusing, then they're not getting fluid or sodium.

Take care
Mark (Luca's Dad)

Hey Mark,thank you very much for your valuable suggestion.  :)

Glad it could help Tyler!  I don't know how it all works with children bodies either.  But I do know that having not enough sodium feels pretty much the same as a TIA, so it's really hard to tell the differnce. For about two months I thought they were TIA's I was pretty much just super dizzy/light headed my hands felt funny and I didn't have the cordination I needed.  Then it would go away for awhile and come back.   My reaction when I got dizzy was to drink water and lay in a cool area... it was my bodys gut instanic. And it ended up being the worng instinct. Now that I am aware that this is an issue, the biggest diffrence I noticed with sodium over a TIA is that my hands would start to feel swollen and that was not enough sodium.  But by the time that happens it's actully at  a very dangerous level. So I wouldn't say it's the best way to tell the differnce. But if you notice that with your child then I would take them in right away for an IV.  I think the best thing to do if you are worried with children would be to talk to the doctor about it, and they may suggest to have them run a sodium test if it seems to be a problem.