>>Yes, they have managed to be successful and stay in bussiness thus far, though their marketshare number have shrunk as of late. However, they don't even compare to the real giants.>I think many Mac fans are so personally facinated with Mac products that they loose sight of the overall picture. Apple is certianly a successful company, of that there is no debate, but they are not a giant, and probably never will be.
Again, why measure success of a company by sheer size? I take it you think an SUV is a perfect car, after all it is big?
Or to phrase it differently: Just because something is big doesn't make it successful, and just because something is small doesn't make it bad.
Or to quote from the trailer of "I Spy":
"What's this? I know size matters but in the Spy world it is the opposit, small good, big bad." (okay, not exactly the line.
I am European myself and came to Canada a couple of years ago.
I am not surprised he doesn't really like it, but you can't compare his situation with the people in overcrowded and third world countries. There it is a dream.
Or how does it say: "Be careful what you wish for, you might actually get it."
I lived in the states too btw, and I wouldn't want to go back there either, not so sure about Canada yet.
>>Uh-huh. And we use sooo much less gas today. BTW- have you noticed that oil prices have hovered around $20-$25/barrel for the past 30 years? I guess the supply isn't decreasing after all...>Oh no! A tree-hugger sitting at his computer thinks that our earth is close to its limits! Too bad he doesn't even try to back his statement up with any facts.>Why will it collapse?>What scares me the most is that people listen to opinions like yours. You have bought into the same doomsday theories that have been proven incorrect time and time again. I know it might make you uncool at the next Sierra club meeting, but try to at least consider the possibility that the world is not ending.
The sad thing is that people like you fail to realize that changes like these are not happening in weeks or months but might take a generation or two. The problem though is that it seems most peoples attention span is just long enough to watch the next SUV advertising.
>>Why is it a North American responsibility all of a sudden to provide for those in the Far East? Is it something that I did that put them in this position? Is it something my government did even? Is there something that I or my government did to keep them in that situation?
Lead by Example.
The "West" (That is Europe, North America) is prospering way beyond its own capabilities, the only way our way of life right now can be supported is by using other countries to work to our bidding.
Don't believe me? Go to a supermarket and see where a lot of the food comes from you're eating.
Go into a store and check where most of the products are coming from, where they are made.
Then there is the fact of "Marketing" and by that I mean TV shows that are (mainly) exported from North America and show the world how one should live.
All of that factors into the responsibility of North Americans and Europeans towards the world and its inhabitans. We are basically holding up some Candy and show it the other kids but don't really want to share (of course they can get their own Candy but unfortunatly the Jar is getting empty).
I find it hard to believe that ships still lie in ports for serveral days at a stretch. By my understanding (at least in the ports in Europe and most Asian Industrial centers) they can turn around a container ship in less than 24 hours.
I saw Akira back in '88 when it was originally released, that was the first time I saw an Anime on the big screen.
The German translation was quite decent but at the same time I had also read the Managa as far as it had been released in Germany which might have given me an edge over the average person in the audience.
So what makes Akira stand out?
The Story for one, it is a VERY complex story and in the usual Japanese sense you have a hard time getting into it with a western mindset, it didn't really give any quarters and the overall execution was amazing.
Of course the masses didn't get it and after 2 weeks it was out of the Theater again.
Is Akira confusing? Yes, I guess initially it is, especiallly if you don't know much about Japanese culture / mindset but in the end what stands out about the movie is that it was probably the first largely released Animation movie that was NOT targeted for kids in the west.
On the same note, have a look at "Gonin" purely Japanese, purely shocking, just by the way it was done. This also goes for other movies like anything done by "Beat" Takeshi ("Fireworks" for example (note, "Fireworks" is the US release title, for some reason they could not leave the original titel like in the rest of the world: "Hana-Bi")).
How do you reset the thing at that point? I just let it sit there until the battery ran out (It was according to the "gauge" on empty already anyways) and then recharged it, but that can be an awful long time of if it happens on a freshly loaded one.
I am with Fido and I am pretty happy with it (coming from europe I jumped on the idea of having a GSM phone).
One of the Reps I was dealing with the other day had a Telus phone and he told me that the voice quality sucked and half of the time he didn't get a network. he had a Fido as his private phone, go figure.
My experience with Fido in Canada so far is: It works in most population areas, I loose connected somewhere along the 401 but at that point my Blackberry is dead too which indicates to me that there is no coverage in that part of the Highway.
I went to Chicago a couple of weeks ago and I had T-Mobile coverage there as well.
Finally, from a pricing point of view Fido has the best deal, the packages are very flexible and I am not locked into a contract, plus I can buy any cellphone I like and use it on the Network. I admit I am looking at the new Sony Ericcson right now to replace my two year old Nokia.
>>I think a part of the general difficulty for older people to find new music is due to the fact that nearly all new music is targetted to teenagers. Most new music gets very boring to adults after listening to it just once, because it is just so damn transparent and unoriginal.
Well yes, that is true if you listen to Mainstream radio etc.
If you head out to live clubs it's a different thing, I realized quite a while ago that this is the best way to find new music, not necessarily always good, but definetly more interresting when you see the artist perform live in a small venue.
Never was a real fan of those huge soccer stadium like concerts.
This is a subject that is pretty interresting to me since I started racing triathlons, I never really thought that things like Gatorade made sense until some people corrected me on this.
The following is a first hand account of someone who experienced hyponatremia, pretty scary.
----------------
Hi everyone,
I'm writing this to "the big list", the PA Buzzards, Virginia Happy Trails Running Club, the Montgomery County Road Running Club (in Maryland) and a few others to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for the Get Well Wishes, Cards, Flowers, and overall concern and support. Wow! I have a lot of wonderful friends!
I am writing to so many people for a few reasons - first, I have received many inquires about how I am doing after the Vermont 100 miler. Also, many people heard about what happened (which I'll explain below) but only got parts of the story. So you'll get the story here - as best I know it, from me, Michele Burr - the person who got a severe case of hyponatremia at VT100. The people who do know about my getting hyponatremia have urged me to post something so that people are aware of this very serious problem. I must admit, I don't remember much because I had a seizure and went into a coma but I have pieced together many things from people who saw me at the end of the race and from talking with my husband, who thank God, was there at the finish line and with me during my 5 day stay at two hospitals in Vermont and then New Hampshire.
WHAT IS HYPONATREMIA? This is a condition in which there is a very low concentration of sodium in your blood. It is also seen in conjunction with WEIGHT GAIN (not weight loss) and most often occurs during endurance exercise lasting more than 5 to 7 hours. (From: http://www.halcyon.com/gasman/water.htm) More specifically, hyponatremia develops as sodium and free water are lost and replaced by fluids, such as plain tap water, half-normal saline, or dextrose in water. Basically, this condition occurs when a person takes in too much water and not enough salt. So you are probably wondering...was I taking Suceed! caps? Was I drinking electrolyte fluids? Yes to both of these questions but obviously I was not taking enough of either one of these things and yes, I was also eating potato chips, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fig newtons, and potatoes -but again, it wasn't enough salt and I was taking in too much water. My weight was up 5 pounds at the last weigh-in. To give you an understanding of where my sodium level was compared to a normal person....most people have about 140-145 mEq/L - this is some sort of measure of the amount of salt in your blood. I had 113 mEq/L. This is extremely low. So, why is this a problem? Because you need sodium in your blood for your brain to function.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? The answer to this question is the scary part and why this is such a medical emergency when it occurs. ****Many of the symptoms are NEUROLOGICAL in origin.**** Level of alertness can range from agitation to a coma state. Variable degrees of cognitive impairment (eg, difficulty with short-term recall; loss of orientation to person, place, or time; frank confusion or depression). Other symptoms include seizure activity and irrational behavior. In patients with acute severe hyponatremia, signs of brainstem herniation, including coma; fixed, unilateral, dilated pupil; decorticate or decerebrate posturing; and respiratory arrest. Coma and seizures usually occur only with acute reduction of the serum sodium concentration to less than 120 mEq/L. (Remember my sodium level was at 113 mEq/L.)
I didn't recognize where I was or who my friends were or who my husband was at the end of the race. I walked the last 5 to 10 miles which is very unusual for me and people said I didn't know who they were and it appeared as though I didn't even know I was in a race. Shortly after I crossed the finish line on Saturday night I started to vomit uncontrollably then I had a seizure then I went into a coma. I remained in a coma for 3 days. At some point before I woke up out of the coma I began the "irrational behavior" mentioned above. I pulled out all my IVs and ripped off my EKG patches and tried to kick and hit the nursing and neurosurgeon staff. I was very combative whenever someone tried to touch me and was eventually given antipsychotic medication.
When I woke up I didn't know where I was, what had happened, what month, or year it was. Upon being forced to give a guess for the month I told the neurosurgeons, "I think it's Vermont" for the month. I couldn't read and I couldn't add numbers. On Tuesday after the race I started to feel much, much, better. I could read again and I had watched a car commercial to figure out what year it was. I also got a lot of the story about what happened from my husband. It was on this day (or maybe Monday?) I learned I had been in another hospital earlier. Why was I first in a small local hospital (Ascutney in Windsor, VT) and then transferred by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock? That has to do with the scariness about how to treat this medical emergency. It you don't do it right, it will lead to further and permanent brain damage.
HOW IS HYPONATREMIA TREATED? From http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/heat.html: It says that the condition is frequently mis-diagnosed as dehydration and that the consumption of water makes matters worse because it dilutes the blood sodium concentration even further than it already is. From http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic275.htm: "The principal causes of morbidity and death are when chronic hyponatremia reaches levels of 110 mEq/L or less and cerebral pontine myelinolysis (an unusual demyelination syndrome that occurs when HYPONATREMIA IS CORRECTED TOO QUICKLY).
Much has been written about treatment of hyponatremia and the potential adverse outcome of central pontine myelinolysis. This condition is demyelination of the pons, which can lead to mutism, dysphasia, spastic quadriparesis, pseudobulbar palsy, delirium, coma, and even death. Raising the serum sodium concentration more than 25 mEq/L or to a normal or above-normal level in the first 48 hours increases the likelihood of central pontine myelinolysis.
The main controversy in the literature surrounds treatment of chronic symptomatic hyponatremia because, as mentioned, central pontine myelinolysis may result if the condition is corrected too rapidly. Therefore, although treatment in these patients is similar to that just described, the rate of correction should be slower (0.5 to 1 mEq/L per hour). Aggressive therapy should be discontinued when the serum sodium concentration is raised 10% or symptoms abate."
Upon being admitted at the first hospital in Vermont my soium level was 113 mEq/L but then quickly went to 116 and the next reading was at 126. The hospital felt uncomfortable and kept telling my husband it was possible I'd get "PONDS" - which is central pontine myelinolysis (permanent brain damage). They also told him to think about long term care for me and that "things could turn out a number of ways". They also asked him if I remained in a vegetative state, would I want my organs donated and did I have a living will prepared. At this point, an ambulance took me to New Hampshire to Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Needless to say, I think I aged my husband about 10 years during these 5 days.
WHAT ARE THE LONG TERM EFFECTS? Well, so far I feel I am about 95% back to where I was neurologically before the race. (Physically, I lost 10 pounds.) I couldn't remember my password when I got to my office so I couldn't log into my computer and I forgot a combination lock number I often used. I also forgot a few people's names. I had a little bit of trouble typing and signing my name but that seems to be gone now. The last clear things I remember from the race are at the mile 18 aid station. I am also a bit spacey (it's a bit difficult for me to concentrate) but I can drive. I am a research scientist so it's important that I be able to generate and interpret statistics. I haven't tried that yet but I'm optimistic. Here are a few more links (in case you just can't get enough about hyponatremia): http://www.spinalhealth.net/hypona tremia.html http://www.fred.net/ultrunr/hyponatre mia.html#Paul
Finally, the way to avoid this in the future (for me) is to drink less water and eat more salt. I will also push for a blood test from my doctor before I run another 100 (this was my 5th one) to make sure I am not starting out at a deficit - which is what the doctors were suggesting at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital. They said that my low sodium diet, combined with a high volume of running (sometimes as much as 100 miles/week) and sweating in the heat and humidity here in the Washington DC area were the problem combined with the low volume of electrolyte fluids (relative to the amount of water I was taking in).
This was scary. I hope some people will be educated by reading this and for the many people who emailed and asked me what happened, I hope this answered their questions.
Thank you so very much again everyone for your concern. My friends, co-workers, relatives, and the ultrarunning community have been great! Michele Burr
If you want to know where your calories are coming from log them.
http://www.fitday.com
does a very nice job, be careful though about the "caloric burn rate" as they tend to overstate it, also fat doesn't burn any calories, but muscles do.
I am convinced I get the same amount in CAN than I would get if I would be working in the states.
Yep, the world is unfair (of course I could now start singing the song about the unfair taxes etc. etc. but since I grew up in Europe I know that the taxes I pay here are way lower).
Slashdot Mirror
>>Yes, they have managed to be successful and stay in bussiness thus far, though their marketshare number have shrunk as of late. However, they don't even compare to the real giants.>I think many Mac fans are so personally facinated with Mac products that they loose sight of the overall picture. Apple is certianly a successful company, of that there is no debate, but they are not a giant, and probably never will be.
Again, why measure success of a company by sheer size? I take it you think an SUV is a perfect car, after all it is big?
Or to phrase it differently: Just because something is big doesn't make it successful, and just because something is small doesn't make it bad.
Or to quote from the trailer of "I Spy":
"What's this? I know size matters but in the Spy world it is the opposit, small good, big bad." (okay, not exactly the line.
I am European myself and came to Canada a couple of years ago.
I am not surprised he doesn't really like it, but you can't compare his situation with the people in overcrowded and third world countries. There it is a dream.
Or how does it say: "Be careful what you wish for, you might actually get it."
I lived in the states too btw, and I wouldn't want to go back there either, not so sure about Canada yet.
>>Uh-huh. And we use sooo much less gas today. BTW- have you noticed that oil prices have hovered around $20-$25/barrel for the past 30 years? I guess the supply isn't decreasing after all...>Oh no! A tree-hugger sitting at his computer thinks that our earth is close to its limits! Too bad he doesn't even try to back his statement up with any facts.>Why will it collapse?>What scares me the most is that people listen to opinions like yours. You have bought into the same doomsday theories that have been proven incorrect time and time again. I know it might make you uncool at the next Sierra club meeting, but try to at least consider the possibility that the world is not ending.
The sad thing is that people like you fail to realize that changes like these are not happening in weeks or months but might take a generation or two. The problem though is that it seems most peoples attention span is just long enough to watch the next SUV advertising.
>>Why is it a North American responsibility all of a sudden to provide for those in the Far East? Is it something that I did that put them in this position? Is it something my government did even? Is there something that I or my government did to keep them in that situation?
Lead by Example.
The "West" (That is Europe, North America) is prospering way beyond its own capabilities, the only way our way of life right now can be supported is by using other countries to work to our bidding.
Don't believe me? Go to a supermarket and see where a lot of the food comes from you're eating.
Go into a store and check where most of the products are coming from, where they are made.
Then there is the fact of "Marketing" and by that I mean TV shows that are (mainly) exported from North America and show the world how one should live.
All of that factors into the responsibility of North Americans and Europeans towards the world and its inhabitans. We are basically holding up some Candy and show it the other kids but don't really want to share (of course they can get their own Candy but unfortunatly the Jar is getting empty).
M.
>>First of all, drive through Nevada some time. Mile after mile of empty space, but according to this report, humans have "appropriated" it.
I guess the road just grew there by itself?
Michael
Guess it comes down to one simple thing: How much is a human life worth?
Economically I am sure one can put a price tag on it, the question is should you?
Thanks.
>>There's a good amount of data on chromosonal damage beginning in the thirties, including a real decline in late 30s.
Got any links? I haven't heard of that before.
I find it hard to believe that ships still lie in ports for serveral days at a stretch. By my understanding (at least in the ports in Europe and most Asian Industrial centers) they can turn around a container ship in less than 24 hours.
Well let's see.
I saw Akira back in '88 when it was originally released, that was the first time I saw an Anime on the big screen.
The German translation was quite decent but at the same time I had also read the Managa as far as it had been released in Germany which might have given me an edge over the average person in the audience.
So what makes Akira stand out?
The Story for one, it is a VERY complex story and in the usual Japanese sense you have a hard time getting into it with a western mindset, it didn't really give any quarters and the overall execution was amazing.
Of course the masses didn't get it and after 2 weeks it was out of the Theater again.
Is Akira confusing? Yes, I guess initially it is, especiallly if you don't know much about Japanese culture / mindset but in the end what stands out about the movie is that it was probably the first largely released Animation movie that was NOT targeted for kids in the west.
On the same note, have a look at "Gonin" purely Japanese, purely shocking, just by the way it was done. This also goes for other movies like anything done by "Beat" Takeshi ("Fireworks" for example (note, "Fireworks" is the US release title, for some reason they could not leave the original titel like in the rest of the world: "Hana-Bi")).
Michael
Nope,
happened to me as well.
It just froze.
How do you reset the thing at that point? I just let it sit there until the battery ran out (It was according to the "gauge" on empty already anyways) and then recharged it, but that can be an awful long time of if it happens on a freshly loaded one.
>>There is no other place on earth where so many different cultures exist together in relative tolerance.
Look North. Canada comes to mind. Works a lot better than the US by my expierence.
Funny that you mention Telus.
I am with Fido and I am pretty happy with it (coming from europe I jumped on the idea of having a GSM phone).
One of the Reps I was dealing with the other day had a Telus phone and he told me that the voice quality sucked and half of the time he didn't get a network. he had a Fido as his private phone, go figure.
My experience with Fido in Canada so far is: It works in most population areas, I loose connected somewhere along the 401 but at that point my Blackberry is dead too which indicates to me that there is no coverage in that part of the Highway.
I went to Chicago a couple of weeks ago and I had T-Mobile coverage there as well.
Finally, from a pricing point of view Fido has the best deal, the packages are very flexible and I am not locked into a contract, plus I can buy any cellphone I like and use it on the Network. I admit I am looking at the new Sony Ericcson right now to replace my two year old Nokia.
I am German ;) Believe me, you can do it one handed.
>>Or Germany. (Or perhaps a nice ham hock, with sauerkraut and mashed peas and a beer that takes two hands to lift.)
If you need to hands to lift your mug you're not old enough to drink.
Simple as that.
>>I think a part of the general difficulty for older people to find new music is due to the fact that nearly all new music is targetted to teenagers. Most new music gets very boring to adults after listening to it just once, because it is just so damn transparent and unoriginal.
Well yes, that is true if you listen to Mainstream radio etc.
If you head out to live clubs it's a different thing, I realized quite a while ago that this is the best way to find new music, not necessarily always good, but definetly more interresting when you see the artist perform live in a small venue.
Never was a real fan of those huge soccer stadium like concerts.
I don't know, I am never bored in a bus or a subway car. It's called a book and it works just fine.
BTW, the idea isn't that new, I remember reading about an art installation I think in Berlin a couple of years back who did exactly the same thing.
But I guess leave it to marketing to turn something interresting and good into something just bland.
As my trainer put it: Weight yourself before and after the workout, drink for each pound lost half a litre of Water or Sportsdrink.
Preload.
Before you go in class drink 1l - 1.5l of water or sports drink that should help you out a bit.
Experiment with the amount though, there is only so much water / sportsdrink your body can take up in any given amount of time.
Tell me about it.
On a humid day a couple of weeks ago I did a 120K training ride and went through 5l of Sportsdrink, and still felt dehydrated when coming home.
After longer races I can spend the rest of the day just drinking water trying to recover what I have lost (Record was 6 pounds)
My father had type 2, so did his father (guess I have a good chance to get it too) and both of them were shooting Insulin twice a day.
I guess it depends on the severity of the diabetes you have (reads: Can your body create ANY at all?).
But then I know that my father didn't really eat all that well anyways and in the end it did him in.
This is a subject that is pretty interresting to me since I started racing triathlons, I never really thought that things like Gatorade made sense until some people corrected me on this.
:
a tremia.htmle mia.html#Paul
The following is a first hand account of someone who experienced hyponatremia, pretty scary.
----------------
Hi everyone,
I'm writing this to "the big list", the PA Buzzards, Virginia Happy Trails
Running Club, the Montgomery County Road Running Club (in Maryland) and a
few others to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for the Get Well Wishes, Cards,
Flowers, and overall concern and support. Wow! I have a lot of wonderful
friends!
I am writing to so many people for a few reasons - first, I have received
many inquires about how I am doing after the Vermont 100 miler. Also, many
people heard about what happened (which I'll explain below) but only got
parts of the story. So you'll get the story here - as best I know it, from
me, Michele Burr - the person who got a severe case of hyponatremia at
VT100. The people who do know about my getting hyponatremia have urged me
to post something so that people are aware of this very serious problem.
I must admit, I don't remember much because I had a seizure and went into a
coma but I have pieced together many things from people who saw me at the
end of the race and from talking with my husband, who thank God, was there
at the finish line and with me during my 5 day stay at two hospitals in
Vermont and then New Hampshire.
WHAT IS HYPONATREMIA? This is a condition in which there is a very low
concentration of sodium in your blood. It is also seen in conjunction with
WEIGHT GAIN (not weight loss) and most often occurs during endurance
exercise lasting more than 5 to 7 hours. (From:
http://www.halcyon.com/gasman/water.htm) More specifically, hyponatremia
develops as sodium and free water are lost and replaced by fluids, such as
plain tap water, half-normal saline, or dextrose in water. Basically, this
condition occurs when a person takes in too much water and not enough salt.
So you are probably wondering...was I taking Suceed! caps? Was I drinking
electrolyte fluids? Yes to both of these questions but obviously I was not
taking enough of either one of these things and yes, I was also eating
potato chips, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fig newtons, and potatoes
-but again, it wasn't enough salt and I was taking in too much water. My
weight was up 5 pounds at the last weigh-in. To give you an understanding of
where my sodium level was compared to a normal person....most people have
about 140-145 mEq/L - this is some sort of measure of the amount of salt in
your blood. I had 113 mEq/L. This is extremely low. So, why is this a
problem? Because you need sodium in your blood for your brain to function.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? The answer to this question is the scary part and why
this is such a medical emergency when it occurs.
****Many of the symptoms are NEUROLOGICAL in origin.**** Level of alertness
can range from agitation to a coma state. Variable degrees of cognitive
impairment (eg, difficulty with short-term recall; loss of orientation to
person, place, or time; frank confusion or depression). Other symptoms
include seizure activity and irrational behavior. In patients with acute
severe hyponatremia, signs of brainstem herniation, including coma; fixed,
unilateral, dilated pupil; decorticate or decerebrate posturing; and
respiratory arrest. Coma and seizures usually occur only with acute
reduction of the serum sodium concentration to less than 120 mEq/L.
(Remember my sodium level was at 113 mEq/L.)
I didn't recognize where I was or who my friends were or who my husband was
at the end of the race. I walked the last 5 to 10 miles which is very
unusual for me and people said I didn't know who they were and it appeared
as though I didn't even know I was in a race. Shortly after I crossed the
finish line on Saturday night I started to vomit uncontrollably then I had a
seizure then I went into a coma. I remained in a coma for 3 days. At some
point before I woke up out of the coma I began the "irrational behavior"
mentioned above. I pulled out all my IVs and ripped off my EKG patches and
tried to kick and hit the nursing and neurosurgeon staff. I was very
combative whenever someone tried to touch me and was eventually given
antipsychotic medication.
When I woke up I didn't know where I was, what
had happened, what month, or year it was. Upon being forced to give a guess
for the month I told the neurosurgeons, "I think it's Vermont" for the
month. I couldn't read and I couldn't add numbers. On Tuesday after the
race I started to feel much, much, better. I could read again and I had
watched a car commercial to figure out what year it was. I also got a lot
of the story about what happened from my husband. It was on this day (or
maybe Monday?) I learned I had been in another hospital earlier. Why was I
first in a small local hospital (Ascutney in Windsor, VT) and then
transferred by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock? That has to do with the
scariness about how to treat this medical emergency. It you don't do it
right, it will lead to further and permanent brain damage.
HOW IS HYPONATREMIA TREATED? From http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/heat.html: It
says that the condition is frequently mis-diagnosed as dehydration and that
the consumption of water makes matters worse because it dilutes the blood
sodium concentration even further than it already is.
From http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic275.htm
"The principal causes of morbidity and death are when chronic hyponatremia
reaches levels of 110 mEq/L or less and cerebral pontine myelinolysis (an
unusual demyelination syndrome that occurs when HYPONATREMIA IS CORRECTED
TOO QUICKLY).
Much has been written about treatment of hyponatremia and the potential
adverse outcome of central pontine myelinolysis. This condition is
demyelination of the pons, which can lead to mutism, dysphasia, spastic
quadriparesis, pseudobulbar palsy, delirium, coma, and even death.
Raising the serum sodium concentration more than 25 mEq/L or to a normal or
above-normal level in the first 48 hours increases the likelihood of central
pontine myelinolysis.
The main controversy in the literature surrounds treatment of chronic
symptomatic hyponatremia because, as mentioned, central pontine myelinolysis
may result if the condition is corrected too rapidly. Therefore, although
treatment in these patients is similar to that just described, the rate of
correction should be slower (0.5 to 1 mEq/L per hour). Aggressive therapy
should be discontinued when the serum sodium concentration is raised 10% or
symptoms abate."
Upon being admitted at the first hospital in Vermont my soium level was 113
mEq/L but then quickly went to 116 and the next reading was at 126. The
hospital felt uncomfortable and kept telling my husband it was possible I'd
get "PONDS" - which is central pontine myelinolysis (permanent brain
damage). They also told him to think about long term care for me and that
"things could turn out a number of ways". They also asked him if I remained
in a vegetative state, would I want my organs donated and did I have a
living will prepared. At this point, an ambulance took me to New Hampshire
to Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Needless to say, I think I aged my husband about 10
years during these 5 days.
WHAT ARE THE LONG TERM EFFECTS? Well, so far I feel I am about 95% back to
where I was neurologically before the race. (Physically, I lost 10 pounds.)
I couldn't remember my password when I got to my office so I couldn't log
into my computer and I forgot a combination lock number I often used. I
also forgot a few people's names. I had a little bit of trouble typing and
signing my name but that seems to be gone now. The last clear things I
remember from the race are at the mile 18 aid station. I am also a bit
spacey (it's a bit difficult for me to concentrate) but I can drive. I am a
research scientist so it's important that I be able to generate and
interpret statistics. I haven't tried that yet but I'm optimistic. Here are
a few more links (in case you just can't get enough about hyponatremia):
http://www.spinalhealth.net/hypon
http://www.fred.net/ultrunr/hyponatr
Finally, the way to avoid this in the future (for me) is to drink less water
and eat more salt. I will also push for a blood test from my doctor before
I run another 100 (this was my 5th one) to make sure I am not starting out
at a deficit - which is what the doctors were suggesting at
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital. They said that my low sodium diet, combined
with a high volume of running (sometimes as much as 100 miles/week) and
sweating in the heat and humidity here in the Washington DC area were the
problem combined with the low volume of electrolyte fluids (relative to the
amount of water I was taking in).
This was scary. I hope some people will be educated by reading this and for
the many people who emailed and asked me what happened, I hope this answered
their questions.
Thank you so very much again everyone for your concern. My friends,
co-workers, relatives, and the ultrarunning community have been great!
Michele Burr
If you want to know where your calories are coming from log them.
http://www.fitday.com
does a very nice job, be careful though about the "caloric burn rate" as they tend to overstate it, also fat doesn't burn any calories, but muscles do.
Really?
Thanks, I never really looked as it didn't bug me to that extreme extend.
I am convinced I get the same amount in CAN than I would get if I would be working in the states.
Yep, the world is unfair (of course I could now start singing the song about the unfair taxes etc. etc. but since I grew up in Europe I know that the taxes I pay here are way lower).