Hyponatremia, Central Pontine Myelinolysis and Extrapontine Myelinolysis
Hi, I hope you are doing well. I am new to blogging. I’ve never had the time nor did I feel what I might have to say of particular interest.
Please bare with me as I try to learn how to do this. It might be rough sailing for the first few months.
I’m writing this blog because in 2011, I developed hyponatremia. If you are like me, I had no real idea what it is.
I have some medical experience (before my injury, I was preparing for medical school), so I had heard about hyponatremia, but I really didn’t know what having it meant.
My life changed dramatically, not directly from having it, but from not having it treated correctly.
My sodium levels were raised too quickly and this led to the development of Extrapontine myelinolysis (EPM).
I had no idea what EPM or Central Pontine Myelinolysis (CPM) was. I had no idea what it meant to have it.
This blog is dedicated to educating and spreading the word regarding hyponatremia, CPM ,and EPM. If we can prevent it from happening, we can save lives and stop the devastating consequences of mistreatment.
Please, help me spread the word by clicking the “like” buttons on my posts, by sharing my blog link with your friends and family via email and on Facebook, or by clicking the follow button at the bottom of my posts. By doing this, you help my blog become recognized by Google and other search engines so that people will finally be able to find the answers to their questions and support of those who share their injury.
Thank you,
SLM
Hi everyone, it’s my first pay a visit at this site, and article is actually fruitful for me, keep up posting such articles or reviews.
Thank You. Were you looking for specific information regarding CPM/EPM or hyponatremia? Or have you been personally impacted by it? I’m trying to keep the content both medically relevant but also understandable to the general public. So your input would be GREATLY appreciated. I’m also happy to do research for you to help get answers you might not find here. Have a great night!
I am so pissed right now I could just vomit! My cousin hasn’t been feeling well for about a week, she kept going to doc’s and they kept telling her she had the flu! So, today she text me and was going in again because her blood work from tthe other day was “iffy”. So, she text me and her sodium was 130 and potasium was 3.2. But the doc didn’t seem worried. He told her to drink half gatorade and half water for the rest of the day and see how she feels! She is on blood pressure meds, and her blood pressure was very elevated. So, they upped her meds, and sent her home! What the hell is wrong with doc’s! Why do they blow off low sodium, knock, knock puddin heads! When I was visiting her in Feb, she was also not feeling well, so I had her take my sodium pills for a few days and drink Gatorade. Guess what, she felt better! Now I have her pulling all her labs from the last year so we ccan go over them on the phone! I’m thinking she has Chronic Hyponatremia, what a bunch of F*ckers!!!! Sorry for my harsh language, but this kind of thing gets my blood boiling! Deb
I am so sorry to hear that Deb. I know it’s unbelievably frustrating watching your friends or family go through something like this.
Here’s the thing to remember, there might be something else going on as well. If her blood pressure is going up and she has low sodium, she might have an issue with something like her kidneys. I would recommend that she see another doctor, but have her get copies of her blood work first, and of course, the doctor should be monitoring her sodium levels every few days to see where her sodium level is.
It is extremely surprising that she isn’t in the hospital right now, but maybe the doctors believe that her sodium levels can be corrected outside of the hospital.
I would be more concerned with why. Why is she developing hypertension and low sodium? Is it because of the blood pressure medication, which is very possible especially if they have her on diuretics.
I’m glad you are there for her, and I would direct her to a.) find a new doctor and b.) look up the medication that she’s taking online to see if hyponatremia is a side effect, and c.) if her symptoms persist or get worse, she obviously needs to go to an ER.
Please keep me informed, and I am so glad that she has you in her life to help keep her safe!!!
She has had Hypertension for a few years now. She was just recently placed on this med because her other med wasn’t doing it’s job. This med does have a diuretic in it. When my sodium was on it’s plummit, my blood pressure also went up. Something to do with the increased strain on my heart due to my sodium going down rapidly. I have told her to go to another doc, she was going to go to the ER tonite and hopefully get some help. Unfortunately I can’t be there in person because she’s in Alabama and I’m in Minnesota. However, if she doesn’t get help by tomorrow I will be in my car on the way down. I will NOT let someone else get this terrible disease! Especially when it can so easily be prevented. I will keep you up to date as I hear anything.
I’m praying for her and you. Please keep me posted! Have a safe trip.
thank you so much for introducing yourself. I am so happy to meet you
Inflammation is perhaps the major medical issue of our time and the ability to diminish its risk will change the way we manage health in America / the World.”
“Of the ten leading causes of mortality in the United States, chronic, low-level inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of at least seven. These include heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and nephritis. ( http://www.lef.org/protocols/health_concerns/chronic_inflammation_01.htm) The danger of chronic, low-level inflammation is that its silent nature belies its destructive power.”
“A growing body of evidence suggests that inflammation may be linked to a host of other diseases, from heart attacks to Alzheimer’s to diabetes”
TIME Magazine, in a February, 2004 cover story entitled “ The Secret Killer: The Surprising Link between Inflammation and Heart Attacks, Cancer, Alzheimer’s and Other Diseases”, described chronic inflammation as the “engine that drives many of the most feared illnesses of middle and old age.” http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20040223,00.html
If you google hyponatremia inflammation you get a host of references.
Numerous human ailments are caused by chronic low grade inflammation associated with elevated NF-kB levels in the body.
The key is how to control this. There is a lot work that has been done and is being done right now.
Watch this:
Hi, Adam.
Thank you for the information. I have a cousin who owns a health food store. Her mom owned it before that. They have over 40 years of experience in the industry.
She has recommended a product for this it starts with an “n”, but I can’t recall the name of it. It’s produced by a company that I also can’t remember the name for sure- Andrew pharmaceuticals- maybe Arthur Andrew. Anyway, it eats away at the inflammation in the body, destroying scar tissue.
I only have used it limited lay because after awhile I get stomach pain, but then again I get stomach pain anyway, so not sure if it’s from the product or just me.
Once I get the name, I will pass it on to you. You might be interested in trying it.
Thanks for the information
More brain related studies out today related to MS Anatabine might mitigate active disease states in MS”
Meanwhile, given that bioequivalent plasma levels of anatabine can be reached with oral doses in humans, the present data suggest that anatabine might mitigate active disease states in MS and should be piloted in clinical studies.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0055392
Jan. article on Anatabine. Link: https://www.dana.org/news/features/detail.aspx?id=40318
This is all about Anatabine which is main component in Anatabloc at 4,000 GNC stores
Some Clues to the Prevention and Treatment of TBI
By Kayt Sukel
January 22, 2013
On April 13, 2011, Oliver Hughes was on a mounted patrol in Afghanistan when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED). The major impact of the blast occurred right under his seat, crumpling the floor plates beneath the dashboard, pinning his legs below the knees. The force of the blast also slammed his head forward, shattering the tracker screens in front of him. Hughes’ physical injuries were severe—his right leg was crushed and the left leg was torn off below the knee. But he also suffered more invisible wounds. More than a year after his injury, Hughes’ wife, Megan, reports that he shows classic symptoms of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), with difficulties focusing on tasks and remembering appointments.
Stories like Hughes’ are not that uncommon. And with the Department of Defense (DoD) reporting that tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel will be diagnosed with TBI each year, neuroscientists are trying to identify new compounds that could prevent the chronic cognitive and behavioral problems that often follow head injury.
Treatment at the Point of Injury
Since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of reported TBI cases in the U.S. military has jumped nearly five-fold.
“Currently, we’re seeing about 30,000 service members each year who have sustained a concussion or traumatic brain injury,” says Donald Marion, a neurosurgeon and clinical consultant at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. “Fortunately, the majority of those individuals end up doing fairly well. But many will suffer long-term consequences of their injury.”
Those consequences may include cognitive problems with memory and attention, personality changes, anxiety and depressive disorders, and even thoughts of suicide. While it remains unclear what types of head injuries will result in what types of problems, research does suggest that the earlier a potential injury is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome will be. This is why, Marion says, the DoD is using a new decision-tree method, called the Military Acute Concussion Evaluation (MACE), to evaluate service members suspected of having any type of head injury.
“Groups of service members out in the field will not have a medical doctor with them. They’ll have a Corpsman or a Combat Medic serving with them. While these medics receive intensive training, they can’t be expected to know all the same things that a neurologist might know,” says Marion. “The MACE tool lets them just go through the decision-tree and evaluate any service member who has been around an IED or blast and determine whether or not they’ve had a concussion and how severe that concussion might be.”
Still, Marion concedes, there are many cases where service members sustain multiple serious injuries—and the medic’s job is to stabilize the patient for transfer, not assess their cognitive skills. In Hughes’ case, his TBI evaluation did not occur until about two weeks after his initial injury—after he was already transferred out of Afghanistan and on heavy pain medication for his injuries. That’s a missed opportunity: If researchers could identify novel drugs or compounds that could be given within four to six hours after injury, it’s possible that the long-term consequences of head injury might be avoided altogether.
The Promise of Anatabine
David Loane, a scientist at the Center for Shock, Trauma, and Anesthesiology Research (STAR) at the University of Maryland, says new research suggests that TBI results in chronic microglia activation, which changes the brain’s white matter. “We’re beginning to see that microglia activation and neuroinflammation is a chronic pathology that’s associated with TBI,” he says. “It’s a progressive and chronic disorder that continues indefinitely after the initial traumatic insult.”
Given that inflammatory pathways are so significantly affected, Fiona Crawford, a researcher at the Roskamp Institute, wondered if some of the long-term damage, particularly memory problems, could be avoided by using a compound that dampens the brain’s natural inflammatory response. She and her colleagues had already found evidence that anatabine, a dietary supplement found in tobacco leaves, tomatoes, and eggplant, was a powerful anti-inflammatory agent.
The group compared mice with brain injuries after being given anatabine versus a placebo. When they were put into the Barnes Maze task, a tool to measure spatial learning and memory, the mice who had received the anatabine after TBI performed as well as uninjured mice. Crawford presented the research at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in 2012.
“The anatabine appears to mitigate the neurobehavioral deficits that were the consequence of the head injury,” says Crawford. “It makes sense, in terms of the fact that we know that inflammation is a big part of the response to head injury and that, by mitigating some of the detrimental effects of neuroinflammation, we might be able to improve the behavioral outcomes.”
Moving Forward
Crawford cautions that her data is very preliminary, but she believes it holds great promise. She plans to continue testing anatabine, hoping it will eventually make it to human clinical trials. Still, while the data are interesting, Loane says, it pays to be cautious about what such supplements can actually do.
“There’s never going to be a magic bullet kind of approach for therapy when it comes to head injuries because there are so many different second injury mechanisms that occur after the initial impact,” says Loane. “The biggest challenge in treating TBI is the heterogeneity of those secondary injuries. There are multiple pathways that are affected.”
Still, Megan Hughes, wife of Oliver Hughes, is hopeful that researchers will find something that can ease, if not prevent, the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury—especially for people like her husband.
“I think it’s important for them to be treated in theater, not to wait. [Oliver’s] definitely lost something,” she says. “And the loss of brain function is scarier to him than the loss of his limb. I see so many soldiers come back different people. They come back so different and their families fall apart. If supplements and immediate treatment could help, we need to know that. We need that research.”