The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Diet, Clothing, Hydration and Drinking › Delayed urination after practice
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Diet, Clothing, Hydration and Drinking › Delayed urination after practice
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I am typically unable to urinate for several hours following practice. Having looked through forums here and elsewhere I have not found any discussion of this specific problem.
Briefly, I hydrate very well prior to class, and always rid myself of a very full bladder of light colored urine immediately prior to class. I don’t go into the room unless I am certain that I am well hydrated. During class I drink one to two liters of water and/or Emergen-C. After class I hydrate well, drinking several liters of water over the hour or so after class, and pay attention to electrolytes. In short, I make every effort to stay hydrated while maintaining electrolyte balance.
Immediately after class I empty my bladder of the urine that collected during the early part of class (I no longer have the problem of needing to urinate during class that I once did), but then regardless of how much I drink I typically cannot urinate for 4-5 hours. After a 4:30 class it can be an issue of reestablishing flow prior to bedtime. When I do start urinating again the first time can be moderately dark, but then the dam bursts and over the next hour or so and through the night I am likely to urinate numerous times, the color now the light yellow characteristic of being well hydrated.
By way of background, I am male, 53 years old, 220 lbs, 6’1″, and in very good overall health. I have been practicing for over a year, have a strong practice, and usually practice 3-4 times per week. I sweat a lot during practice, and I do mean a lot. Accounting for the weight of the water I drink, I usually sweat out something in the neighborhood of 8 lbs, depending on temperature and humidity in the room. I have never been diagnosed as having prostrate problems, protein in the urine, or other related conditions.
My speculation, informed by nothing more than a cursory understanding of the systems involved, is that during practice I lose serum volume faster than I can replace it. This might trigger release of vasopressin, which could explain the delay. On the other hand I’ve not found anything that discusses such a possibility.
So, I have several questions. Is this a common problem? What is the likely mechanism behind the delay? Is there anything in particular that I should be doing to reduce the problem? (More salt? Less salt? More water? Less water? Tea as diuretic after yoga?) And finally, is there any concern that what is happening might either signify or cause a more serious kidney problem?
Interesting! You know I’ve never really paid attention to when I go after class. It’s never bothered me to be delayed though. I guess after going so much during pregnancy, if I don’t have the urge — I’m happy!
It sounds like you hydrate more than enough. Do you have any pain or burning either when your waiting or when you urinate? Are you taking any meds or supplements?
I might have just assumed it normal were it not for my wife and daughter (who is a Bikram instructor), for whom there is virtually no delay. There is no pain or burning during urination. When I have not practiced I urinate regularly, although I certainly stay better hydrated in general and urinate more frequently after starting BIkram. Sometimes during the wait after practice I feel a bit light headed, reminiscent of the way I feel when either dehydrated or when I’ve had water without electrolytes. I don’t think that is psychosomatic. LOL I do take supplements but nothing out of the ordinary — a multivitamin, B, C, and fish oil. Medications are an interesting question. I am on one medication that I have been taking for over 6 years that, after checking, apparently does have rare side effects associated with frequency of urination. The problem is new, however, and acutely associated with practicing Bikram so it doesn’t seem too likely to me that a rare medication side effect is the culprit.
Hey, Jeff. Good to hear no pain. Do you sweat more than your wife and daughter in class? You might be losing more water than them. Typically men can shed it quicker than women! Your body might just need a little more time to process than them. 4-5 hours doesn’t seem that long to me.
But it does seem to be a problem if you can’t go before bed, and then all the water you’ve been drinking keeps you up all night.
A couple things that might work:
1. Can you go to an earlier yoga class so you’d have more time to process before bed?
2. Could you rehydrate only enough after your regular class to make up for your lose but not overhydrate yourself? Then maybe you’d have to get up fewer times in the night.Hope you can find some relief!
Hello Jeff and Aminta
It seems you have been having quite a detailed conversation this weekend! I think I will join the party! :cheese:
Jeff, I have 2 lines of approach for this. This post will be for the first one.
Let me ask you, do you drink DURING class? And if you do, how much do you drink?
Your posts seem to indicate that you drink well before class and that you drink well after class. You say nothing about what happens DURING class.
Given that water should ideally be replaced at the rate it is being lost, (I did say ideally) then what I would like you to do during your next 2-3 classes is ‘buck Bikram tradition’ and drink during class: Small amounts frequently.
Please come back and report what happens. Oh, while you’re at it, I would recommend putting a few crystals of highly mineralised sea salt (Himalayan, Hawaiian, Celtic or the like) in your practice bottle!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂I thought of the “replace as it is used” approach, so started drinking 1-2 liters of Emergen-C during class (which should serve the same purpose as the sea water). I typically drink in about half a dozen breaks: After eagle, another 2 times during the standing series; before the first savasana; after floor bow; after rabbit; before final savasana. I started that a few weeks ago, without a great deal of impact on the problem. I’m drinking enough to make the spine strengthening series a bit uncomfortable.
This weekend I did drink a large coke a short time after class, thinking that the caffeine would serve as diuretic. It did, reducing the delay to about 2 hours.
Hi Jeff
OK, so that’s good. You have found some success there.
Please answer this: Would you please tell me if your sweat has ever stung your eyes? Has it been doing so lately?
One of the issues that can occur is profuse loss of electrolytes far beyond that which is normal for the vast majority of yogis. My guess is that you’re losing salt via your heavy sweating even after such a long time practising.
I won’t go into the science of it but what I want you to do now is to take your Emergen C in the same way during class and put extra sea salt in there. In addition to adding to your class drink, also try some salt before and after class in your regular water. Hint, tastes great with lemon juice! I don’t think you need much, but this regular consistent addition to support your salt loss could make a difference.
Come back and report, please.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle,
Yes, my sweat often stings my eyes, even when I haven’t eaten garlic or onions. 😉
I do have a lot of salt in my sweat and always have, as evidenced by salt stains on my shirt when I hike, etc. We don’t add much salt to food, either, a change we made when my wife had trouble with high blood pressure during her first pregnancy. Drinking Emergen-C rather than water during class does make a difference in my practice. So, increase the sodium intake! Check! I’ll try it (and keep an eye on blood pressure as I do). Does that mean I also get to start eating potato chips? LOL
I would also be interested in hearing the science of it, if you have the time to post. My field is physics, so while I don’t know the jargon I am interested in understanding what is going on.
Thanks,
JeffHi Jeff
Question out of curiosity: Was the salt you were using the regular table salt when your wife experienced the high BP problem? NaCl?
Hmmm potato chips! Well I never say you can’t eat anything. It’s not good to have ‘the guilts’ about what you eat. Just a good balanced approach … with the occasional sea salted potato chip! 😉 (And plenty of raw unprocessed stuff! As an aside: Actually if you love the mouth feel and taste of potato chips, I HIGHLY recommend kale chips. My family adore them and it feels absolutely wonderful to have raw unprocessed delicious snacks with the impression that it’s a potato chip! I can even share a recipe. You do need a dehydrator.)
Generally one’s salt excretion starts off high in the acclimatization process. Then it settles down to a low level. Usually that happens within 3 weeks or less of exercising in the hot environment.
You however are one of the small percentage for whom the salt excretion level has stayed high or increased! So you must take extra care to maintain high levels of salt intake. I am not sure that onion and salt gets excreted through sweat. Any proof of that? Or is that a hot yogi’s explanation for stinging eyes? That’s a serious question by the way.
That’s about as scientific as we need to get here. (Partly because it’s Saturday afternoon and it’s a beautiful day!)
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Jeff,
I had a similar experience. I felt I was not able to hydrate properly after class even though I was drinking lots of water and Emergen-C. I would not urinate for several hours after class. I tried to drink more water and Emergen-C but that did not seem to help.
After lots of experimentation I realized the Emergen-C was causing me to get more dehydrated. It contains high doses of vitamin C and other vitamins that require lots of water for our bodies to process. The more Emergen-C I took the more water I needed. I was already dehydrated from class so I was compounding my problem, upping my need for water with each sip I took.
I now opt for other electrolyte replacement options that include some sodium and some sugar. Coconut water with a pinch of salt can be helpful. Pedialyte or a generic infant electrolyte drink from the children’s aisle at the grocery store is my go-to remedy when all else fails. I opt for the clear, unsweetened version because the sweetened flavors are too much for me. That’s the liquid that I know will get me back on track.
There are also electrolyte replacement tablets, liquids, powders on the market that don’t contain lots of vitamins. Experiment for yourself to see what works best. Current medical studies show that some salt and sugar with water are important when involved in prolonged and intense exercise and sweating. Also, caffeine does have a diuretic effect and may also boost focus and performance during intense exercise.
Finally, it can be helpful to have a quick test to determine when you need more water. I do the following; I pinch up the skin on the back of my hand. If it snaps back very quickly I know I am well hydrated. If not, I know I need more liquids. I’m not sure how scientific the test is but it’s a good indicator for me. Other people may have alternate easy ways of determining their hydration levels.
All the best.
Hi Rick
Thanks for your post. Very helpful indeed.
I was very interested to hear about your body’s reaction to Emergen-C. I wonder if it is like that for all or just those who have a salt depletion problem such as with you and Jeff (where salt loss is great during exercise).
I am confident that just water and sea salt would still be a great option without having to spring for packaged branded product. Have you any experience with salt in your water, or my preference, salt in water with some lemon juice?
My research and experience tells me that coffee is a diuretic but one has to drink a big volume for the diuretic effect to kick in. And by that I mean 6 or so cups of fairly strong stuff. What’s your understanding?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Everyone,
I am glad to find this conversation. I have the same issue. I keep myself very well hydrated, drinking at least 100 ounces of water per day (I weigh 170 lbs). I sweat like crazy and don’t urinate for 4-6 hours after a hot yoga class. Then my urine is dark yellow as if I am dehydrated. Also, my sweat is salty and stings my eyes.
Does this thread suggest that there is some sort of electrolyte deficiency? It is not dehydration?
Thanks,
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