The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Injuries, Restrictions, Ailments, Pose Modifications › Illnesses/Ailments › Health Issues and Bikram Yoga
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Injuries, Restrictions, Ailments, Pose Modifications › Illnesses/Ailments › Health Issues and Bikram Yoga
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Hi … just signed on here today. Love Bikram yoga, but very few doctors have much to say about it and can’t answer my questions. I started Bikram yoga last September but have taken two months off due to the following concerns.
After many years of great health, I had two situations arise that concern me regarding hot yoga. First, a diagnosis of overactive bladder. Does getting low on fluids (as in class) stress the bladder? I usually weigh about 2.5 pounds less when I get home than when I left for class, despite drinking a liter of water in class. I usually shower and go to bed after class, so I don’t drink a lot on arriving home. Am I going to bed dehydrated? I declined medication for the OAB, the thought of starting down that road is untenable.
The second issue is that, in the scan looking at the abdomen/bladder, a “non-occlusive” blood clot was found “in the splenic vein, extending into the confluence with the portal and superior mesenteric vein.” NO LOCAL DOCTOR SEEMS TO KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF THIS. I have no diseases, don’t drink or smoke, and a blood test showed my coagulation is normal.
Naturally, with these two things going on, I’m kind of leery of heading back into the kind of extreme bodily exertion activity that hot yoga is. Could hot yoga have produced this clot? “Severe dehydration” is the one cause of such a clot that could possibly apply to me, if indeed one is “severely dehydrated” after hot yoga.
Whew. I know this is a lot to ask. But I’d like to go back to yoga knowing the facts, not just what I “suppose” may be true. Thanks for any insight!
Rebecca
Hello Rebecca
It seems to me that you are not mentioning any of the signs of severe dehydration (headaches, nausea, aches, cramps, dry mouth, irritability, dark urine, stiff joints, confusion, rapid breath and weak pulse etc, etc, etc). The first port of call for dehydration issues is a very easy look at the color of your urine. If it is dark then you can look at your hydration and electrolyte levels.
With all that in mind, do you still think you have the signs of severe dehydration that could have contributed to forming the clot?
I am not sure that I have answered everything that you asked. Would you be willing to let me know if I should clarify anything else?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Thank you. Would that “dark” urine be like, say, strong tea, or dark beer, or just not clear? I think some of those symptoms you mentioned have been present to a small degree and for a short time after class, like the headache, rapid pulse, etc. I usually have to sit on a bench outside the heated room for a while after class before I can really trust myself to drive home. But the symptoms are not long lasting or seriously debilitating.
I suppose I am just concerned that, with overactive bladder and now this blood clot, that exposing myself to extreme activities like hot yoga might not be advisable. It does put one’s body through very rigorous paces, so it’s easy to start thinking that hot yoga could CAUSE certain conditions that one did not have before starting the hot yoga. Of course the clot could have been there all along, but the bladder thing … just wondering.
Hi Rebecca,
Well I’m not sure if you’re still replying in this forum but here’s my 2 cents anyway. I’ve actually always had an overactive bladder condition myself, which I found becomes even more aggravated during the hot yoga class. I’ve asked my Doctor about it and she says it’s because I’m sweating so profusely that I’m losing minerals/salts so she recommended some salt supplements. Well I tried those but it still doesn’t work. Hey, did your studio nag you about needing to use the washroom during class? How were you treated btw? I was treated very poorly so just curious about your experience. Well I hope you’re doing much better now with your bladder and blood clot? A while ago I developed a cyst although it mysteriously went away on it’s own. I pray that yours does too.
🙂Dr. wanted to prescribe medication to inhibit the urge to urinate! I think not! After enduring an awful procedure called a cytoscopy, and a probably unnecessary CT scan, all turned up normal.
I attacked the frequent urination issue with psychology. There’s a brain/bladder connection like there’s a brain/bowel connection. When the urge struck, if I’d been to the bathroom within the previous 15 minutes, I’d force myself to wait half an hour. Often by that time I didn’t need to go, but I would if I needed to. Then I’d force myself to wait another half hour when the urge struck again, since I’d just gone. The key is distinguishing the “need” from the “urge.”
As well, and most importantly, I stopped eating large amounts of salty food at any one sitting. I now have no overactive bladder, but if I eat a lot of salt, it can return temporarily. Lesson learned.
There was no stigma or ridicule in going to the bathroom during class. My instructors were wonderful. But of course, one feels embarrassed as it does rather disrupt things.
The blood clot turned out to be an “artifact,” or a shadow; it wasn’t really there.
No one in hot yoga really wants to hear this, but I firmly believe that before engaging in Bikram yoga, EVERYONE should have a doctor’s permission and a clear understanding of what risks the yoga and heat present for people’s individual bodies and health. We are not likely to get this information from the yoga instructors.
I now have a herniated disk that I think was, if not caused by the yoga (extreme forward bends and stretched ligaments supporting the lower spine), then was definitely irritated by it.
I have stopped stretching-type yogas like Bikram and am now doing postural (strength) yoga … Iyengar. I have been told that some people are “loosey goosey” ligament-wise, and others are tight. Tighties need stretching yoga, but Loosies like me do NOT!!
Hi Rebecca
Thanks for closing the loop on your story and for the happy ending/beginning!
I am a firm believer in that bladder/brain connection and understanding the difference between the urge and the need! Thanks for putting it so eloquently.
I am glad you have found what works for you yoga-wise. I am sure that given the right instruction you would probably be safe in any type of yoga. You will certainly have your attention focused on good alignment and form in any case.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hey Rebecca,
Oh yes I’m very familiar with the cystocopy having gone through quite a few of those in fact. I’ve also tried to do the brain/bladder condition but doesn’t really work on me. I try to avoid the offending foods instead and keep myself in a dehydrated state before the class. But yes I’m glad for you that you’ve had a somewhat happy ending through all of this. 🙂
Ilyzium and Rebecca – is it too silly to ask if you’ve done a million Kegel and/or pelvic floor exercizes?
I used to be obsessed with doing them and still do them routinely, as well as having developed a really strong core doing ab work and Gab’s suggested leg lifts on a small ball.
It all helps to keep my bladder under “tight” control and means I rarely have to leave class to visit the loo.
Bonmar that’s not silly at all. In fact lots of Doctors advise women that have bladder issues to do tons of those Kegel squeezes. I admit I should do them more regularly but become somewhat lazy about doing them. And yes that’s good that it’s working for your bladder…maybe I’ll have to try them more regularly than once in a blue moon…
Bladder problems can be from insufficient estrogen if you are perimenopausal or in menopause. Some estriol bioidentical vaginal cream may help if that is the case. Also irritable bladder can occur from low grade chronic infection that may not even show up on urinalysis. D-mannose and/or cranberry extract can help that. Some people find a bladder support herbal formula helpful as well (they contain a number of herbs). I have also experienced GI and bladder pain / urgency when in moldy environments due to a severe mold allergy. Lots of good quality water (filtered) is important as well.
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