Hyponatraemia - how fucked am I?

[swisscheesetony]

Reading of 130. Not anorexic, cool climate - exceptional athlete would be a fine thing!

Currently on lowest dose of Ramipril.

Feel scared to drink a glass of water because I get thumping headaches like if you've necked a couple of pints of cold water.

No kidney pain, no blood in pee, no cloudiness etc.

Beginnings of a panic attack last night worrying about it.

Next lot of blood test to be taken early Jan.

Hyponatraemia is a known side effect of ramipril (not 100% likely to be the cause in your case but a likely candidate); I would suggest you switch your medication as 130 mmol/l is pretty low. If you're getting symptoms drinking water then you should perhaps switching earlier rather than later - I would recommend seeing your GP as soon as is convenient. There are plenty of alternatives to ramipril so there should be no issue with a switch to a similar drug.

In the meantime, I would control your water intake as much as possible and try and get excess water out of your system, ie pee! Let me know how it goes, and watch out for any mild neurological symptoms such as gait imbalance, or difficulty doing mental calculations, etc. Don't worry though, it usually resolves itself and isn't anything to worry about unless it goes even lower to 125 mmol/l.

Disclaimer: I'm not a healthcare professional but I have written about hyponatraemia in my capacity as a medical writer.

Thank you. I actually spoke to my doc on Saturday and he didn't seem concerned at present.

There are a lot of similar drugs to ramipril. If you feel that this symptom is affecting your daily life then I really wouldn't see switching being a major pain in the neck. See how it goes for a while and if you believe symptoms are persisting and affecting you then you are well within your rights to ask for a simple switch.