Has Anyone Taken Too Much Baking Soda, And What Happened?

[Peata]

or what would it do to you if you took too much in one sitting?

 

[haidut]

or what would it do to you if you took too much in one sitting?

Forum user "j." thinks it gave him "milk alkali syndrome", which is akin to a reversible kidney failure. Not pleasant to get or recover from. Hence the reason most recommendations on baking soda for athletes now say to take 4 separate doses of 5g each instead of a single 20g dose.
There is also a case study of stomach / intestine perforation from a single large dose of baking soda but I don't remember the exact dosage (I think it was 15g+).
IMO, baking soda is probably best consumed mixed with orange juice in doses of no more than 5g at a time.

 

[Peata]

OK, thanks. I saw that about milk alkali last night and it did not seem to fit what happened to me, nor the info I read on metabolic alkalosis or too much alkalinity.

 

[Peata]

Will you or anyone else, take a stab at figuring out what happened the other night when I ingested "a lot" of baking soda at once?

It was close to bedtime and I had a headache, probably brought on by low blood sugar earlier. I thought I read baking soda could help, so I sat down and ate some. I was kind of emotionally upset about something at the time, and was not paying attention to how much I was eating. (I kept pouring small amounts onto my hand and licking it off.)

The headache did go away very fast. Unthinking, and still kind of in an anxious state, I mindlessly kept pouring and licking baking soda. What made me stop was when the baking soda no longer had that semi-pleasant taste, but started to taste very bad to me. If I had to estimate, I'd say I ate one tablespoon. At least that's what I told my partner later, in case I lost consciousness...

Anyway, I ate the baking soda, headache gone, and sat back on the bed, and was almost immediately overcome with insta-Zen. Suddenly there was no more anxiety or worry about anything in the world. I was flooded with warmth in hands and feet, every part was relaxed. felt like i was sinking back into the bed in some "drug-state" of calm.

This surprised me. Then i began to feel too relaxed, like some muscle weakness and that's when it hit me that I'd just eaten a bunch of baking soda, and why had I done that? So, panic set in because i realized i might have messed myself up.

The panic might have been my body's reaction to an overdose or could have been my mind just having a regular panic attack at 'oh no, what have i done'. The usual panic reactions came - feeling that things weren't really happening, increased heart rate, weakness, etc. But beyond that, I just didn't feel "right" and it seemed beyond a regular panic attack.

Ended up having diarrhea, and a couple big belches. I looked up what might be going on. Didn't seem to be milk alkali or alkalosis. Maybe I messed up my electrolytes. During this time, I took activated charcoal and drank half a bottle of water since i was thirsty. i ate half a banana. Things started to get a little better. One website said bag breathing could help, but when I did that, my earlier symptoms came back strong again.

So anyway, it went away in about 1.5 hour after I first took the baking soda. i haven't touched any since. i have done bag breathing since, without the bad effects.

 

[cantstoppeating]

Will you or anyone else, take a stab at figuring out what happened the other night when I ingested "a lot" of baking soda at once?

It was close to bedtime and I had a headache, probably brought on by low blood sugar earlier. I thought I read baking soda could help, so I sat down and ate some. I was kind of emotionally upset about something at the time, and was not paying attention to how much I was eating. (I kept pouring small amounts onto my hand and licking it off.)

The headache did go away very fast. Unthinking, and still kind of in an anxious state, I mindlessly kept pouring and licking baking soda. What made me stop was when the baking soda no longer had that semi-pleasant taste, but started to taste very bad to me. If I had to estimate, I'd say I ate one tablespoon. At least that's what I told my partner later, in case I lost consciousness...

Anyway, I ate the baking soda, headache gone, and sat back on the bed, and was almost immediately overcome with insta-Zen. Suddenly there was no more anxiety or worry about anything in the world. I was flooded with warmth in hands and feet, every part was relaxed. felt like i was sinking back into the bed in some "drug-state" of calm.

This surprised me. Then i began to feel too relaxed, like some muscle weakness and that's when it hit me that I'd just eaten a bunch of baking soda, and why had I done that? So, panic set in because i realized i might have messed myself up.

The panic might have been my body's reaction to an overdose or could have been my mind just having a regular panic attack at 'oh no, what have i done'. The usual panic reactions came - feeling that things weren't really happening, increased heart rate, weakness, etc. But beyond that, I just didn't feel "right" and it seemed beyond a regular panic attack.

Ended up having diarrhea, and a couple big belches. I looked up what might be going on. Didn't seem to be milk alkali or alkalosis. Maybe I messed up my electrolytes. During this time, I took activated charcoal and drank half a bottle of water since i was thirsty. i ate half a banana. Things started to get a little better. One website said bag breathing could help, but when I did that, my earlier symptoms came back strong again.

So anyway, it went away in about 1.5 hour after I first took the baking soda. i haven't touched any since. i have done bag breathing since, without the bad effects.

You're one of the most frequent advise-asking/diagnose-me-over-the-internet posters on this forum, and yet you've not done basic pulse+temp measurements or lab work.

You need to do invest in lab work and then perhaps a consultation with Peat.

 

[Peata]

You're one of the most frequent advise-asking/diagnose-me-over-the-internet posters on this forum, and yet you've not done basic pulse+temp measurements or lab work.

You need to do invest in lab work and then perhaps a consultation with Peat.

in this case, it's more out of curiosity rather than a diagnosis of something chronic.

I'm tracking temps and pulse lately, and seeing doctors, had blood work and still getting tests. I was just wondering about the baking soda incident is all.

 

[tara]

I don't think I know in any detail how that worked. Maybe it was too much too fast and it pushed your blood pH too high briefly before your body's reserves could respond and buffer it? The body does its best to keep blood pH tightly constrained between pH 7.35 and 7.45, and outside this range is not good.
I wonder whether first aid in such a case would be to eat/drink something acid to react with the alkaline baking soda and balance it out? Eg. a bit of vinegar in water. If the baking soda is still in your stomach I expect it would fizz and burp. If it's recently in your system and still having an acute reaction, it still might make a difference?
Longer term, I'd recommend getting some pH test strips so you can check UpH. UpH should average ~6.3-6.7 (acc. Peat). I used Hydrion pH strip for range 5.5 - 8. Consistently over 6.8 is a bit on the alkaline side. Over 8 may require more urgent attention.
Conversely, consistently readings of less than 6.2 would indicate running a bit acid. Under 5 is more of a problem.
According to RBTI, acid states apparently are more likely to promote diarrhea; alkaline states more likely constipation.

 

[Blossom]

The sodium could have caused the diarrhea. That happened too me once with too much Morton's salt too quickly. Some yoga people even recommend salt water as a colon cleanse.

 

[Blossom]

You're CO2 levels may have went higher than your accustomed to as well.

 

[Ben]

I disagree that sodium itself was responsible for your diarrhea. I think that the baking soda neutralized the acid in your stomach and thus allowed bacteria to overgrow in your small intestine. This can result in not only feelings of impending doom from serotonin, but also diarrhea, from personal experience.

 

[tara]

I disagree that sodium itself was responsible for your diarrhea. I think that the baking soda neutralized the acid in your stomach and thus allowed bacteria to overgrow in your small intestine. This can result in not only feelings of impending doom from serotonin, but also diarrhea, from personal experience.

Can that happen so fast?

 

[Peata]

Thanks for responses. It's interesting to me. I kind of feel that if i hadn't panicked about taking so much and being surprised about the effects, that i wouldn't have had the diarrhea. it often comes along when i have panic, unfortunately.

 

[Ben]

I disagree that sodium itself was responsible for your diarrhea. I think that the baking soda neutralized the acid in your stomach and thus allowed bacteria to overgrow in your small intestine. This can result in not only feelings of impending doom from serotonin, but also diarrhea, from personal experience.

Can that happen so fast?

Apparently so, that is my experience. I encourage you to experiment yourself. Do it before bed and note effects on sleep quality and relaxation.

 

[lvysaur]

Ended up having diarrhea, and a couple big belches.

The baking soda would neutralize stomach acid and create CO2 in the form of burps, much like a grade-school volcano

The diarrhea could have been bacteria feeding on undigested food, by virtue of your newly acquired lack of stomach acid.