Off the top, I’m going to see a Cardologist about this tomorrow, so this is more of a “has anyone else seen this?” rather than having Dr. TR forum diagnose it.
I’ve been using Skratch as my main hydration and as a minor carb buffer for the last year. Never had any issues with the flavors I’ve used until this March.
I’ve had three very different rides all where at some point my HR we elevated and didn’t drop, but the ONLY thing any of those rides had in common was Orange Skratch Hydration mix in my hydro pack, but the timing of when it happened during a ride was different. One didn’t even have any significant effort to elevate, my HR just went up and plateaued. didn’t drop even when I stopped.
Zero other symptoms though. respiration is normal. Once I see the issue, power output is minimal or I just flat out stop and have a chill session. No nausea, no headache, nothing else that’s any different than a normal Z1/Z2 ride at that point.
The only thing I can do on my own is break out the hDrop again and see if I am indeed hitting hydration numbers along with sodium inline with requirements.
But yeah seeing a doc tomorrow to make sure I’m not going to have something important explode.
Outside chance, but is the HRM reliable? Years ago before HRM were common, I’d sometimes stop and check my pulse after a very hard climb or sprint. You could compare that with what the HRM says.
What makes you specifically pin it on the hydration mix, especially a particular flavor? Have you done other rides in between with other drink mixes or flavors?
(Also glad to hear that you’re doing the right thing and seeing a doctor)
Yep, Elevation measured by Garmin Strap to Edge and Venue 3 optical, with the optical reading maybe 5 bpm lower on average. Also fair skinned here so optical is from what I understand more reliable than if I had more natural melanin.
Exactly this. I’ve done similar rides with Skratch Cucumber-Lime & Strawberry Lemonade and not seen the issue. That’s the only data point that I personally have. When I saw it elevated this time around my 2nd reaction was, I wonder if I did a blood draw right now if we could see wtf is going on. My 1st reaction was the same as a bowl of petunias falling to the ground next to a whale. [Oh, no, not again.]
It’s a signalling issue of some sort. Something is telling the hear to beat faster, but it’s not me putting down power. The zone it gets “stuck” in is about where I end up during threshold workouts. Problem being during workouts on a trainer I can count on my HR dropping by up to 20 bpm in a one minute rest period, This? It just stays there. Yesterday it remained higher than normal until well after my shower too.
I would personally be really shocked if a particular flavor of drink mix caused such a change in performance, especially when talking about a somewhat minimalistic brand such as Skratch.
Unless you have some sort of issue with citrus, I’d guess that this has been more of a coincidence than anything..
Do you eat oranges, or drink orange juice, or wash your hair with shampoo containing orange oil? Or have any other exposure or oranges (the ingredients in skratch appears to be orange oil and orange juice)?
which includes this text in the discussion section
“Inhalation administration of sweet orange oil caused a significant increase of heart rate. Since heart rate is determined by the activity of the sympathetic branch of the ANS, an increase of heart rate shows an increase of sympathetic tone, i.e. an increase of physiological arousal. Thus, sweet orange oil may be characterized as physiologically stimulating.”
Interesting. So far it’s looking like my electrolytes might be off along with higher blood pressure than they’d like. Going on a zio monitor for 2 weeks plus labs for electrolytes.
Looks like I should get the hdrop back out as well.
The combination of oil and orange look strange to me. It’s used in some detox programs to cause diarrhea. (Eat some fat (like chips) and 15 minutes later eat an orange or drink some juice, pretty fast reaction). Citrus-induced bile release : Oranges are acidic and can stimulate the production of bile, especially when eaten after fatty foods (which also stimulate bile release). This combined effect may cause the intestines to move too quickly, leading to diarrhea.
Well electrolytes can definitely cause strange things with the heart. Electrolyte imbalances can also be exacerbated by low carb intake and inconsistent hydration, as you don’t retain them as well. Hope you figure out what is causing it.
So I did a drop in and have a zio sensor on me for 14 days, checking electrolytes, adjusting concentration, and tracking blood pressure over that time period.
