Dark amber colored urine after hard ride?
 

Before I go any further, I know what you're going to say: go to a doctor! I know.

I experienced this after a hard ride and sent myself to the ER, who suggested a meeting with a regular doc and I went to that and cleared. Further I have an appointment with a urologist in 2 weeks. So yes I am going to see a dr.

But for the time being I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. For mind sake.

I jumped into a training routine kind of suddenly with guys who have been on a routine for several months already. I found myself pushing hard on a 3 hr ride. Came home and that night saw some very dark urine. After reading about rhabdo I checked in with the ER.

Had a complete blood count and urinalysis. Red blood cells were found but all other tests passed and was concluded that there was no uncle rhabdo. Went in for my follow up a few days later and red blood cells were no longer found.

Sat and sun I went on hard rides again. Both about 2.5 hrs with some sprint work. Immediately following my rides I found more amber colored urine. Went again an hour later and it was crystal clear both days.

Only other symptom was a bad muscle cramp on sat that took a minute to walk off. Sunday I rode pretty good but took it a tad easier on the sprinting.

Muscle soreness is very light.

Again, I DO have another dr appointment. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this sort of thing. I have two weeks to see another dr.

Sounds like a kidney stone (still in the kidney) but it could be something else too. Lack of hydration can darken the urine but it should not include blood in it. Dieting often leads to hydration and protein breakdown issues when under physical duress so be sure you are eating and drinking healthily. My guess is that if your eating habits are healthy, then its probably a kidney stone.

Anyway I'm not a doctor so take this with the usual grain of salt. Its only speculation.

I eat really healthy. I had a kidney stone about 7 years ago. One thing I can say is this winter I admit to being really bad about drinking enough water. But as of last few months (since my first hard ride) I have been drinking a lot of water.

I've got three stones now in my kidneys and have passed about 6, and had one blasted. One of the stones in my right kidney will have to be blasted if it gives much trouble. I get the cola color after some hard rides too, and I'm sure this is the problem. My urologist just wants to monitor it for now. If it doesn't move much, they will leave it alone. If it starts a trek, then it will have to be blasted because its too big to enter the ureter.

I do remember the dr saying I had a few stones in there. One passed and now I suspect the others have gotten bigger. Fun times. I'd rather it be a stone than something that will kill me though.

Also a few days before my first ride a few months ago I had a nauseous spell and immediately I though, "oh man this is how I felt before I had that kidney stone". It went away but I definitely made a mental note about it.

Exactly. The nauseous feeling is the tell tale precursor to a moving stone. I'd bet $10 to a donut its a stone.

I guess its better for the calcification to happened there than in the arteries :thumb:.

DEHYDRATION!!

You say you've been drinking a lot of water ... what does that mean? Define "a lot". Your urine should be almost clear.

And if you do have kidney stones, you really need to drink a lot ... more than usual.

I've had (or perhaps still have) kidney stones, and had to go for surgery to remove one that was too large to pass. While I was waiting for surgery, I discovered that I suffered (badly) from kidney stone pain when I wasn't drinking water regularly. I ended up in hospital on morphine one day when I dashed off for my 150 km drive to university one morning without a single thing to drink ... that was actually when they discovered the kidney stones.

Dehydration seems highly likely. Measure how much you're drinking per hour - double it - see what happens.

(I'm betting - more pee stops - clearer urine)

+1

I would love for it to be dehydration. The first time this happened, NO DOUBT, I was dehydrated. I got back from a very intense 3 hr ride and as when I got back realized I didn't drink any water. So what did I do? I grabbed a latte instead. Then I went home and watched the Superbowl and drank beer. Then I pissed brown and went to the ER. Smart. But there were red blood cells in my urine and I don't know if that's caused by dehydration. I should have asked. It wasn't Rhabdo so I was relieved.

2nd time this happened I rode for 2.5 hrs pretty high intensity with some sprint intervals. Drank moderately. Not sure if I went through a waterbottle. I forget.

3rd time I made a conscious effort to drink a lot. Went through 2 small water bottles and one large waterbottle that was full of a carb/protein mix.

Anyway, just returned from a CT scan and I'll know if I have stones in 3-5 business days. I kind of hope so because if not, they will want to put me through a cysto, which basically means shoving a camera into your ding dong, which sounds awesome.

You know how they used to say that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day ... yeah, well ... that's not bad advice. You've mentioned what you drink when you ride (not a lot), but how much do you drink during the day?

Try for 8 glasses of water a day ... and then also, in addition to that, when you ride, aim for one 750 ml bottle every 1 to 1.5 hours.

I have had issues during training with not drinking enough water. Mine presented with throbbing legs and delayed recovery instead of the urine color.
However, it is a very simple fix and worth a try. One of the cheapest fixes out there.

"Clear and copious" -- shoot for that. :thumb:

Ok here's the update. Had a cat scan and a cysto, which is a procedure where a urologist shoves a camera up your ding dong and through your prostate. Anyone who hasn't done this before, you are missing out on some good times. The cat scan didn't reveal anything too alarming. Just a small lesion in my right kidney that is most likely nothing but will require follow-up scans every 6 months. No kidney stones. The cysto revealed a totally healthy bladder. So no tumors or cancer. So basically I attribute it to over-exertion on my rides. Now I have 24 hours of painful ruination to endure and I'm in the clear. Fun fun.

You mean ... serious dehydration on your rides.

Before your next ride (this weekend?) ...
-- on the day before, make sure you drink at least 8 cups (2 litres) of water, fruit juice, or whatever you prefer (not alcohol). You should be urinating almost clear and fairly decent amounts all day.
-- on the morning of the ride, while you're getting ready to go ... drink a tall glass of water. Just plain ordinary water. You can also have a cup of coffee or glass of orange juice or bottle of Ensure or whatever you normally drink before a ride, but have that tall glass of water too.

Then when you get on the bicycle, right away start drinking one 750 ml bottle every 1 to 1.5 hours ... more frequently if it is hot, windy, or you're exerting yourself a lot. Don't forget to eat something with a bit of salt mid-ride.

I agree with DataJunkie. I trained poorly for my first gravel ride and also think I may have been dehydrated going into it. Didn't help that it was hot as
heck! Could barely walk the next day and then I noticed the dark urine, which is not the beer I'm used to. Been drinking more water and the legs are feeling better
each day. Lesson learned: don't forget to hydrate and wear sunscreen, even when it's overcast.

PS Good deal you got the all clear from the tests.

Just a quick Heads-up...
Check the date of the post before yours, 2013... you brought it back from the dead.. LOL!
We all do it... I sometimes forget to check the dates, when a thread suddenly appears with lots of posts...
no worries...
Ride On
Yuri

Dark amber is disturbing, but Cola colored is downright scary! Fortunately, when I had that, it was after a kidney stone episode, so I knew what it was and not to panic. Weird as all hell, though!

This is one of the better typos I've seen in a while.

EDIT: Oh, good grief! I helped bring a zombie back to life.

I've come in from rides with bright red pee! Fix gear and guilty of not drinking enough and a week's worth of veggies with two bunches of beets instead of one. If I went to the ER, I'd scare the heck out of the department and in turn, they'd do the same to me. So I just shut up and drink until the scale says I'm back to normal. (With some potato chips and sport drink so I don't dilute electrolytes.)

Your kidney was busy processing hemoglobin from your damaged muscles.

^Yeah, it's called rhabdomyolysis and it's not good.

Sorry OP. On the topic of stones….,had two in one week years ago and thought something exploded. Like a baseball bat to the back, no nausea. Took me to my knees, fetal position. The morphine couldn’t get injected fast enough. Yes, was massively dehydrated but not due to riding. Mr “Jack Black” the night before. Took me many years before I could even smell the stuff.

I hydrate like crazy on rides but still get cloud’ier urine. It’s hot here in Texas so hard to avoid the heat in the summer. I typically wear a 60 oz Camelbak and take 2 24 oz bottles on rides more than 2hrs. All that weight on my back sucks but no choice as I ride solo. Can’t just run into a store to refill.