I know that none of you are doctors so that is why this is posted in IMHO.
I dehydrate quite easily. It is a chore for me to drink all of the water I feel I need. I drink anywhere between 1-4 liters of water a day. I rarely drink anything else. An occasional sprite maybe twice a month.
I also suffer from migraines. I’ve found that being dehydrated causes a majority of them.
I’ll go through my normal day, getting what I feel to be plenty of water, and then after a 30 minute workout on the treadmill I feel dehydrated to the point of a severe headache.
Anytime I’ve ever brought it up to a doctor I’ve been told to drink more water… I’ve also been told it’s not so much a lack of water as it is a lack of electrolytes. I’m not a huge fan of the various sports drinks so is there a different or better way to replenish lost electrolytes?
I’m a long distance runner so hydration is an important issue. I have found that unless I’m exerting myself hard for an extended period of time (certainly over an hour) I don’t feel the need for anything special beyond plain old water. On long runs I sip a sports drink (in addition to plain water) and I eat on the go; since I train unsupported that means that weight/space is a concern so it’s mostly stuff like gels, granola bars and whatnot. On organized ultras the aid stations have all kinds of food from gels and other high-techy stuff to cookies, candy, fresh fruit, potatoes & salt, soda and so on.
If you are getting enough water to drink (and remember that many foods, like fresh fruits and veggies, have lots of water in them too) and you are paying attention to salt & sugar intake but you don’t like sports drinks, things like bananas and oranges are great. You can get a shot of salt from salty snacks like pretzel sticks.
That said, I have a hard time imagining that you are depleting your electrolyte levels with a 30 minute treadmill session. You might be thirsty so have some water, but if you’re eating well overall you should have plenty in the gas tank.
If an otherwise healthy patient told me that they regularly drink 4 liters of water a day (and they weren’t obese and they weren’t working outside in the sun in hot weather), I’d ask the doctor to test them for electrolyte imbalance caused by over-hydration, or hyponatremia.
I believe they hold the salt (sodium) and potatoes themselves are a good source of potassium (another electrolyte). So yes, if you’re running a marathon, you have a free pass to snack on french fries.
Yes, quartered boiled new potatoes. You can dip them in a handy bowl of salt. Simple carbohydrates, easy to stomach, the salt is a godsend. That and Coke were manna from heaven on a 100K I did last year.
Different strokes for different folks. Some people can go all day on gels, some people can scarf a whole PBJ on the run, I ran 40 miles with a guy who carried Sliders in a baggie.
Someone described ultras as an eating contest with a lot of running and walking thrown in.
My understanding is that most marathons are quite different, generally water and sports drink at the aid stations with some snacks available later on. You just don’t need much actual food for the first 20 miles or so, and that last 6 miles some simple stuff (gels, fruit) will get you through. For long distances your body starts craving all kinds of nutrition.
Hydration and such is all about inputs and outflows. When they match, that’s hydration nirvana. When outflow is greater than input, dehydration. If you are taking in closer to the 4 liters per day, you seem to be taking in enough to match typical outflow. Do you think you are loosing a lot of water, by, say, excessive sweating or urination? If so, whatever is causing that might be the real problem. If you are taking in closer to the 1 liter ( or less?) per day, you may in fact not be drinking enough.
The other big possibility here, I think, is that you are associating your migraines with dehydration, when in fact the migraines may be triggered by something else. Finding out what that really is may solve both problems.
Could you expand on this? I thought from what you said in your post that the excessive drinking was a symptom indicative of hyponatremia but according to Mayo Clinic excessive water consumption is one possible cause.
On the symptoms page they mention:
[ul]
[li]Nausea and vomiting[/li][li]Headache[/li][li]Confusion[/li][li]Loss of energy[/li][li]Fatigue[/li][li]Restlessness and irritability[/li][li]Muscle weakness, spasms or cramps[/li][li]Seizures[/li][li]Unconsciousness[/li][li]Coma[/li][/ul]
So if you don’t have any of these does that make it less likely?
I’m sorry my post was confusing. Yes, I’m thinking the OP is thinking she’s (he’s?) dehydrated, and actually consuming* too much* water, which may give her (him?) headaches because of an electrolyte imbalance. “Hyponatremia” literally means “lower than normal sodium”, but it’s a bit of a misnomer. Almost no one is actually short on sodium (except marathon runners and people working in the sun), but if you have too much water in you, then the salt in your bodily fluids is too dilute. If you’re looking at the concentration of the salty solution which is your blood, the percent of sodium is too low because the percent of water is too high. So hyponatremia, rather than literally being too little sodium, is more often too much water.
Many people have gotten carried away with water consumption and think they’re dehydrated when they’re not. It’s nearly impossible to be dehydrated if you’re regularly drinking 4 Liters of water a day and otherwise healthy and not doing heavy work in the sun.
Here’s what I look for when assessing for hydration: are you making tears, saliva and sweat? Are your mucus membranes (inside of your mouth, the pinks inside your eyelids) moist? If I pinch the skin on the back of your hand, does it snap right back into place in fewer than 2 seconds? If the answer to all of these is yes, then dehydration is very unlikely.
If the answer to those is no and the person is drinking 4L of fluid a day, then I’d want to check for diabetes or kidney disease, 'cause there’s some odd reason they’re processing so much water every day.
Thanks! That’s extremely clear. The reason I was so curious is because I’m very similar to Bannedit. Except for me 4L is a bare minimum. Gosh I would love to drink only 1 liter a day. I usually finish 1 liter before 9:00 AM.
The thing is I don’t have any of the symptoms the Mayo Clinic mentions. All I have is an unquenchable thirst and naturally visit the bathroom often.
Incidentally I get checked out frequently because of a family history of diabetes and my blood sugar levels are excellent. I’m pretty sure my kidneys check out too. So rest assured I’m just curious and not trying to put my life in anyone’s hands.
How do you treat it? Drink less? Do you have to just be thirsty all the time?
[Insert “I am not your healthcare professional” and “All uses of ‘you’ and ‘your’ in the following post are rhetorical.” disclaimers here.;)]
First I’d want to send you to a dentist to check you out for dental health and evidence of dry mouth. If that’s the problem, then there are some moisturizing mouth washes (like Biotene) that can help, or chewing gum or using sugar free mints to keep your mouth moist, which can reduce the feeling of thirst.
Next to check would be whatever medications you’re on. Many medications cause excessive, or at least increased, thirst as a side effect. Treatment would be reducing or changing medications, if possible, or the mouth moistening ideas above if you can’t give up the meds.
If it’s not that, I’d ask you to keep a food diary for a while, and track your sodium intake. Eating a diet high in sodium can cause excessive thirst (as your thirst mechanism is triggered when the percent of sodium in your blood gets too high, and needs dilution.) If this is the culprit, then eating a lower sodium diet can help.
Failing all that, and assuming all body systems check as healthy, then it’s time for a psych consult. Excessive thirst can be a symptom of mental illness (anything from OCD to anxiety to schizophrenia), and treating the underlying mental illness can alleviate the excessive thirst.
Thank you! I’m sitting here, poking my finger around in my mouth (luckily I live alone) and it’s not at all dry. So maybe my perception of thirst is off. I’ll bring it up with my doctor next checkup.
So, I may be assuming dehydration with the possibility it is something else?
Symptoms are dry mouth, fatigue, dark colored urine, headaches.
I think my output matches my input, but once I wake up it seems like I have to start from scratch and drink, drink, drink. If I slack on intake one day, it seems to take 2 days to catch up.
I am not a doctor. I am not your doctor. While I *am *a nurse, I am not your nurse.
If my patient told me that they drank 4 L of water a day (and they were sure of it, like they drank out of a measured container and counted it) and they still had dark urine, I’d send them to a doctor. That isn’t normal. It may not be **unhealthy **- we all do have different bodies and different requirements - but it’s not normal.
Edited to add: rereading your OP, I recall it says “1-4 Liters a day”. Most people drink between 1 and 2 Liters a day, and maintain bright yellow or pale yellow urine on that. So that’s what “normal” is.
I have a friend in a similar situation - she’s constantly chugging water and peeing, and constantly claiming she feels ‘dehydrated’. Her urine is nearly always clear, though. I don’t really get it. But she was hospitalized once following a seizure and told she was dehydrated, and her doctor is always telling her to make sure she gets lots to drink…
I don’t drink much fluid compared to most people I know, even though I’m active and rather sweaty. 16-32oz of black tea or coffee every day, and maybe 8-16oz of water, according to thirst. However my diet is mostly water-filled foods (animal products and vegetables), that makes a difference I’d imagine. I’m not sure what ‘dehydration’ feels like. My pee is straw-colored and I feel fine, so I imagine I rarely am.
Excessive thirst can also be a symptom of diabetes insipidus. Excessive thirst and excessive urination are two of the tell-tale symptoms. It is caused by the body’s inability to make or recognize a hormone called anti-diuretic hormone, which means that you can’t concentrate urine. If you, for some reason, can’t drink your normal amount, does your urine stay pale and clear, or does it start turning darker and more yellow? Urine that doesn’t concentrate despite decreased fluid intake could be a sign of diabetes insipidus.
Also, despite the name, it has nothing to do with blood glucose levels. Could be worth asking your doctor about, but I only woke up about 20 minutes ago and haven’t had any caffeine yet. Apologies if this was mentioned in the second post!
Can anyone explain why potatoes (I assume boiled?) are being handed out to runners? Starch calories on-the-go?