[huniebunie]

Hello all. Ive recently started increasing my water intake, along with a low fat regimen at the request of my dietitian. Ive read that its good to drink half your weight in ounces of water. So, I started doing this 3 days ago. The first night I had diarrhea (TMI). Then every glass of water starting that following morning, I would be hitting the bathroom....and not for "number 1". Its still happening...I thought maybe it was flushing out all the junk that was in there or something. Anyone experience this before? Any help is greatly appreciated. TIA.

[kaplods]

Do you eat a very low sodium diet, exercise strenuously, or are you on a diuretic or blood pressure medication, or any medication that stresses the kidneys, or for any other reason might tend toward low blood sodium levels or kidney problems? If so, you could actually be at risk for water intoxication (also called water poisoning). It's usually rare, except in marathon runners and people with kidney disease, however if you tend toward low sodium levels for any reason, you probably shouldn't drink more than 2 - 3 quarts of fluid a day (and that includes caffeinated beverages).

[huniebunie]

Im not on a low sodium diet, or anything like so. I just talked to a friend, a doctor, who said the same thing, water intoxication. He said its also possible that im drinking so much water that im diluting my blood from all the minerals, or whatever stuffs it needs to function. Ive tried adding fiber to the water, however, still the same. I was just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this...or if I should see my doctor? Thanks.

[kaplods]

Basically, that's what water intoxication is, diluting the blood to a dangerous level, most notably sodium, and it's nothing to mess with. Adding fiber wouldn't help. Being that a doctor already suggested water intoxication, I think you should cut back on the water immediately. Water intoxication is nothing to mess with, as it's very dangerous and the symptoms come on very suddenly.

About a year ago, my mom was hospitalized for water intoxication and it took a week to get her blood levels to a safe level. She has permanent kidney damage as a result of water intoxication (about 50 - 60% of normal - after significant healing. It was down to 30% I believe in the hospital). My dad and sister (living at home), thought she had the flu, and something about Mom getting so sick so quickly really scare Dad (a former EMT). If they had delayed much longer, or even tried to take her in to the emergency room themselves, she probably would have died.

The kidney specialist called in said he is seeing water intoxication more frequently in healthy people. Up until recently, he said the only healthy people you saw with water poisoning were marathon runners. He said mom's blood pressure medication put her at greater risk, but also mentioned several dieting myths including the 1/2 oz of water per pound. He said there really isn't any truth to the idea that anyone needs more than 8 - 10 glasses of water and that ALL fluids even in foods and caffeinated beverages count. So whether you're drinking coffee or eating soup or a piece of fruit - it all counts towards your daily total.

[huniebunie]

Thats exactly what I needed to know. Thank You!! Since drinking so much water these past couple days, ive noticed my appetite decreased, however, its not worth it if I chance the possibility of permanent damage. Thanks again!!

[kaplods]

A lot of people will tell you that water intoxication is impossible unless you guzzle 2 gallons of water in like 10 minutes, and that the body can process up to 3 gallons per day if it's spread throughout the day, but while that might be true most of the time, anyone who has seen it happen on a much smaller amount of water tends to be cautious.

Don't get me wrong, I do make sure to get in 8 - 10 glasses of liquids, but I try not to drink much more than that unless it's very hot, and I'm very thirsty, and even then I tend to eat a little salt if I'm drinking tons. I don't think most people have to consider the salt aspect, but I eat so little in my diet, it's just an extra precaution I take. My blood sodium levels are always on the low end of normal, and sometimes too low. I'm one of the few people on the planet whose doctor encouages them to put more salt in their diet.

[BlessedBe]

After reading this, I wonder if I have something similar since I have been drinking more water and not getting much sodium. The past four days or so I've been having really awful gas and partly gooey stools. (TMI, I know. ) I'm still not sure what caused it. I did increase my fiber intake about two weeks ago, but I don't see why it would affect me right now. Even with them a little runny I still have trouble going number two. I wonder if it was the sweet corn we ate... Asidophilus (sp?) wouldn't cause something like this, would it?

[Ethereal]

Eek, another scary water thread. I drink ~120oz per day and (ready for TMI?) at first it did loosen up my stool a bit, but now I'm back to normal. However, though I'm trying to cut back on sodium it's so low on my "to do" list that I often end up with 3000 - 5000mg a day, so I consider a lot of water important to counter THAT much sodium.

While my family has a history of heart disease, I'm not showing any signs yet, so I figure regulating my sodium intake can wait until I'm accustomed to all of my other dieting changes.

Eating that much salt, I don't WANT to cut back on water, but these frightening threads keep popping up! Guess I'll keep an eye on things, so to speak, and cut back if I feel sick?

[huniebunie]

I honestly dont even look at the sodium content on the foods I eat. Although my cholestrol and triglyceride levels are slightly above the "normal" range, the doctor encouraged a low fat diet. My sodium, potassium, etc levels were great (prior to starting this water thing). So I dont know how it affected my levels recently. The past two days ive cut it down to half of what I was drinking...so, about 10-8oz cups of water. Which is helping (along with immodium) I was really out of it yesterday...extremely lethargic, tired, etc. But I seem much better today. I honestly was kinda bummed that I had that reaction with the water, because I really noticed that it supressed my appetite greatly! Now I suppose I will have to deal with it somehow,lol.

[Whittlin]

huniebunie, I hope you're feeling better - did you suddenly go to almost 16 cups of water daily to match the ounce per half-pound? Bless your heart. Your dietician should give clients moderate plans for increasing water intake.

I really do think everyone should be aware that most guidelines DO advocate eight to ten cups of water per day for adults. The most recent ones I read that stated that were from The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council. It is much more common for a person to be dehydrated than to suffer from water intoxication, and for many posters at our site it is midsummer, the time of year when dehydration is epidemic. I have always heard that it's appropriate to count milk completely, and even though experts differ on how much of a cup of tea/coffee/cola etc you might count it obvously should count for some water even though the caffiene and sugar are counter-productive. Yes, there would be moisture content in other foods, especially fresh fruits. But I think we do need to realize that for the average person, the actual moisture content in the solid foods they eat during their day is not very much. If someone's headed out to McDonalds every meal and thinks they can squeeze moisture out of their combo meal and forget supplemental water, they've been misled.

[huniebunie]

Lol. The only thing probably to be squeezed out of the combo meals are the oils that remain in the burgers.lol. I usually dab my BF's quarter pounder (w/cheese which he can have) with a napkin to rid the excess oils, but not before he grumbles about not taking the "special sauce" off.

And yes, I upped my water intake suddenly...I didnt think this was going to be a problem, boy, was I wrong!! And I didnt even know that coffee, soups, etc were considered part of the total count too!!

So is that 1/2 oz in water per pounds thing a myth? or just for certain (bowel lucky) people?

[Heather]

Originally Posted by kaplods

He said mom's blood pressure medication put her at greater risk, but also mentioned several dieting myths including the 1/2 oz of water per pound. He said there really isn't any truth to the idea that anyone needs more than 8 - 10 glasses of water and that ALL fluids even in foods and caffeinated beverages count. So whether you're drinking coffee or eating soup or a piece of fruit - it all counts towards your daily total.

They have only recently started actually researching things like how caffeinated beverages affect people, and really, how much water we need. Previously, it was knowledge that seems handed down without having been researched AND distorted to boot.

From everything I've read, Colleen (kaplods) is right. We DO need to stay hydrated, but many estimates seem VERY high. If you get the equivalent of 8-10 8 ounce glasses of water a day, most people most of the time should be fine. You CAN count caffeinated beverages in this total because they do not seem to have the diuretic effect people feared -- it was assumed that they took out more liquid than they added. Turns out that's not true.

And of course if it's really hot or you exercise a lot, you will need to up the totals!

I have stopped worrying about my water intake as far as hydration goes. I drink plenty of beverages during the day. I do make sure to be careful when hot or exercising, and do sometimes feel it curbs my appetite a bit...

[kaplods]

The 1/2 oz per pound is a myth. If you weigh between 128 - 160 lbs, your fluid needs will coincidentally be about the recommended 8 - 10 glasses of water (although this amount probably includes the moisture in food and beverages).

Even with the permanent kidney damage, my Mom's water restriction is now at about 3 liters (up to 12 glasses of water) in addition to food (she doesn't have to count foods unless they're obviously mostly water like soup, milk, jello, watermelon....).

I definitely wanted to share mom's story, but did not intend to scare anyone from drinking a reasonable amount of water. If you have any questions about whether you're drinking too much, or not enough, talk to your doctor.