[mascara blue]

Hi all

Just throwing this out there to see if any one else experiences this. I tend to get water retention under my skin when I eat cheese or dairy. Its fairly severe so that everything leaves a mark including resting my forearms against the key board as I type. Its a huge freakin' dent!! Its esp worse in my legs and ankles and I hate it!! I also have varicose veins (hate those too) so I think that also contributes to puffy ankles.

Does this happen to anyone else? I am of course not suggesting that all PCOS-ers are dairy intolerant (although I was told by a chinese herbalist I recently saw that I was) but I thought since a fair majority of us are gluten intolerant, maybe others experience this also.

I dont know what it is about dairy. I am on a low carb diet, which is the only way of eating I find that makes me lose weight, stops the sugar cravings and stops me getting post sugar aggression and cheese is allowed. But this water retention thing sucks and I love cheese and yogurt so much that I find going without really hard.

Are there any natural hebrs that help relieve water? I dont want to take dieuretics as I have heard that makes hormonal imbalances even worse and god knows I cant afford for my hormonal imbalance to get any worse than this, but I have heard some teas help body get rid of excess water. Of course I could stop eating cheese, and I have cut down but in times of stress, this is the only thing that stops me reaching for a chocolate and keeps me sane!

[Willow324]

Are you sure you don't have hypertension? and how is your sodium intake? Do you drink enough water?

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

Are you sure it's the cheese that is causing you to retain water? How do you know that? While I am lactose intolerant (allergic to regular dairy; but can have yogurt which is fermented and aged cheddar cheeses), I have never heard that dairy products cause water retention. I know for me sodium/salt does; and esp my TOM (menses) really cause a lot of water retention for me: before, during, and after as well.

One thing that helps me is to put my legs up for an hour; and I do know that beer acts as a natural diuretic, but I only have about 1/2 cup if all else fails. I think any tea would help a bit; doesn't matter what kind. Cutting down or out your salt should help too; read labels carefully. Stay away from processed foods that have a lot of salt & sugar in them.

[kaplods]

I have multiple health issues and when I was trying to sort them all out, my doctor at the time recommended a symptom journal.

I'm extremely prone to water retention issues. I suspected dairy, but for me, it turned out not to be the dairy directly. I would gain a lot of water weight during the time before and around TOM - about the time I would crave carbohydrates, red meat, and dairy.

I think it was a cycle - hormones fed the cravings, and cravings fed the hormones...

Carb and sodium contents, for me seems to be the largest factors.
I follow an exchange plan, and as long as I stick within my dairy and carb "budget" I don't have a problem. I allow two servings of dairy (generally low-fat milk or yogurt) and I can choose cheese for my protein choices, but I rarely use more than a couple of my protein exchanges for cheese.

I find that low-carb eating and fluids are my best tool against water retention. No matter why I'm retaining water, nothing seems to reverse it faster or better than drinking extra beverages and eating very low-carb. If I really want to get rid of the water weight quickly, I'll cut out my starch exchanges out completely, and choose lower carb options for my fruit exchanges. I'll try to increase non-starchy vegetable intake too.

There are safe herbs and foods that have only mild diuretic properties (anything that increases urine output/reduces water retention is technically a diuretic). Celery is supposedly one, but I never eat enough celery to notice if this is true or not. However, I do use citrus and caffeine (from diet soft drinks or tea). I don't know if the citrus really helps, or whether the flavor just helps me drink more.

I make "refrigerator sun tea" using black, white, or green tea bags (plain or flavored). I do this with herbal teas too, but their less predictable in their water-retention fighting abilities. I fill a gallon pitcher with water and add in 3 to 5 teabags. Within 24 hours (usually more like 12) I remove the tea bags.

Often I will add Crystal Light or other sugar free drink mix packets. I used to do this at the same time I threw in the tea bags. Now I usually wait, so I can add to taste. I usually only use 1 tub (the amount usually used to make 2 quarts), but I've used as little as one self-serve packet (usually added to 20 oz of water) and I've used as many as 2 tubs (the amount usually used to make 1 gallon).

Sometimes I add fresh or bottled lemon, lime or other citrus juice.

[KarenBee]

I too tend to retain water. I have never noticed that it had anything to do with dairy -- it's always eating too much sodium.

I keep these around and take them when I need them -- I buy them at Wal Mart, they are pretty cheap, and all natural -- just herbs, no chemicals or harsh drugs.

Sundown Natural Water Pills Herbal Supplement

I have also found that cantaloupe and honeydew melon are natural diuretics. Eating them really works for me....