Dehydration

[sarahale]

My mums just yesterday been diagnosed with kidney damage/loss of function due to long term dehydration.

Got me thinking I'm fairly active (cycle an hour a day, on my feet all afternoon after work) but I drink very little. I probably need to up my intake as I currently only drink one or two glasses of water and one fruit smoothie per day.

Today I've made an effort to increase had a glass of water with breakfast and one when I got to work but having to force myself to drink it I really don't feel thirsty.

Anyone else not really a thirsty person, any advice?

 

[steve50]

If like you say you are fairly active you should be drinking as near to the recommended daily intake of fluid as you can. I know water can be a chore to drink but you could like myself have various flavours of dilute squash , fizzy pop or fruit drinks (shloer). I usually drink my tea by the pint pot so I'm guessing i am getting my daily intake and then some.
Kidney damage is bad enough and the last thing you want is a UTI due to lack of fluids, I have recently seen my mum go through a nasty uti (urinary tract infection) and believe me when I say it was not nice.

 

[S-Express]

My mums just yesterday been diagnosed with kidney damage/loss of function due to long term dehydration.

Got me thinking I'm fairly active (cycle an hour a day, on my feet all afternoon after work) but I drink very little. I probably need to up my intake as I currently only drink one or two glasses of water and one fruit smoothie per day.

Today I've made an effort to increase had a glass of water with breakfast and one when I got to work but having to force myself to drink it I really don't feel thirsty.

Anyone else not really a thirsty person, any advice?

Assuming you are generally healthy, your body is quite capable of regulating its own hydration needs. Urine colour is the most obvious gauge of how hydrated you are.

 

[steve50]

Assuming you are generally healthy, your body is quite capable of regulating its own hydration needs. Urine colour is the most obvious gauge of how hydrated you are.

Totally agree with S-express on this, I have been a fitness fanatic pretty much all my adult life and one of the things I learned very early on is, if your urine is any other colour but clear you are not drinking enough.

 

[S-Express]

 

[sarahale]

If like you say you are fairly active you should be drinking as near to the recommended daily intake of fluid as you can. I know water can be a chore to drink but you could like myself have various flavours of dilute squash , fizzy pop or fruit drinks (shloer). I usually drink my tea by the pint pot so I'm guessing i am getting my daily intake and then some.
Kidney damage is bad enough and the last thing you want is a UTI due to lack of fluids, I have recently seen my mum go through a nasty uti (urinary tract infection) and believe me when I say it was not nice.

They told my mum she needs to stop her tea habit as that's dehydrating her more. She's now on de caf trying to wean herself off gradually!

I don't drink tea/coffee anyway. Just water, orange juice, squash and occasionally alcohol.

My mum suffers all sorts of side effects but I never have headaches etc. I know I need to drink more so at least that's a start I suppose.

 

[sarahale]

Ah this is helpful thanks!

Just going to go and get myself a third cup of water! These cups are small though I'm guessing 150ml

 

[S-Express]

They told my mum she needs to stop her tea habit as that's dehydrating her more

It won't be dehydrating her as such, as the body will still be absorbing the fluids regardless. Unless she is drinking it by the bucket load, in which case there may be a diuretic effect.

I don't drink tea/coffee anyway. Just water, orange juice, squash and occasionally alcohol.

All of these are sources of fluids - it all counts.

 

[JtB]

That chart can be quite misleading because certain fluids that dehydrate such as alcohol and tea / coffee pass straight through the body and can give the impression that the body is hydrated when it's not.

When I was a youngster I never got thirsty and so I drank very little fluid. I don't know if it was related but I also ended up losing a kidney. Since then I have always consumed large quantities of water and not had any problems with the other kidney.

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry to hear about your mum, @sarahale - I hope that she will be ok.

Another potential problem with dehydration is the increased risk of blood clots. The clots that almost killed me may have been partly due to dehydration on a long journey. THIS ARTICLE is worth reading.

As for drinking more ... I like drinking so I don't normally have a problem taking water in. It's a nuisance spending so much time peeing it back out again!

If you struggle to drink enough, try and find things that you like drinking. I drink quite a lot of tea during the day, plus a couple of big mugs of coffee mid-afternoon. I used to drink alcohol in the evenings but gave that up. I replaced it with a much healthier alternative which I enjoy - 2 parts sparkling mineral water to 1 part of OJ, and half a lemon squeezed in, served well chilled.

 

[mjr]

Just going to go and get myself a third cup of water! These cups are small though I'm guessing 150ml

150ml? That's only just a wine glass with space to swirl! Were the cups inspired by the fruit juice glasses at a hotel breakfast buffet? Can you take your own pint mug in?

Beetroot's effect still startles me

 

[sarahale]

Sorry to hear about your mum, @sarahale - I hope that she will be ok.

Another potential problem with dehydration is the increased risk of blood clots. The clots that almost killed me may have been partly due to dehydration on a long journey. THIS ARTICLE is worth reading.

As for drinking more ... I like drinking so I don't normally have a problem taking water in. It's a nuisance spending so much time peeing it back out again!

If you struggle to drink enough, try and find things that you like drinking. I drink quite a lot of tea during the day, plus a couple of big mugs of coffee mid-afternoon. I used to drink alcohol in the evenings but gave that up. I replaced it with a much healthier alternative which I enjoy - 2 parts sparkling mineral water to 1 part of OJ, and half a lemon squeezed in, served well chilled.

They are not sure if the damage is reversible or not yet. She has a number of other medical issues which probably doesn't help.

Good motivation to drink more if dehydration can lead to blood clots also!

 

[sarahale]

150ml? That's only just a wine glass with space to swirl! Were the cups inspired by the fruit juice glasses at a hotel breakfast buffet? Can you take your own pint mug in?

Beetroot's effect still startles me

I like the glasses because they make me feel like a giant! But not so great for fluid intake..

 

[sarahale]

I'm onto my 4th mini cup!

 

[The Jogger]

I drink three litres of fluid a day, I've been told to do this by the urologist to avoid the dreaded kidney stones that I'm prone too. You get use to it, just lots of peeing.........