Anyone else had this problem when increasing water intake?

RobertCotton

My wife and I recently bought smart bottles so that we could start tracking our water consumption. The app tells me to drink about 109 ounce daily and my wife's says about 50. After a couple days of hitting these goals we both started having diarrhea, its nice to be going on a regular basis, but I just wish it was a bit firmer. Now its been about a week longer and still have the diarrhea going on and it smells worse than normal. I keep telling myself that maybe its acting as a bowel cleansing and will go back to normal soon. Has anyone else had this problem when increasing your water intake.

cmriverside

What? No!

That's something else. Buy some Immodium, you picked up some stomach bug somewhere. Never let diarrhea continue for more than a day, it's dangerous.

I would probably see a doctor if Immodium doesn't fix it in 24 hours. It's not increased water.

cmriverside

I would add that if you're using a reusable bottle it needs to be washed daily with hot water and soap. Every day. If you don't, you just continue to reinfect yourselves. I use a drop of bleach when washing my reusable water bottle too.

Don't drink out of jugs in the refrigerator like your milk jug or OJ jug, don't put your spoon in your mouth and then into shared containers like ice cream, peanut butter etc. Spoon out a portion and then don't put that same spoon in your mouth and back in the container. Any germs left behind will multiply on and in those containers

Same with bathroom cups. One use, then throw it out or wash it in hot soapy water.

kimny72

Agreed, drinking a bit more water would not give you diarrhea. Just to reiterate what @cmriverside said, see a doctor. And if the problem did start at the same time you started using the bottles, disinfect them thoroughly just in case.

JBanx256

ummmm...drinking more water shouldn't result in diarrhea. At all. I mean if you were constipated, sure, drinking some more water will help with that, but just drinking more water than usual shouldn't cause stinky explosive poo. Nope. Not even a little bit. Disinfect your water bottles (or throw them away, yuck). If this continues any longer, get thee to a doctor because something else is wrong.

And really, 50-100oz of water really isn't a lot in the first place. I drink more than 50oz before lunch and no issues.

NovusDies

In addition to what has been said:

I would stop using the bottles. I am not sure what makes them smart but if it is a filtration system it could be contaminated.

Also a week of diarrhea can play havoc on your electrolytes so you may want to get some sports drinks.

RobertCotton

Thank you all for the comments, now that we know its not a side effect of drinking more water, I will grab some Imodium and go from there. The smart bottles just track how much water we are drinking, they don't filter the water at all. We probably have not been washing them enough, and will increase that. Thanks again for all of the comments. If anyone is interested, these are the bottle that we bought, too expensive to throw away, unless I know for sure that they are the problem. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RL91TSP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

NovusDies

RobertCotton wrote: »

Thank you all for the comments, now that we know its not a side effect of drinking more water, I will grab some Imodium and go from there. The smart bottles just track how much water we are drinking, they don't filter the water at all. We probably have not been washing them enough, and will increase that. Thanks again for all of the comments. If anyone is interested, these are the bottle that we bought, too expensive to throw away, unless I know for sure that they are the problem. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RL91TSP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yikes. Return those things!

Unless your doctor has you on a specific water regimen you can tell if you are drinking enough water by just looking at the color of your urine.

adlenemomant73

more water intake shouldn't be unpleasant

Strudders67

Don't take immodium for too long. Read what it says on the packet / leaflet. It's good for temporarily stopping you going, but it won't cure whatever the underlying issue is. A week in, I'd be seeing a doctor or at least talking to a pharmacist at a chemist.

nutmegoreo

BC (Canada) government recommendations for home treatment including when to contact your doctor:

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/diar4#hw87342

lynn_glenmont

Where are you getting the water from? Is it from a source that you weren't using before, or weren't using before without boiling?

There's all kinds of places you could have picked up a stomach bug, so I'm not suggesting it has to be the water, but if you got it from a source where you weren't reinfecting yourself, you would typically expect it to pass more quickly than a week. Increasing water and reusing these reusable water bottles are the only change in your lives that you mention. I know there are people who do not drink plain water, other than what they might use in coffee or tea, at all. So if you weren't drinking water from this source without boiling it before, it's something to consider.

cmriverside

I'm just circling back to ask OP if s/he is feeling better.

I noticed that those bottles are $55! Whoa!