Water help

kcaffee1

Anyone have suggestions on how to get water to stick around long enough to actually do me any good? It sounds weird, but with the way my body processes water, it literally is 1 quart in, 3 quarts out. And, right now, my hands look and feel like alligator paws. I don't typically use any kind of lotion, but between the chlorine in the pool at school and the cold weather, I'm drying out big time. Normally, I would add anything to the water to help slow the process down, but everything I've tried so far hasn't worked this time. I didn't realize until tonight just how bad of a spiral I was on until I checked my liquid stash, and found I'm down to my last bottle of soda, and I just got these on Monday for the week. Not a good thing.

Ginger + water - runs through in under an hour
cut fruit juice (about half strength) - gone in about an hour and a half max
Juice flavored water - get out of my way to the restroom, I'll run you over
Black tea - that lasts a while, but don't want the caffeine diuretic

The only thing that seems to stay with long enough is carbonated stuff, but right now I need to cut out fizzies until I can get the hydration re-established.

Any suggestions?

RaineyLaney

Are you sure you are dehydrating? Or could it just be your body trying to rid yourself of all the excess water from all the sodium you were eating/drinking?

Have you checked with your doctor. They can run tests to see how high your sodium level is in your system. I could just be your body shedding the extra fluids and you thinking it is what your drinking.

LauraDotts

As long as your urine is pale yellow or almost clear you are not dehydrated. In fact, you are hydrated. If it is dark yellow, then drink more water. It is normal to urinate a lot when well hydrated because your body no longer needs to hold on to it. It is also getting rid of toxins and waste.

If your soda contains caffeine, then it is acting as a bit of a diuretic. Your skin looking wrinkly is due to weight loss and your body ridding itself of water weight (edema) which is a good thing.

The dry skin is probably due to chlorine. Adding coconut oil to your diet and on your skin might help. Another trick is to shower right before getting into the pool. Your skin is like a sponge. If it is already full of plain water from the shower it will soak up less chlorinated water in the pool. Same with your hair.

kcaffee1

Laura, thanks for the reminder about the urine. Yeah, it's clear... most of the time. Gets REALY dark when I switch to water or the first few glasses of black tea. Didn't know about the coconut oil, and I'll have to try that. Same with showering right before I swim. Anything to help with the chapped hands!

Rainey, I say "dehydrated" for me when my lips start chapping, and I'm guzzling liquids. But, usually I'm drinking so much that it really doesn't have time to stick around. It's just worse with straight water. (Not to mention, I truly dislike the taste of city tap water, which is part of why I don't do well getting it down.)

Switched my normal soda/carbonated water ratio today, and it has helped a little. But, I also missed the pool today too. It closed at one, so I just basically jumped in, got wet, and slunk back to the locker room to shower and change.

LauraDotts

Rainey, I say "dehydrated" for me when my lips start chapping, and I'm guzzling liquids. But, usually I'm drinking so much that it really doesn't have time to stick around.

Have you been diagnosed or checked for diabetes?

jsiricos

Get a Brita jug and keep it full in the fridge, that'll help the taste, I cant drink straight tap water.

I couldn't do straight water to start either, and I was in the bathroom constantly.

I got those little plastic lemon/lime from the grocery store, and added a squirt to my glass to give it a slight flavor, Now I'm fine with lots of plain Brita water.

Just because you are going to the bathroom constantly, does not mean it's not staying around, what you are taking in, doesn't literally run straight out, it pushes out the previous water, that has picked up the stuff you dont need floating around your body.

A good test for hydration - pinch the skin on your arm, or the back of your hand, it should go straight back (nice and elastic), if it doesn't rebound pretty sharpish, you are dehydrated.

I can tell when I am, by the sahara desert feel in my mouth and the way it feels when I drink, like I just poured a glass of water down my insides and its reached my toes!

All your bodies cells, especially your brain, need to marinate in water, my son didn't get that concept, he ended up having a seizure. At the hospital his pee was like tea, and the Drs said, his brain shut down due to lack of necessary fluids.

Don't be like him, you are doing awesome just by trying, keep it up, its not an overnight process.

Try and get off the tea too - sorry My urologist told me the 2 biggest factors of kidney stones, are tea (I'm english!) and dehydration

Sweets1954

What kind of soda are you drinking? Is it plain soda water or diet soda? The chemicals in diet soda aren't necessarily all that good for you and I have been reading a lot about how the artificial sweeteners in diet soda cause you to crave sweet things and are actually causing more weight gain. I do, at times, add a bit of lemon or lime to my water or add a 1/4 cup of cranberry juice to a gallon of water and sip on that just to add some taste. You might try drinking some of the herbal teas instead of black tea all the time. I'm not English but I picked up the tea habit when I lived there many years ago. I wouldn't worry about going to the bathroom a lot, it's your bodies way of getting rid of the excess water and flushing out the toxins that build up in your body.

kcaffee1

@ Laura - Yes, I've been diagnosed with T2. Arguing with blood sugars all ready because of the way I react to meds. Rainey and DK are helping with that. But, you are welcome to chime in too.

@ jsiricos - I do make my own herbal teas from time to time, but just haven't managed to recently. And, even when I add something to the water, most times the taste of city tap water still bleeds through. What I get for growing up on an artisan well out in the country. And, even then, when they flourinated the tank, it would take a couple of weeks for the taste to fade. I'm working my way over to the bottled water from the store, but finding someone who actually sells the reverse osmosis water at a reasonable price around here is hard. If it's more than $1.00 per bottle, I don't get it, because I go through so much every day.

@Sweets1954 - It's all diet soda - almost exclusively Diet Dr. Thunder. Can't stand the other stuff, not even the old fall back of Diet Coke. Now, if there isn't any Diet Dr Pepper, I get tea. And, I love the herbals teas, for the most part. Again, it is the cost effectiveness that drives the selection there, or store selection. Our town isn't very big, so sometimes selection gets a little limited and costly.

LauraDotts

@ Laura - Yes, I've been diagnosed with T2. Arguing with blood sugars all ready because of the way I react to meds. Rainey and DK are helping with that. But, you are welcome to chime in too.

One of the symptoms of diabetes is excessive thirst. If your blood sugar levels are running high that could explain your constant thirst.

jaygreen55

@ Laura - Yes, I've been diagnosed with T2. Arguing with blood sugars all ready because of the way I react to meds. Rainey and DK are helping with that. But, you are welcome to chime in too.

One of the symptoms of diabetes is excessive thirst. If your blood sugar levels are running high that could explain your constant thirst.

It could well be that you're blood sugar is high causing you to urinate excessively. You should buy some strips to check to see if you're spilling glucose in your urine which occurs whenever your BG exceeds 180 plus or minus if your kidneys are healthy and lower if you have kidney damage. They are available at any pharmacy and are inexpensive and easy to use

djshari

@ Laura - Yes, I've been diagnosed with T2. Arguing with blood sugars all ready because of the way I react to meds. Rainey and DK are helping with that. But, you are welcome to chime in too.

One of the symptoms of diabetes is excessive thirst. If your blood sugar levels are running high that could explain your constant thirst.

It could well be that you're blood sugar is high causing you to urinate excessively. You should buy some strips to check to see if you're spilling glucose in your urine which occurs whenever your BG exceeds 180 plus or minus if your kidneys are healthy and lower if you have kidney damage. They are available at any pharmacy and are inexpensive and easy to use

These were my thoughts too. It doesn't sound right that your pee is only dark when you drink water. That just doesn't make sense at all.

You say people here are helping you with your blood sugars because of reactions to medication but unless I missed it... no one here is a doctor. You should be taking this up with your doctor. We can all give suggestions (or receive them for that matter) on different ways to reduce high blood sugar but after reading this and your other post you clearly need to talk to a professional.

Having dry skin or chapped lips etc doesn't necessarily mean you are dehydrated and even if you are it's not the water doing it, it's probably something else in your diet. I've been sick off and on since the new year and increased my fluid intake a lot and still had dry skin especially on my hands and face and chapped lips etc. Some days I felt like I hadn't gotten enough in so I would drink down some water pretty quickly and then I was in the bathroom a lot more than usual. This does not mean I was dehydrated though to be honest it did feel like it

I would take everything you told us to your next doctors appointment along with your food log and bs readings. Hope you feel better soon... it seems like I am putting on lotion and lip balm every five minutes even though I get plenty of water. It is annoying sometimes but it's winter - it's dry - it happens.