Overhydration

Lois_1989
Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
Morning everyone!

Bringing this up because it was in a different thread and I'm not going to lie, I wasn't patient enough and did the dreaded google. Second from the top website came up with this information. Now, I'm not gullible enough to believe everything it says, and I'm pretty sure you would have to drink a phenomenal amount of water to achieve this. But have read if your bored, let us know what you think, pick your favourite and discuss :smile:

http://butterbeliever.com/8-reasons-not-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/

My interest is in the following bit
How do you know when you’re overly-hydrated? Here’s a list of common symptoms of water intoxication:

Cold extremities (hands, feet, and/or nose)
Low body temperature
Having to urinate frequently
Peeing in the middle of the night
Headaches
Muscle spasms, twitching
Brain fog/decreased mental clarity
Impaired emotion regulation/irritability
Insomnia and poor sleep quality
Fatigue
Dry mouth (ironically. Usually only in more severe cases)

Now. I have always had cold extremities (ever since I was a child), couldn't tell you my body temperature, I do urinate frequently but I also drink frequently, doesn't everyone pee in the night? headaches (not so much), Major issues with muscle spasms in my legs recently but only after leg day, the following four I just thought was genetic or 'me being me' and I don't get dry mouth. SO do I drink too much or is it ALL a coincidence?

I'm not scientifically minded and I don't have the mental ability to deal with HUGE paragraphs, (or am I just over hydrated?) so keep it short and sweet please. Enjoy!

Replies

  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
    You'd have to drink a lot more water than 8 glasses a day. A LOT more.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    badgerbadger1 wrote: »
    You'd have to drink a lot more water than 8 glasses a day. A LOT more.

    Yeah, this ^^.

    Srsly, what is the world coming to when there are people advocating against adequate hydration??
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    The 8 glasses a day has no science behind it.
    No, not every one has to get up during the night.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    I probably drink more than 8 glasses of water a day in the winter, let alone summer or when I' exercising so I wouldn't immediately assume you're over hydrated and that's the answer. If you think you tick all the boxes you could always visit your doctor and see what they say. That list of symptoms could indicate a heck of a lot of things which are totally unrelated to hydration.
  • Lois_1989
    Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
    yesimpson wrote: »
    I probably drink more than 8 glasses of water a day in the winter, let alone summer or when I' exercising so I wouldn't immediately assume you're over hydrated and that's the answer. If you think you tick all the boxes you could always visit your doctor and see what they say. That list of symptoms could indicate a heck of a lot of things which are totally unrelated to hydration.

    That was my point, is it all scaremongering at the end of the day.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    Lois_1989 wrote: »
    yesimpson wrote: »
    I probably drink more than 8 glasses of water a day in the winter, let alone summer or when I' exercising so I wouldn't immediately assume you're over hydrated and that's the answer. If you think you tick all the boxes you could always visit your doctor and see what they say. That list of symptoms could indicate a heck of a lot of things which are totally unrelated to hydration.

    That was my point, is it all scaremongering at the end of the day.

    One thing that did stand out to me is that I get some of those symptoms when I'm dehydrated (when I know I haven't drunk anything for a few hours and my urine is dark, sorry TMI), like the headaches and muscle spasms, which seems weird, so I'd be interested to know why people can experience those when they're OVER-hydrated too.
  • Lois_1989
    Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
    yesimpson wrote: »
    Lois_1989 wrote: »
    yesimpson wrote: »
    I probably drink more than 8 glasses of water a day in the winter, let alone summer or when I' exercising so I wouldn't immediately assume you're over hydrated and that's the answer. If you think you tick all the boxes you could always visit your doctor and see what they say. That list of symptoms could indicate a heck of a lot of things which are totally unrelated to hydration.

    That was my point, is it all scaremongering at the end of the day.

    One thing that did stand out to me is that I get some of those symptoms when I'm dehydrated (when I know I haven't drunk anything for a few hours and my urine is dark, sorry TMI), like the headaches and muscle spasms, which seems weird, so I'd be interested to know why people can experience those when they're OVER-hydrated too.

    Same, I was saying I get spasms or twitches in my legs an hour or so after the gym on leg day and I assumed I needed to drink more water. lol
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    If you really think you might be over-hydrated ... consume more electrolytes.
  • tycoon460
    tycoon460 Posts: 28 Member
    "all things you’re missing out on if you’re meeting your water needs with water only."

    LOL. WHAT?!? Everyone is different. It's your job to figure out what works for you.

    There is a point where you can become over-hydrated and have all sorts of medical issues like potentially fatal brain swelling, but I've usually read of it happening during extreme situations. Drinking massive amounts of water and not going to restroom for long long periods of time (like those stupid contests to win prizes).

    At one point I was drinking 6+ liters of plain water a day without working out and was still thirsty, then I blacked out and found out I had diabetes. Now on a given day I still drink 100 to 250 ounces of water a day but I'll lose 2-4 lbs in water weight during workouts. So that's my reason to replenish and drink water.

    Don't try to self diagnose on the web you'll just drive yourself crazy. Make a doctor appointment and discuss it with them if you're concerned.
  • SBRRepeat
    SBRRepeat Posts: 384 Member
    I can really only think of a couple situations where over-hydration is legitimately dangerous:
    1. When it's done as hazing and the pledge is forced to drink so much it leads to fatal brain swelling or volume overload. It's painful to consume at that rate though, so it's unlikely some one would do it just because.
    2. When endurance athletes drink too much and are not also replenishing electrolytes. Most long course triathletes alternate between water and sports drinks and many carry salt tabs to replenish the electrolytes being sweated out. Hyponatremia used to be the primary cause of fatalities amongst Triathletes until the long course competitions began spacing their aid stations better and offering sports drinks in addition to H2O.

    Both of these cases are rare and it's SO unlikely for a normal person to experience those extremes that, yep, this is just irresponsible fear mongering.
  • NekoneMeowMixx
    NekoneMeowMixx Posts: 410 Member
    I have a multitude of these symptoms on a near-daily basis...

    Cold extremities (hands, feet, and/or nose)
    Low body temperature
    Having to urinate frequently
    Peeing in the middle of the night
    Headaches
    Muscle spasms, twitching
    Brain fog/decreased mental clarity
    Impaired emotion regulation/irritability
    Insomnia and poor sleep quality
    Fatigue
    Dry mouth (ironically. Usually only in more severe cases)

    I drink *maybe* 6 glasses on average a day... I try to get my full 8 glasses, but I don't always meet it. I don't really drink anything else, either (the occasional glass of milk or tea) but I always have eerily cold hands/feet, and I get up to pee at least 2 times every night (sometimes as often as a half dozen)

    So yeah, I kind of defunct the validity of this...
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    I drink way more than 8 glasses a day with no problems.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    SBRRepeat wrote: »
    2. When endurance athletes drink too much and are not also replenishing electrolytes. Most long course triathletes alternate between water and sports drinks and many carry salt tabs to replenish the electrolytes being sweated out. Hyponatremia used to be the primary cause of fatalities amongst Triathletes until the long course competitions began spacing their aid stations better and offering sports drinks in addition to H2O.

    That's where I'm coming from with this. I actually experienced hyponatremia about 300 km into a 600 km randonnee. Fortunately, my father, who was supporting the event, realised that something was very wrong and insisted I pack in the event. When he got me home, my mother, a nurse, recognised hyponatremia.

    And yes ... it's all about the electrolytes.

    But, you're absolutely right ... this isn't something a person drinking 8 or 10 glasses of water a day while eating a reasonably balanced diet will experience.

  • MissMissle
    MissMissle Posts: 293 Member
    My sister always tells me I'm overhydrated.... so does another girl I work with - I've never ONCE complained about drinking too much water, so I'm not sure why they feel the need to offer me free advice - I drink 5 x 32 ounce water bottles a day, then generally another small one at night (like 8 ounces). Occasionally, the random iced coffee, or multiple beers will also be added into this.

    I didn't read the article yet - but since i started drinking so much more water about a year ago I have noticed that Im insatiable thirsty ALL the time.... like, my mouth feels dry and Im just really, really thirsty. I assumed it was just because my mouth is now used to constantly sipping water.... but....who knows? Something to think about I guess - as for all those other "symptoms" - Ive always had every single one of those.... Although I have been getting alot colder lately, but, I figured its because Im getting older.

    Im still not sure Im sold on this whole idea...but...I guess i should read the article first!
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I suffer from the majority of that. I had like, 3 cups of water yesterday?

    These symptoms are ridiculously vague and are present in many other health conditions.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    MissMissle wrote: »
    My sister always tells me I'm overhydrated.... so does another girl I work with - I've never ONCE complained about drinking too much water, so I'm not sure why they feel the need to offer me free advice - I drink 5 x 32 ounce water bottles a day, then generally another small one at night (like 8 ounces). Occasionally, the random iced coffee, or multiple beers will also be added into this.

    I didn't read the article yet - but since i started drinking so much more water about a year ago I have noticed that Im insatiable thirsty ALL the time.... like, my mouth feels dry and Im just really, really thirsty. I assumed it was just because my mouth is now used to constantly sipping water.... but....who knows? Something to think about I guess - as for all those other "symptoms" - Ive always had every single one of those.... Although I have been getting alot colder lately, but, I figured its because Im getting older.

    Im still not sure Im sold on this whole idea...but...I guess i should read the article first!

    Well that's over 160oz of water, so it could be too much. But then again my dehydration symptoms seem to only go away when I consistently consume at least 12 8oz glasses a day, and I have gotten up to 20 of them. For a few days I was making myself drink about 20 glasses and I had constant thirst, which goes away when I drink less water. But I still need to drink just about 100oz of water, possibly less on work out days since I only count water that I drink outside of exercise (so on those days I'd already be getting 100oz even if I didn't get 12 glasses outside of the gym).
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    yesimpson wrote: »
    I probably drink more than 8 glasses of water a day in the winter, let alone summer or when I' exercising so I wouldn't immediately assume you're over hydrated and that's the answer. If you think you tick all the boxes you could always visit your doctor and see what they say. That list of symptoms could indicate a heck of a lot of things which are totally unrelated to hydration.

    This. ^^^^

    The most dangerous thing a person can do is take a list of symptoms from the internet and diagnose themselves.
  • LovingLife_Erin
    LovingLife_Erin Posts: 328 Member
    A lot of those symptoms can be attributed to many other medical problems. I have chronic pain and that can cause about half of those symptoms alone. I also have to pee in the middle of the night, every night... unless I'm dehydrated. That is due to a medical condition, so it is normal for me.

    Unless you are drinking an obscene amount of water, you are probably fine. If you have symptoms that are genuinely causing you discomfort, and/or interfering with your life, then you need to see a doctor for a diagnosis.
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