"Water Toxicity" or "Hyponatremia". Drinking too much water can kill you!
marymickaela
Posts: 190 Member
I know we are constantly encouraged to increase our water intake, but I'm here to say it can be deadly to overdue water intake. Here's what happened.
Am posting this as it might help somebody else. I started the "Sugar Smart Diet" July 10th and detoxed off all sugar. I only had to stop sugar of any type for 6 days, including fruit. After that I could start adding fruit back in 3x's a day. July 20th I purchased my wonderful 30oz YETI cup and started drinking 3 of those a day on top of my morning coffee.
I hadn't been feeling well since at least May. Had started back drinking daily Protein drinks and vitamins, but it was when I increased my water intake drastically July 20th my symptoms got serious. I started having severe memory problems, difficulty thinking, terrible leg weakness, no appetite, nausea, and many other symptoms. Had already been having blurred vision to the point I couldn't read the TV Menu and was looking at 2 eye surgeries. This had become my norm thou so I was just blaming it on other things. Like "Oh, my thyroid level must be low, or I'm detoxing off a med and detoxing off sugar" and had lots of excuses so never thought it was serious.
Luckily I had my yearly physical 2 weeks ago on July 28th and when my blood work came back they called to say my sodium level was 124 (low end of normal is 135). They said I was in immediate danger of having seizures and had to stop drinking all free water and eat lots of salty type of food.
Saw a kidney specialist 4 days later and he said when I increased my water so drastically combined with some meds I take it caused my body to release a hormone telling my kidneys to start dumping salt from my body and retain water. Our body's cells are spongy, but the brain is encased in bone, thus when it swells with water you start having seizures, coma and/or die. He said I had to drastically cut my water to 1.5L or (50oz) a day and eat a normal well balanced diet.
I also found out what med was contributing to this and the dose was cut in half. When my next blood tests came back sodium was normal (136). The bizarre thing is my vision cleared last weekend and I was able to read the TV Menu after many months. Well I believe my sodium levels being low started going back to at least May after going back to messages from my girlfriend supporting me in getting healthy.
New blood test taken 5 days ago returned at 134. I had been restricting my water per dr's instructions, but after I got new blood test slowly started increasing my water intake. Yesterday I really overdid it drinking 4 of my 30oz YETI's (120oz + my coffee) and this morning the TV menu is blurry again. My kidney dr is on vacation so can't get feedback, but will try decreasing it again today to at least 60oz.
Am posting this as it might help somebody else. I started the "Sugar Smart Diet" July 10th and detoxed off all sugar. I only had to stop sugar of any type for 6 days, including fruit. After that I could start adding fruit back in 3x's a day. July 20th I purchased my wonderful 30oz YETI cup and started drinking 3 of those a day on top of my morning coffee.
I hadn't been feeling well since at least May. Had started back drinking daily Protein drinks and vitamins, but it was when I increased my water intake drastically July 20th my symptoms got serious. I started having severe memory problems, difficulty thinking, terrible leg weakness, no appetite, nausea, and many other symptoms. Had already been having blurred vision to the point I couldn't read the TV Menu and was looking at 2 eye surgeries. This had become my norm thou so I was just blaming it on other things. Like "Oh, my thyroid level must be low, or I'm detoxing off a med and detoxing off sugar" and had lots of excuses so never thought it was serious.
Luckily I had my yearly physical 2 weeks ago on July 28th and when my blood work came back they called to say my sodium level was 124 (low end of normal is 135). They said I was in immediate danger of having seizures and had to stop drinking all free water and eat lots of salty type of food.
Saw a kidney specialist 4 days later and he said when I increased my water so drastically combined with some meds I take it caused my body to release a hormone telling my kidneys to start dumping salt from my body and retain water. Our body's cells are spongy, but the brain is encased in bone, thus when it swells with water you start having seizures, coma and/or die. He said I had to drastically cut my water to 1.5L or (50oz) a day and eat a normal well balanced diet.
I also found out what med was contributing to this and the dose was cut in half. When my next blood tests came back sodium was normal (136). The bizarre thing is my vision cleared last weekend and I was able to read the TV Menu after many months. Well I believe my sodium levels being low started going back to at least May after going back to messages from my girlfriend supporting me in getting healthy.
New blood test taken 5 days ago returned at 134. I had been restricting my water per dr's instructions, but after I got new blood test slowly started increasing my water intake. Yesterday I really overdid it drinking 4 of my 30oz YETI's (120oz + my coffee) and this morning the TV menu is blurry again. My kidney dr is on vacation so can't get feedback, but will try decreasing it again today to at least 60oz.
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Replies
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Why the heck are you drinking so much water if you've experienced what complications can arise? Why can't you just stick to 1.5L - 2L of fluid?33
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Yeah, it's also a serious concern for athletes, because you can sweat out a huge amount of sodium. That is particularly dangerous if you're just drinking plain water and not consuming any source of sodium.2
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Yes, too much water can cause health issues. The amount the OP was drinking 90 oz plus morning coffee would not be an issue for most healthy people. The OP was on various meds, plus self-prescribed detoxes and supplements. Who knows the impact those played?
Best of luck to the OP.24 -
I average 100oz of water a day. It works for me. I also am sure to get my sodium in, am active, and increases my water intake over time rather than overnight.
Yes, too much water can be dangerous but that amount will be different for everyone and how you increase your water intake is a factor too.0 -
Remember around 2007, a California radio station did a contest where people competed on how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom. Despite multiple calls to the station from doctors explaining the dangers they completed the contest A young mother drank 2 gallons of water and died from water intoxication.4
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baconbutt1996 wrote: »Why the heck are you drinking so much water if you've experienced what complications can arise? Why can't you just stick to 1.5L - 2L of fluid?
well that isn't a necessary amount either. The water you take in in food (most of food is water) also contributes to hydration so it is precisely advice about how "necessary" it is to drink litres of fluid that creates the problem under discussion.
Because if a lot is good, more must be better ......0 -
I was all in on your dramatic story until you ended it by saying you have gone straight back to drinking excessive amounts of water and are back to damaging your health through it. I am totally confused why you would even consider going back to that behaviour when it has already nearly killed you. Stop it!33
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marymickaela wrote: »New blood test taken 5 days ago returned at 134. I had been restricting my water per dr's instructions, but after I got new blood test slowly started increasing my water intake. Yesterday I really overdid it drinking 4 of my 30oz YETI's (120oz + my coffee) and this morning the TV menu is blurry again. My kidney dr is on vacation so can't get feedback, but will try decreasing it again today to at least 60oz.
Good grief. Just stop it already.
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marymickaela wrote: »New blood test taken 5 days ago returned at 134. I had been restricting my water per dr's instructions, but after I got new blood test slowly started increasing my water intake. Yesterday I really overdid it drinking 4 of my 30oz YETI's (120oz + my coffee) and this morning the TV menu is blurry again. My kidney dr is on vacation so can't get feedback, but will try decreasing it again today to at least 60oz.
Why? Why? WHY would you do that????? You know it's a problem yet you do it again? Ridiculous thing to do. Sorry, but I have no sympathy for any symptoms you are currently suffering.20 -
This is something that affects one person, I have always drank 60-80oz in the winter and 80-100 in the summer months.
I have 20/20 vision
Doc has never asked me to alter3 -
Oh My Goodness, I didn't even look at this until this morning and didn't realize how many people knew about this problem. So much happened last week it would have taken a novel to tell you. I know as looking back I don't know how a few friends even wallowed thru my emails.
OK, here was my warped reasoning. Physical, July 28th. Was at dr's office Monday, 31st about bad reaction to pneumonia vaccine given at physical (not the sodium), saw NPrac. My dr's nurse calls me back in before I get to leave to discuss low sodium, says my dr. (off that day) called and thinks it was due a my Trileptal med. But when I say "well I did start drinking all this water on the 20th." .Nurse say that's it, you're flushing all the sodium from your body" and proceeds to give me instructions. It was only later Monday I get the 2nd call back that when my dr. found out about the water I was told I had "water toxicity" and could start having seizures at any min.
I hadn't been to the Dr. since March, which was the last time labs were done. It was purely coincidence I just happened to have 2 specialists appt also last week (Neurologist and Psych). See Neurologist for my RLS, but see his PA Tuesday (next day) and she totally downplays entire seriousness, dismissing my Internist's concerns, but says "let's repeat labs". Get a call Wed early AM "ah, you're sodium's still really low, maybe you should go to ER." I proceed to tell her off and she profusely apologizes. Put call in to my Internist. Should I go to ER?
Meanwhile my d is an ICU nurse and has put her cap on. Badgering me "you're drinking how much?" I'm getting non-stop lectures from her that I'm still drinking too much although I reassure her Internist said I'm to drink Gatorade (too much sugar so G2), Propel, or Pedialyte. When I mean lecturing, she's is on me 24/7 she's so worried and says "if you were in the hospital you'd be on IV's with nothing by mouth." Internist's nurse finally calls me back later Wed to say although sodium's still seriously low I'm to follow dr's instruction and ignore my d.
Get in to Kidney spec Thurs (8/3) who explains what happened re:increasing my water combined with med causing my kidneys to start flushing sodium/retain water and gives me the 1.5L instructions. Also says my d was giving me correct advice and my Internist was wrong saying Gatorade is basically water with very little sodium. Of course my d loved that. Takes labs.
Last Friday had my 3mo psych dr appt and he's the one prescribing the Trileptal. Immediately says "it was the Trileptal." Has had it happened to a few other patients, one to the point she was passing out. Cuts dose in half. However, after that 1st initial talk, where my Internist's nurse mentions it might be the Trileptal, I had started to cut my daily dose by 1/4 and so when my labs came back early 8/4 with sodium 136 psych and I were convinced it was due to Trileptal and NOT WATER.
Which leads to my current situation. Last Sunday, 8/6 eyesight dramatically improves. However, how am I to know if it was just the Trileptal, just the water, or both? Most recent labs came back this past Monday 8/7, sodium was now 134 so had dropped slightly below normal. Kidney spec's on vacation and nobody in office will tell me if it's ok to increase my water. My Internist has now turned the sodium problem over to him. Her nurse msgs me my dr did look over my labs and felt sodium was fine, but also won't give me permission to increase water either, must ask kidney spec, who's on vacation.
I never stopped using salt while detoxing off the sugar. I no longer follow the Sugar Smart Diet as I stopped it when this sodium crisis happened. However, luckily for me I had been off sugar products of any kind long enough that I now have zero desire for anything with sugar and that includes: pasta, pizza, bread, and of course any free sugar. I do eat some type of rice and steel cut oatmeal, and I eat a very healthy diet, including lots of fruits, but that's healthy sugar and ok. Have never limited my salt even before sodium crisis. I have continued to lose weight (down 10lbs) which of course inspires me to continue with my healthy eating. I did cut back the water yesterday, drinking only 2 (30oz) YETI's, my coffee, and a Lacroix, so am hoping eyesight improves again. It was seriously bad yesterday after drinking so much water on Thursday. Internist doesn't think eyesight improving is related to sodium and I have call into my Retina Spec. but haven't heard back, but how can it be pure coincidence after months of blurriness?
I reconnected with a best friend after losing touch for over 20yrs in the spring. She's been cheerleading me on my journey to detoxing off all sugar. Of course she was also encouraging me to keep drinking that water. But who knew. I'm now leading a MFP member on and Paying it Forward. She's on Day 4 and we text daily, even posting progress pics. She thanks me for my help, but I tell her that she's helping me just as much as I continue to eat healthy. I look back at how seriously poor my eating habits were and I won't even go there in this post.
Sorry this got so long, but I just wanted to explain my thinking. I didn't feel I was being reckless, but damn that water just tastes so good, esp. out of my 30oz YETI cup, which I think I'm being buried with. I've been so over the moon happy after getting sodium levels stable I just can't contain my happiness.
Thanks for all the great responses and insight. I knew people on MFP would be knowledgeable. So smart.
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After re-reading some of your responses I have to say this. I have over 830 days of non-stop logging on MFP. However, due to past bad experiences posting on Community and getting some really rude remarks, such as "I have no sympathy......." Well, this is why I stay away. But is also why I wanted to give you the full picture of my reasoning. After re-reading responses I do think there was some good advice and insight. I should have slowly increased my water intake, going from drinking very little water, Diet Pepsi's, Sprite, LaCroix to the 100+oz of water was not smart. However, I did have my girlfriend cheerleading me on that this was wonderful. How was I to know? I had never of heard of anything like this.
Please don't judge me. I thought I was getting healthy, but as I am learning more and more realize I also need to be smart. I see kidney specialist the 17th and will follow his orders until I get his permission to increase water or at least not go wild drinking 120+oz.
Thank you! This is what I wanted to hear and maybe a little tough love talk was good too. Sometimes I need a kick in the You Know What?10 -
You started the same thread on August 1st ("Warning to Others...."), but didn't mention Trileptal then. Why didn't you just continue that thread?
Trileptal is notorious for causing hyponatremia, but as you said there is controversy over if your low sodium was from BOTH consuming EXCESSIVE amounts of water AND from Trileptal. Probably both. Nothing is ever really black and white, all or nothing.
You should be getting routine and regular blood tests to monitor your sodium forever.6 -
If I were in your shoes I'd never drink plain water again. Every cup would be doctored with gastrolyte.
....and why the obsession with increasing your water? It. Is. Not. Good.5 -
My Profile pic was taken this week with my 12week old granddaughter, Ellie. Her mom, my ICU nurse d's leave is up and she's returning to work. When my d said to me last week "WELL, YOU CAN'T HOLD ELLIE. You might have a seizure and drop her." It was like a stake thru my heart, but also my wakeup call that this was indeed serious. Also the most devastating thing anybody said to me last week. Not "you can't drive", but I couldn't hold my precious grandbaby? Sodium level returned to normal and here I am 1st time babysitting Ellie, all by myself. Such happiness!5
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I suspect/hope that most people on this forum have enough sense to read through this with the proper perspective, and not overgeneralize this singular experience.
I sympathize with the OP and wish them all the best.5 -
Thank you! I have to add another amazing thing that has happened. Another symptom was severe memory loss to the point I thought I was getting early onset Alzheimers. This week memory's returning and I'm amazing myself and constantly telling my H. That's this person, or that or "you just don't understand, a week ago I couldn't have told you who this person was and now it's just there!!!" Truly feels like a miracle!3
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Not sure what the OP has going with sugar detoxes, all the meds, etc. Hope she gets it figured out. Maybe just taking meds as prescribed by the doctor, eating a reasonable number of calories in a varied diet, skipping detoxes, unprescribed supplements, etc and stop listening to her friend pushing detoxes and large amounts of water would be a good start.
There was a point mentioned about Gatorade not being a real good method to replace sodium. I have read many articles that agree with this. Regular Gatorade is marketed more for a general drink audience. Gatorade as well as other manufactures make specialty products for the endurance athlete and others who need the extra sodium
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orangegato wrote: »You started the same thread on August 1st ("Warning to Others...."), but didn't mention Trileptal then. Why didn't you just continue that thread?
Trileptal is notorious for causing hyponatremia, but as you said there is controversy over if your low sodium was from BOTH consuming EXCESSIVE amounts of water AND from Trileptal. Probably both. Nothing is ever really black and white, all or nothing.
You should be getting routine and regular blood tests to monitor your sodium forever.
I didn't mention the Trileptal because I have a tendency to be long winded, perhaps people wouldn't read this, and felt I wanted to give people a snapshot of what happened last week. However, after reading the responses, felt I needed to give you a more precise account. I've been taking Trileptal for several years, no problem. I was at no time told this might cause a problem. My psych did say at my appt he normally has his patients get regular blood work unless he knows they're under another Dr's care, which he assumed I was. Well, I do see quilt a few Drs due to various health problems, but never for this.
I am also on a lot of other meds. I have no thyroid due to cancer at age 26 so see "Endocrinologist" he tests thyroid. RLS - See "Neurologist". 2 yrs ago started having hematuria in urine. See "Urologist", and of course my Internist for everything else, esp. High Blood Pressure which I finally agreed to start meds in March. Thinking back. When I started feeling so tired and lethargic in May I had many things I blamed it on so started back on Shaklee Protein & Vitamins after reconnecting with best friend. June, still not feeling good. Well, maybe I need to start eating better. So July, start new Sugar Smart Diet and the 20th increase my water. Hindsight is wonderful, but I had no reason to suspect the "Trileptal".
I am just thankful for that already scheduled physical on the 28th, which found the low sodium. As I tell my family and friends "I try not to think of the "what if's"." or it scares the crap out of me. I would have continued drinking large amts of water, sodium would have continued to drop. I'm driving, pass out, killing myself and others." Those are my "what if's" I try and not think about.
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Sorry, double post!0
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If I were in your shoes I'd never drink plain water again. Every cup would be doctored with gastrolyte.
....and why the obsession with increasing your water? It. Is. Not. Good.
I really never felt I was obsessing. Remember I only started increasing the water the 20th and the physical was the 28th so a very short period of time. And I guess my thinking is "was it just the Trileptal?" Thus, the only way to find out is by increasing my water. It was a momentary laspe in judgment and as I said I'll wait to see what kidney specialist says and follow his orders.
I am trying to add a fluid with electrolytes into my daily intake.1 -
marymickaela wrote: »If I were in your shoes I'd never drink plain water again. Every cup would be doctored with gastrolyte.
....and why the obsession with increasing your water? It. Is. Not. Good.
I really never felt I was obsessing. Remember I only started increasing the water the 20th and the physical was the 28th so a very short period of time. And I guess my thinking is "was it just the Trileptal?" Thus, the only way to find out is by increasing my water. It was a momentary laspe in judgment and as I said I'll wait to see what kidney specialist says and follow his orders.
I am trying to add a fluid with electrolytes into my daily intake.
Or maybe not add some self prescribed item to the mix and listen to medical professionals.9 -
jgnatca wrote: »
Or maybe not add some self prescribed item to the mix and listen to medical professionals.
Well last week I had 4 medical specialists all giving me different advice so how do I handle that?
Internist-"stop all free water and only drink Gatorade or start having seizure."
Neurologist-"Oh, you're fine".
ICU Nuse d who sees the worst of the worse-"mom, stop drinking so many fluids".
Internist-"Don't listen to ICU nurse d regarding limiting fluids, drink as much as you want as long as it contains electrolytes and eat lots of salty foods like potato chips, in fact salt all food".
ICU Nurse d-"you should follow your dr's instructions."
Kidney Specialist "Limit fluids of any kind, drink 1.5L of free water and eat normal well balanced diet and d was right and Internist was wrong."
Psych doc-"it's the Trileptal, not the water."
So which medical professional do I listen to?2 -
Are you still drinking a couple Yetis of pure water a day?
Pure water is not good for you.12 -
get them all on a call or email chain and deconflict...when you got all this advice - did you tell them the alternating advice that you got?
were the internists different and 2 trips to the ICU (2 different nurses?)3 -
I was posting on Facebook last week and friends were all giving me outrageous advice. My ICU nurse d is a very private person. She doesn't even want people to know she had a C-Section. However, she reads all the advice I'm getting. Such as "eat pickles, watermelon, or drink Tequila with salt chaser of course" and this is what she posts.
“Everyone, please stop giving advice. Mary is under doctors instructions. Some of the advice I've read here could kill her. I understand you all have good intentions but stop. You are not physicians and have no idea what medications she is on nor what medical conditions she has.”
Of course I wasn't going to take any of their advice and was cracking up and heading to Mexico to seek real medical care, get a cottage on the beach with my own Cabana Boy, drink lots of strawberry margaritas/with lots of salt of course." NO, I was seriously losing it due to all the advice I was getting from all these different doctors.2 -
marymickaela wrote: »I had been restricting my water per dr's instructions, but after I got new blood test slowly started increasing my water intake. Yesterday I really overdid it drinking 4 of my 30oz YETI's (120oz + my coffee) and this morning the TV menu is blurry again
WHY did you go back to drinking so much water, now that you know how badly it messes you up?
The "experts" have told us for years to Drink More Water. At least 64 ounces a day, or an amount in ounces equal to your body weight in pounds, whichever is more. Double that if you're trying to lose weight. Other liquids "don't count" as fluid and are supposedly even dehydrating, so also drink a glass of water for each serving of other drinks. After all, you can't trust your sense of thirst--or so the "experts" claim--and most Americans are therefore walking around in a constant state of dehydration.
Combine that with the "experts" preaching that more than a bare minimum of salt/sodium is bad and we should all Eat Less Salt, and we have a recipe for water poisoning.
Of course, this is nonsense. Science has never supported the 8 glasses of water a day minimum. Studies have shown that people tend to take in a total of about 64 oz. of fluid from all sources, including the food they eat. Studies also show that, for most people, eating more salt doesn't raise blood pressure or overwork the kidneys.marymickaela wrote: »I should have slowly increased my water intake, going from drinking very little water, Diet Pepsi's, Sprite, LaCroix to the 100+oz of water was not smart.
NO. Too much water is still too much water. You don't NEED that much fluid, I don't care what your friend tells you. Listen to your daughter the nurse.
I just caught on to what you said about a psych dr...
My husband worked for years at a state mental hospital. There was an entire ward of patients who had polydipsia (overdrinking), due to their mental illnesses. Their fluid intake was strictly monitored, and they were weighed several times a day, to keep them from making themselves physically ill by drinking too much water.
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deannalfisher wrote: »get them all on a call or email chain and deconflict...when you got all this advice - did you tell them the alternating advice that you got?
were the internists different and 2 trips to the ICU (2 different nurses?)
Yes, I was keeping them all up to speed, which is why it was driving me nuts. I told Neurologist day after Internist telling me about danger of having seizures. She downplays it. Of course, my ICU nurse d is in the loop. Wed - I inform my Internist of the new advice and she responds I'm to listen to her, not d. See kidney specialist and he's up to speed as I've sent all my records and a 2 page letter before appt. So kidney spec says limit water. My d was right and Internist was wrong. See psych dr next day and he was up to speed as he said he got my 9 min voice mail before appt. He says "it's the Trileptal, not the water."
Now, kidney specialist is on vacation and my only Internist has turned this over to him instructing me to follow his directions since it involves my kidneys.
So, Yes. That's why I was cracking up last week.0 -
castlerobber wrote: »[quoteI just caught on to what you said about a psych dr...
My husband worked for years at a state mental hospital. There was an entire ward of patients who had polydipsia (overdrinking), due to their mental illnesses. Their fluid intake was strictly monitored, and they were weighed several times a day, to keep them from making themselves physically ill by drinking too much water.
I have done much research on this and boy have learned a lot regarding "water toxicity" topic. Regarding the mental patients I read that there are people that have a mental illness where they can't stop drinking water. However, that's not my problem. I take too many meds due to seeing a psych dr. I do trust this doc as he's the one that finally got me stable 7 years ago after taking over my care. Working together we're slowing getting me off so many meds. It's a slow process and it truly is a detox process as each time I lower the med dose my body has to readjust. I may not feel well for a few weeks until I stabilize and can make another cut.
Even here on MFP they stress increasing water intake. And this may be well known to many, but sure wasn't to me.
Thank you for taking the time for your insightful post to me.3
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