Monday, February 4, 2008
Water Intoxication
So how much water is too much? How much should we drink? Last January, one radio station did a contest called "Hold your Wee for a Wii" and the woman died from Water Intoxication. Water Intoxication is when the plasma in your blood (the liquid part) becomes more than the other parts of blood and this causes an imbalance with all the other electrolytes. It's recommended to drink between 8-10 glasses, but some say you only need 4 since you probably get 4 full glasses out of what you eat. They also say if you're going to the bathroom alot and it's clear, you may be over doing it. But don't you ever have a day where you feel really swollen....I took a weekend off but I didn't go too crazy...but I know it was a high sodium weekend. I could tell by the way my jewelry was fitting and the way that I felt, drained. So I stepped on the scale and the number was high...but I know, if I drink a crazy amount of water, all that bloat goes away and I start feeling human again. So I'm working on my 3rd bottle of water, hoping to get 5 in today and hoping the kidneys don't freak. I've eaten so that should balance my electrolytes and keep the rest of my body happy...here's hoping that tomorrow I won't feel like a Thanksgiving Day Float!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I can tell you this: right before I moved to Florida, I was getting back to back bladder infections for a little over a year. I am allergic to the antibiotic most commonly perscribed & the ones they were using were not working. the infection would go away & then come back two weeks after I finished the meds. They kept bringing out more & more potent drugs. Finally they wrote a perscription for one that had side effects of compromised equilibrium & strange dreams -- in other words *neurological* side effects. I freaked. Another doctor at the practice had just taken over my file when my regular doctor went on maternity leave. He suggested something more homeopathic: drink an 8oz glass of pure unsweetened cranberry juice every morning & a lot of water all day long to flush my system. He had me drinking 100-120oz of water a day. It worked. I kicked the infection & have not gotten another since. I still drink the cranberry juice & water all day long. Probably 80-90oz now though, unless I feel the slightest indication that an infection could be coming on. 120oz made for many many trips to the bathroom but I never suffered adversely from that amount.
Thanks for your answer!! I talked to the docs where I work (I work in a dialysis clinic) and they weren't concerned. I do have hyperfiltering kidneys though so I don't want to freak them out. But there's a lot of me so I doubt I'd become unbalanced that quickly...and after the first day of drinking that sick amount of water, I don't use the bathroom as much! Cranberry juice is awesome too!!
Post a Comment