I'm going into my 3rd day of induction. I'm so thirsty that I find myself drinking between 80-90oz of water a day. Isn't there a point where you can get too much water??


Has anyone else gone through this? Is it normal??



Brandee ~

I also drink a lot of water due to an increase of thirst from this WOE. I average 128 oz (1 gallon) of water a day.

Can drinking too much water harm me?

By Elizabeth Somer, MA,RD
WebMD Medical News Archive



Oct. 23, 2000 -- No. And you are unlikely to ever meet someone who has overdosed on water.


You would need to chug down about three quarts of water or more all at once to come down with a case of true water intoxication. It does happen, but so rarely that I couldn't find statistics on the number of cases. These people become drowsy, lightheaded, and weak. They have trouble coordinating bodily movements and thinking straight, looking and feeling as if they just stumbled out of the local bar. But the water-intoxicated can't just go home and sleep it off. They must get treatment or risk going into convulsions, a coma, or even death.


What most Americans actually need to worry about is getting the eight glasses of water nutrition experts recommend (that's eight 8-ounce glasses). They suggest even more for athletes or people living in hot climates. While it may seem like a lot, it really isn't when you recognize that water accounts for up to 80% of your body weight and plays an integral role throughout in the smooth functioning of your body's vital systems.


It's no wonder, then, that falling short of the daily recommendation may make you ill. At first, you might feel thirsty and tired. Left unchecked, dehydration will progress with a loss of appetite, nausea, tingling in the arms and feet, labored breathing, dizziness, and possibly mental confusion.


You can prevent these symptoms from appearing by making sure you get your daily dose quota of water. Remember, it's a nutrient, too -- more important than any vitamin or mineral. Besides, what could be more refreshing than a cool glass of water? Include it during lunch, a mid-morning break, and even happy hour. Here's to good drinking.


Elizabeth Somer is a registered dietitian and author of several books, including Food & Mood and The Essential Guide to Vitamins and Minerals. She frequently writes for national health magazines and makes regular appearances on The Today Show and other national shows.

Thank you very much for your post.


Before I started Atkins, I never wanted this much water. I just can't seem to get enough water now!


Thanks again!




Brandee ~

I drink a ton of water myself. I have a bottle that goes with me everywhere and a dispenser in my kitchen that I am constantly at filling my bottle up. I probably drink around 100 oz a day, and in the summer even more (I live in Vegas) Currently we go through about 10-15 gallons every 2 weeks in our house.

If you were never a water drinker, when you do start drinking it, your body will crave it and you will always think you are thirsty.

Drink away!

Low carbing seems to act as a diuretic, so its normal that you are more thirsty. I have to take magnesium supplements or I get leg cramps now if I don't due to not retaining water anymore.

80-90 is probably lower then many drink on here actually. Are you having any caffine, tea, diet drinks or suppliments with dehydrating ingredients which can make it worse?

Water helps flush toxins from your body and can help weight loss. For water intoxication you would have to drink more then 80oz, and do it all at once really fast in one setting.

Since you do have alot of water, or get leg cramps as syd, it could be because alot of electrolytes ar ebeing flushed. A pottasium suppliment can really help, as can supplimenting calcium and magnesium.

I have NEVER experienced cravings for water, until now. Just about every diet plan has "drink plenty of water" as one of its foundation stones. This is the only eating plan I have tried where the desire to drink water has increased. On the others, I would have to force myself to drink water.

I was never a water drinker until this diet either, and the idea of drinking water first thing in the morning??? Yech! Now I find myself filling my glass before breakfast because I'm so thirsty. Also, I find that having bacon and eggs in the morning increases my thirst, which I find is a good thing as it makes it for me to easier to chug down those 64 ounces.

i too, have been drinking tons of water. but i figure it's no big deal. it's just another booster for your skin anyways, so it really doesn't matter. congrats on day three! i'm on day eight!

K

Phew... glad to have found this thread and find my experience is shared.

Never been a great water drinker myself but now my mouth feels dry and I have a craving thirst.

The only downside is that one has to control the water input if one is going to an area devoid of loos

Must admit I was getting quite worried until I read these posts.

Thanks for sharing.

I think I'll just move into the bathroom, since I spend so much time there anyway! I don't think I've peed this much in my life - even when I was pregnant for my kids! Good grief!


From what I've read here and on other Atkins websites - the craving for water is due to ketosis. Seems to make sense to me - since we want them flushed out of our body.




Thanks to everyone for their posts!




dalejr8fan ~

From experience I have to agree with this article. Mentally ill people are really the only folks I am aware of that have this problem. The meds they take dry their mouth soooo much that they think they are thirsty, in reality they have a dry mouth. That appears to be what can start the problem.

They start drinking water, then more water. Then they lose salt but they continue drinking more and more water. I'm not talking a glass every hour, I'm talking a gallon every hour at a minimum. I had one patient, Donny, that would get a gallon jug and down it. Fifteen minutes later another gallon jug and he'd down it. He did this all day long.

In my career I've taken care of two patients with water intoxication syndrome, one died (Donny) and the other we were able to maintain by giving her 1/4 cup of salt twice daily in tomato juice. When the doc first wrote the order I looked at him like he was an idiot, how the heck is someone supposed to get 1/4 cup of salt down twice daily. He laughed and suggested I just watch. It was in LIQUID, these folks act as though they are addicted to fluids. He suggested I try it, he was positive my patient would drink it. I didn't believe him and I wasn't about to force a patient to drink juice with 1/4 cup of SALT. Yick!

Can you imagine? A half cup of salt daily? Yikes! The doc was right, she sucked it down. Commented that she really liked it too. For a treat we'd let her have it three times a day sometimes. It took everything I had not to gag when she drank it but she really liked it.

Sometimes with mentally ill people you can't always protect them from themselves. You can lock them in a room with no water (as in this case) for the rest of their lives why they scream because they are thirsty, or you can work around a few behaviors. Giving huge amounts of salt permitted her to walk around freely during the day and live her life as best she could.

Point being, water intoxication syndrome is very very rare. I could only find one doc that had ever cared for these types of patients and he is the one that suggested the salt. Other docs had heard of it but they had never seen it. It literally takes many many gallons a day before there is a problem. It also doesn't happen overnight, it happens over weeks and months and when electrolytes are depleted THEN it is a serious problem.

For those of us that crave water we aren't even coming close to water intoxication syndrome.

Ditto. I have a 44 ounce cup that I keep with me all the time.

Hi
I think you are normal ..I drink at least 140oz. each day.
But one thing to keep in the back of your mind. If you find you just can not get enough to drink. It might be good to go see your Dr. ..one sign of diabetes.
Happy LCing!!

~pattie

Although there is a possibility one might have had diabetes before starting Atkins, and not known about it, surely Atkins would improve the situation rather than worsen it.

The possibility of diabetes was certainly on my mind until I read the assurances on this and other forums that thirst was indeed associated with the Atkins programme.