Feeling Better When Drinking Less...?

[Goschi]

Hi everybody,

I couldn't believe when I noticed that my POTS was better on days when I was definitely not drinking enough (=only about 1 liter).

I always thought this must be a strange coincidence. However, I recently decided to give it a try and drank very little for the last 4 days. My POTS didn't get worse at all, I would say that I feel somehow "better" in general.

I really don't know what to do about this - according to what I know about POTS, it should be impossible. Could it mean that I have actually to high blood volume...?

Thanks for any ideas and wish you all a pleasant weekend!

[Katybug]

I find the same thing. When I try to drink a lot, and I'm not thirsty, I have severe polyuria and seem to urinate more than what I take in. If I drink only what my body craves, which isn't very much, I don't actually urinate very much and I tend to feel better. The only thing I can guess in my case is that my urine output is determining how dehydrated I get. Somehow drinking less seems to trigger my body to retain more fluid.

[srb]

Yes! The more I drink sometimes, the worse I feel - I'm quite rarely thirsty and drinking water especially makes me feel bleh. I have been confounded by this issue. If I drank anywhere near what I am supposed to, I would be in the bathroom all the time.

[Becia]

I have a very hard time drinking what the doctors want me to drink, which is "just 2-1/2 liters". Yeah, just that much... I get so full on fluids, that I end up not wanting food, so getting the right nutrition in me has been a load of fun. As for feeling better if I drink less, I know nausea wise, I do feel better, symptom wise I'm still about the same either way I go. I do try to make sure I have something with me at all time, but trying to force myself to drink 44 ounces of water before I get out of bed, I no longer force myself, because then I'm just sick the rest of the day. I can't even drink the 16 ounces they say to drink before getting up. As it is, all this fluids just goes right through me, and I can't see how drinking so much is supposed to be helpful if I can't retain any of it.

Somedays I can drink more, some days I drink less. Today is probably a more day, as I've already drank probably over 50 ounces? Now, I've only been able to eat one Belvita soft biscuit (I'm kinda addicted to these), and a chicken Cesar wrap from Wendy's, but I've drank a lot because I got a lemonade at Wendy's, as well as drank some water when I got up, and some homemade electrolyte drink after I worked out this morning.

[Freaked]

That may be due to salt balance; you may be flushing out salt and lowering your BP when you drink too much water. Have you been monitoring your BP to see if it makes a difference to it?

[Chaos]

I have noticed the same thing. Monitoring salt intake along with fluid intake and checking BP and all kinds of various combinations. I'm not convinced that for me personally drinking a lot and increasing salt helps my symptoms

[Becia]

On days I drink a lot, I try to make sure I'm getting a good amount of electrolyte rich drinks in me, although my doctor at Cleveland clinic was adamant that I drink that much in just pure, unadulterated water. I finally told her we are gonna have to compromise because just that much fluid makes me sick period, so she finally accepted that I alternate water with Gatorade and my electrolyte mix (which is lemon juice, lime juice, water, salt, and a little bit of sugar to take the edge off, or else it's really strong). I also try to drink some orange juice every day, or every other day depending on my stomach.

I need to get back to checking my bp at home a bit better. Just replaced the batteries in my machine, and checked it because I flat out feel like bleh, and it was 160/101 with a hr of 108. No wonder I have a bad headache right now.

[Lethargic Smiles]

If you want to look into the reason for this further, maybe you should do a 24 hour urine collection to determine you sodium levels when you are fluid loading. I thought there was no way I wasn't getting in enough salt, but sure enough, I wasn't. What I did take in wasn't enough so rather than helping me hold on to water, it was just getting washed out by all of the fluids.

[Goschi]

That may be due to salt balance; you may be flushing out salt and lowering your BP when you drink too much water. Have you been monitoring your BP to see if it makes a difference to it?

Thanks Freaked, interesting point indeed! I don't know about the salt balance. I just noticed that drinking less would sometimes let my bp drop - which is actually not bad for me, as mine is mostly a but too high. I got the feeling that drinking much would raise the bp further, but I'm not sure if this connection can actually exist.

[yogini]

If you felt better over a few day period, it could have been the water intake or something else you were doing. it is really hard to know,

Salt and water are recommended because a lot of POTS patients have low BP and/or low blood volume. Salt makes the body retain more fluid and when you drink more water after having salt, your BP and blood volume can increase. If you have high BP, instead of low BP, this may not be the right path for you. I would talk to your doctor to confirm.

[Susan3]

I'm glad to see this topic on the forum! About 6 months ago my doc said I should stop drinking the over 2liters of water I was downing daily and instead just drink when I am thirsty (like a normal person:) ). He said to continue to keep my salt intake on the high side. I'm surprised about how much reducing my water intake has helped. In particular my cold hands and feet have maintaned a more normal temp. So now instead of forcing down a ton of water every day, I drink when I need to- which is probably about 4-6 8oz per day.

[Alison]

I've been thinking about this subject too over the last few days. I had a blood test and my GP said my sodium level is low. I can't believe it after all the salt I've been taking. My other electrolytes were fine. My GP is not interested in my health and gave me no advice. She commented that they see it a lot in older people. I might have said to her that I as I am only 45 it's not right. What I've been thinking is I'm drinking too much water, my body can't cope it. I feel my body can't balence fluids - I drink and it goes straight through me. Now I think about it I notice I feel bad after I've drunk a lot, sometimes. I think this is the crux of all my health problems - my body can't balence fluids. I've decided to go easy on the fluids - to try to only drink when I'm thirsty, and take smaller drinks. Is there a doctor who specialises in this kind of thing?

[yogini]

I've heard 8-10 glasses of water recommended for healthy people. If you are otherwise healthy, drinking that amount shouldn't be washing out your electrolytes; going way above that could.

If you think water is messing with your fluid balance, you could try an electrolyte drink instead. You could also look into getting your kidneys tested.

[Alison]

I drink an electrolyte drink before and after exercising. I have tried it at other times and found the next day I woke up with a headache. As my blood test showed my other electrolytes were ok, I figured it was best to stick to adding salt to my diet rather than increasing my consumption of all electrolytes. But no idea if tat is right.

[Lethargic Smiles]

FYI since it is related -- The Autonomic Neurologist at Mayo said the best way to figure out how I am doing with sodium intake is to a do a 24 hour urine collection as the blood test isn't very accurate in determining how the body is doing overall -- it is just a snapshot. My blood tests said my sodium was perfect, but the 24 hour urine collection revealed I actually was below range. He recommended patients fluid loading repeat the collection every 6 months or so and adjust accordingly.