Gransnet forums

Health

...In the small wee hours of the night

(48 Posts)
boheminan Fri 20-Mar-20 07:47:02

I don't drink enough water, never have, until lately hearing (apart from 'wash hands, wash, wash') that we should all drink more of the clear fluid. So for the last couple of days I've been virtuously sipping away on pints of water throughout the day (plus usual 3 mugs of tea or coffee) making sure I don't drink anything after 7.00pm.

Over the last few nights, since the new regime, I've been up to wee three times a night, and I'm now dragging myself around with matchsticks propping my eyes open and wondering what's worse - being dehydrated or exhaustedhmm. Any tips?

tricia12 Tue 24-Mar-20 18:38:29

apparently if you dont turn on the bathroom light you should be able to get back to sleep easily.the light wakes everything up and makes more sleep difficult .

Fennel Sat 21-Mar-20 21:40:43

ps I already have a big cocktail of medications.

Fennel Sat 21-Mar-20 21:37:23

Thanks Bluecat -
I know I should ask my GP. It's probably angina, inherited from both sides.
But I have so many other minor problems at my age that I can't be bothered with all the hassle of making appts etc.
Thank God I can still walk out to catch a bus to the shops, come home and make a meal for us at lunchtime.

Bluecat Fri 20-Mar-20 15:38:59

Fennel (sorry, don't know how to emphasise names), are you saying that you have altered heart rhythms? If so, you should see a doctor. You could have atrial fibrillation and need to be on medication.

GrannyLaine Fri 20-Mar-20 15:17:47

I'm sorry Notright I don't follow. Who did?

Notright Fri 20-Mar-20 14:54:41

GrannyLane They drank beer!

Chestnut Fri 20-Mar-20 14:30:16

You do not need to drink 'pints of water'. As long as your wee is fairly pale and not dark yellow or orange you're fine. Just have a couple of glasses a day, maybe a third if necessary.

GrannyLaine Fri 20-Mar-20 14:25:04

Edithb I think that has come from something that has been circulating on social media and has been proved to be fake. I was suspicious when it claimed that CV19 was killed at temperatures considerably less than body heat which is utter nonsense. There was something on the lunchtime news and I believe the person who wrote the article has retracted the advice.

GrannyLaine Fri 20-Mar-20 14:20:40

What people don't often realise is that there is a condition called overhydration, leading to water intoxication. Caused by drinking too much fluid, it causes altered blood chemistry and if untreated, leads to death. Rare admittedly, but so is clinical dehydration in a fit and well person.

Edithb Fri 20-Mar-20 14:05:29

A normally sensible person assured me yesterday that drinking warm water every 15 minutes will kill the virus. Two problems with that, it’s not true and you will need lots more toilet roll!

Fennel Fri 20-Mar-20 13:51:38

" It can cause deranged blood chemistry which can lead eventually to altered heart rhythms and can be fatal."
That's what I have occasionally during the night. Any links?
I have to go to wee 3 or times as well but my urine is clear.
Another problem to ask my GP about?
I'm 84.

boheminan Fri 20-Mar-20 13:32:06

I've been mystified as to whether tea/coffee officially counts as fluid intake too. I will try and sort out what, how much and when I drink (it'll give me something to occupy myself with)grin

4allweknow Fri 20-Mar-20 13:25:26

If your wee is straw coloured and you have no health issues tgem you are taking in enough water. If you have a very physical or in a hot atmosphere job then you may well have to top up. We should remember there has been a huge input from profit motivated companies to get us to drink more water. From what I have seen from GC's water bottles on return from school there is hardly any reduction from what they went out with and they are encouraged to drink whilst in school.

Greeneyedgirl Fri 20-Mar-20 13:24:55

GrannyLaine. Another sensible post from you with which I totally concur.
To see healthy people walking around clutching water bottles is totally ridiculous.
I drink so much tea I more than meet my daily requirements grin

Jane10 Fri 20-Mar-20 13:09:53

Yogurt and ice cream count as fluids too. If I have a headache (doesn't happen often) the first thing I do is have a glass of water. That works. It helps digestive transit too. Its not surprising that almost all medical advice re any bugs or infections is keep the fluids up.

GrannyLaine Fri 20-Mar-20 12:57:38

Farawaynanny
I'll say it again. Dehydration is a CLINICAL condition. Yes of course it's dangerous. The facts you outline are true. If you actually read my posts, I said there is a lot of nonsense TALKED about dehydration. And when I referred to drinking according to thirst, I qualified that it applied to people who were fit and well. Not the elderly and the compromised, not those recovering from surgery or sick in hospital. The fit and well.

Farawaynanny Fri 20-Mar-20 12:44:00

Ramblingrose22. Yes, cups of tea or coffee do count. Also, when hospital patients need their fluid balance calculated, all output and input are recorded including ice cream and soup.

Ramblingrose22 Fri 20-Mar-20 12:38:38

I have read that the amount of water each person needs depends on their weight. The averages of 2 pints per day is too high for me - 1-1 and a half litres is best.

I am also confused about whether cups of tea/coffee count as part of this daily total. These drinks are largely water anyway but does anyone know?

H1954 Fri 20-Mar-20 11:58:09

Thanks jane10! We should not wait until we are thirsty before we actually drink water either!

Dillonsgranma Fri 20-Mar-20 11:48:28

I wake up three or four times a night all the time. Due to high blood
Pressure tablets. They make you pee. I’ve got used to it now ???

Gwenisgreat1 Fri 20-Mar-20 11:30:06

I have been told to keep off the caffeinated drinks, which apart from mid morning I have been doing, I've also been drinking a few glasses of water, which doesn't affect my nocturnal jaunts to the loo! As long as I go just before settling down, I'll have one trip during the night, might that help?

NemosMum Fri 20-Mar-20 11:21:54

boheminan I wish I had your problem! I have IBS and I'm almost always up 4 - 6+ times per night. Not complaining - just the way it is. As for knowing how much water to drink Dillyduck is right: your pee will tell you by it's colour. Opera singers have to keep their vocal apparatus well-hydrated. They aim for the colour of hay, if it gets to straw-coloured, they have a glass of water. Getting up in the night might be due to you waking more frequently and not because your bladder is absolutely full. There will always be some in there, so you interpret that as 'needing a pee'. Good luck.

Farawaynanny Fri 20-Mar-20 11:08:36

GrannyLaine. I’m sorry to disagree with you but you are incorrect. Dehydration is dangerous at any age but particularly so in the elderly. It can cause deranged blood chemistry which can lead eventually to altered heart rhythms and can be fatal.
It can be a contributing factor to urinary tract infections as the urine becomes “thickened” and stagnates in the kidneys.
It can cause tiredness, confusion, dizziness and seizures. Many elderly people are admitted to hospital as a result of not drinking enough. The NHS recommends 6-8 glasses of water or other liquid a day.
These are facts and certainly not “nonsense”!

boheminan Fri 20-Mar-20 11:05:36

polnan - that's part of the problem. It's difficult to go back to sleep after my wee-wake, hence the exhaustion. Last night it was c1-00am, c3.00am, c5.45am - with reading a book in between.

BlueSky Fri 20-Mar-20 11:04:09

Well I drink as I have always done but lately I'm up two three times a night, nerves I guess and then I can't get back to some decent sleep. So feeling the worse for it.