Do you struggle to stay hydrated? Is there anything you do to remind yourself to drink water?

[barry-alder]

Yes, my Wife & the water I drink with my tablet doses add up to 2 – 2.2lt per day. We also drink 4 cups of tea and coffee during the day.

 

[fakhiuddin ahmed]

My wife has difficulty in drinking water, she barely sips water to take her meds. She is unable to cooperate and many doctors have complained about her over years. Short of i.v hydration, or perhaps psychological intervention–and she has refused to see one- I do not see a solution. Like many patients it is not possible to distinguish between symptoms caused by P.D. and those caused by her inability to cooperate. Please help with ideas or experience.

[Sherman Paskett]

I have a 2 1/2 quart thermos that I fill with ice and water every morning. I also have a 20 ounce water bottle. I transfer water from the thermos to the bottle and keep it by my side all day long, sipping water and refilling the bottle throughout the day. I drink until the thermos is empty.
Chugging water does not hydrate; it just makes your kidneys work harder and you pee it all out in less than half an hour. Frequent small drinks give the body time to absorb the water. You can add a squeeze of lemon or line or a couple spoonfuls of Gatorade powder to give it a little taste, but for me plain water ice cold does the trick.

[Dave Green]

I also occasionally struggle. Some mornings I rush to pour myself a cup of coffee, but then thinking I don’t want caffeine to interfere with a needed nap, I don’t drink anything. I am getting better at drinking water or juice when I get up. I notice I feel better, and that is helping me build a better habit.

Fakhiuddin Ahmed, would your wife respond to something other than water? Tea, milkshake, protein shake, tomato juice? Some mornings I mix a protein shake with a banana. Good luck.

[neurodoc]

Recent studies for instructions of hydrations declare that 5 glasses a day are enough,lets say 6 for summer.I dont think that there is a difference for Parkinson’s.Having autonomic dysfunction too,it is difficult for excess water being passed.Anyway the difficulty swallowing water is a symptom of the disease well known.

[Carol]

I really did because I’ve always hated water unless it was run through a coffee pot. I still struggled after being diagnosed. Two months later came the diagnosis of being type two diabetic , that made it even harder, ok, gotta buckle down!
It was Zero sugar for everything.  I already used Splenda but from then on, I’ve had some type of bottle in my hand. Propel (peach) has been a major one, putting fruit or a soft vegetable to flavor it with. I still check for darker urine, tells on me every time!  Just make the bottle your next best friend.

[Phil Gattis]

When I travel, I dehydrate on purpose. Period. Not otherwise negotiable.

[Troy]

Yes- I struggle. I try to put reminders on my pc at work. But now I deal with urgency issues (new development- awesome), so my motivation to stay hydrated is sort of dwindling.

[Lyn Richards]

Hey Troy, Actually, although being dehydrated will cause your urine to be more concentrated and reduced in quantity, that concentrated urine could cause increased stimulation to your bladder and make the urgency worse – in addition to all the other problems resulting from dehydration. I know, so unfair! So you may want to drink more and add frequent bathroom visit reminders to the drink-more reminders on your PC 😉 I got some low profile knickers for incontinence (Knix makes good ones for women, & there are several sources for guys), and that helps with anxiety about not making it to the bathroom in time.

[Troy]

Hi Lyn,

Thank you for the info and sound advice! Dehydration is more problematic for sure; I’ll be steadfast in keeping those reminders reminding!

[Lyn Richards]

Fakhiuddin, That must be so difficult and worrying for you (and for her doctors). There are some things you could offer your wife if she has trouble drinking. Will she eat soup? jello? smoothies? All of these contain a fair bit of liquid, and may help. Fruit can be helpful, especially fruits like berries, melons, peaches, and apricots, that don’t have as much sugar in them, but also plums, grapes, apples and oranges. And many vegetables have high water content, like lettuce, tomatoes, bok choy, celery, zucchini, bell peppers, asparagus, swiss chard and cucumber especially, but also spinach, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage and mushrooms.
It may be that she has trouble swallowing liquids like water, and is afraid of choking: swallowing liquids often becomes impaired before swallowing food, so things that are thicker (pureed soups, smoothies, gelatin as well as fruits and veg) can be easier and safer ways to consume liquids. Also, very cold drinks can be easier to swallow, and drinks with flavour. I don’t know where you live, but you may be able to consult with a geriatric nurse in your local community health centre who may have more ideas to help you both to cope with this.

[fakhiuddin ahmed]

Thanks Lyn, I will try that especially since she likes grapes, oranges, coca nut water and others. Thank you very much.

[Sherman Paskett]

There are several things I do that I never had to think about before PD. I keep a water bottle nearby at all times. I look at my urine. The darker it is, the dryer I am. But mostly I pay attention to my mouth. If my lips are dry I take a small swallow and keep that up, every ten minutes or so until the feeling goes away. If my mouth is dry I drink more, but I never chug it. When you drink too fast your intestines can’t absorb it so they just flush it out of your system.
Drinking a lot can leave you low on electrolytes, so I will often add a bit of Gatorade powder, about a third of what they recommend, to replace electrolytes and add a little flavor, but Gatorade mixed to their recommendation is too sweet for my taste.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one other thing I do is prepare my daily dose of water in the morning. That goes into a monster thermos, 2.5 quarts, and goes with me everywhere. I rarely empty it out but it keeps the water cold and helps me keep track of how much I drink. One advantage of living in a desert is nobody thinks it is weird to carry around a huge thermos full of water!

[Fred Barnett]

I keep a drinking glass with a straw in it handy to drink out of when I take my carbidopa/levodopa. I try to restrict my liquids after 5:00 pm so I don’t have to pee during the night that often. I have difficulty balancing my liquid intake and trips to the bathroom when I’m not at home, It continues to be a problem to drink enough and the same time find a bathroom during the day.

[Mary Beth Skylis]

I love a good straw, myself. Do you use one of those steel straws? Or do you keep a different kind around?

[JackieHC]

I’ve used what my personal trainer son calls a “coaching water bottle.” It’s a 64-oz (half-gallon) plastic bottle with times and motivational sayings at intervals. The recommended daily allowance of water is 8

8-oz glasses of water per day. There are many different models available on Amazon.com and at other retailers. I use one with a built-in straw; a wire brush to clean the straw comes with it. Some also come with carrying straps, since it is a large bottle. You can also use a 32-oz. bottle and just refill it. I had a stainless steel bottle ‘cuz I really loathe plastic, but I didn’t like being unable to see how much I had left to drink.

[Kate]

I carry a little bottle with water everywhere. Everytime I look at it, I drink.