Why so much water?

[cb867]

It has only 3 wks and I am soooooooooooooo tired of drinking water. I am more a diet coke person. How does anyone drink half their body weight of water?  Why is it supposed to make you feel so much better? I still have constant headaches but that is my only sx. If i could just get rid of headaches I would not feel like I am on any medication. I am so thankful to feel as good as I do. I just need to somehow make myself drink the water or my sx might get worse. I have never been much of a water drinker. Just when I work out
cheri

[Rockerforlife]

The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water depending on body size.[28] To function properly, the body requires between one and seven liters of water per day to avoid dehydration; the precise amount depends on the level of activity, temperature, humidity, and other factors. Most of this is ingested through foods or beverages other than drinking straight water. It is not clear how much water intake is needed by healthy people, though most advocates agree that 6–7 glasses of water (approximately 2 litres) daily is the minimum to maintain proper hydration.[29] Medical literature favors a lower consumption, typically 1 liter of water for an average male, excluding extra requirements due to fluid loss from exercise or warm weather.[30] For those who have healthy kidneys, it is rather difficult to drink too much water, but (especially in warm humid weather and while exercising) it is dangerous to drink too little. People can drink far more water than necessary while exercising, however, putting them at risk of water intoxication (hyperhydration), which can be fatal. The "fact" that a person should consume eight glasses of water per day cannot be traced back to a scientific source.[31] There are other myths such as the effect of water on weight loss and constipation that have been dispelled.[32]

[Rockerforlife]

Much of the universe's water may be produced as a byproduct of star formation. When stars are born, their birth is accompanied by a strong outward wind of gas and dust. When this outflow of material eventually impacts the surrounding gas, the shock waves that are created compress and heat the gas. The water observed is quickly produced in this warm dense gas.[13]

Water has been detected in interstellar clouds within our galaxy, the Milky Way. It is believed[weasel words] that water exists in abundance in other galaxies too, because its components, hydrogen and oxygen, are among the most abundant elements in the universe. Interstellar clouds eventually condense into solar nebulae and solar systems, such as ours.

[Rockerforlife]

A cool documentry on water

http://stagevu.com/video/pohrayspljzh

[Isobella]

Definately listen to your body.  It will let you know if you are not getting enough.  

I am a big water drinker, but don't know if I was drinking half my body weight.  But when I don't drink what my body needed on tx....I could tell.  Headaches, itchies, ect.  

In my experience, there weren't many sx that water (or a walk around the block) couldn't fix....the problem was gettng motivated to get off the couch to re-fill my glass.

Post tx I can still tell because my lips get very chapped and sore if I am the least bit dehydrated.  I live on water and chapstick.

Everyone is different, but your body knows you best =)

[Rockerforlife]

Our bodies are mostly water, yet we rarely think about water; it's as if we don't see it.

99% of the molecules in our body are water molecules. We'll talk about the bones, muscles, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, enzymes, minerals and other nutrients - yet all these compose only a tiny fraction of our body.

Water is 75% of our body - we are effectively walking blobs of water! A 5% drop in body fluids will cause a 25 to 30% loss of energy in most people, a 15% drop will cause death.

[newleaf09]

Carry water with you and drink when you're thirsty.  There is a lot of activity being caused by both interferon and ribivirin, which is using a lot of water and dehydrating you badly.  Replenishing the water is a neccessity.  A huge number of the most common side effects, rash, muscle ache, dry,flakey, itchy skin, dry eyes, part of the headaches are caused by inadequate water in the system.  All of those things come along at some point during TX, for me after the first 3-4 wks.

I stashed water bottles everywhere I went, was so thirsty I would have drunk pond water.  I limited myself to 1 diet coke a day because any caffeine kept me up at night.  Your body will tell you what you need.  Just be sure and listen.

[Rockerforlife]

Im a tea man,cannot drink coffee,it makes me feel nausious,ive tried and tried as like the taste.

[Trish77]

The goal is to keep yourself hydrated period.  If you were eating apples all day long, drinking tea and drinking lots of juice, you were doing practically the same thing as drinking alot of water.

I didn't drink alot of water, never have.  I did drink more water than I was used to however and watched for signs of dehydration.  If my urine started getting darker, I drank more water.  When my nails started ridging, I stepped it up.  However, the colour of my urine was my main benchmark.  And while I say I didn't drink alot of water, I drank copious amounts of coffee as my stomach could handle it.  I couldn't have made it through working on tx without having coffee every morning.  Switched to tea when the nausea got worse but back to coffee as soon as I could.

[jdwithhcv]

I have to agree with HCA and copyman - drink a reasonable amount of water and don't worry too much about the "half your body weight in ounces" thing.  I was fine with 1-2 quarts per day.

[Rockerforlife]

I never drank water at all on TX....after eating apples all day long and 4 cups of tea i had no room imn my tummy,i also drink a lot of juice

[cb867]

Thanks everyone on your input on  water. everytjhing you said makes alot of sense.  I wondered about so much water eliminating some of the drugs. I also take alot of drugs for my heart. I had 2 heart valves replaced 1yr and 1/2 ago. I know my body needs all the meds I take.
thanks
cheri

[Rockerforlife]

1.Ingesting more water than you need can increase your total blood volume. And since your blood volume exists within a closed system - your blood circulatory system - needlessly increasing your blood volume on a regular basis puts unnecessary burden on your heart and blood vessels.



http://www.drbenkim.com/drink-too-much-water-dangerous.html

[Rockerforlife]

Drinking excessive water may eliminate the drugs from your body,its a form og detoxifying,also too muck water is actually dangerous

[Bill1954]

I allowed myself to drink when thirsty on treatment, and didn’t have severe side effects; but then again, I drink a lot of water normally. Why not try to reduce your intake a little, and see how your body handles it? What did your doctor tell you about this subject? Be sure to follow his orders, and not pay too much attention to what you hear online.

Best to you—

Bill

[copyman]

Agree with HCV. Drinking that much water is nonsense! Of course drink pleanty of fluids but not that much. Mix in some juices & gatorade. i did not drink anywhere near "half my weight" in oz's of water and I had hardly any side effects.

[HCA]

Personally I think the whole dogma about drinking copious amounts of water on treatment is nonsense invented by people on internet forums.
When I started reading about Hep C nine years ago there was a guide for patients written by patients which preached about drinking water and the whole thing has stuck.
Just keep sensibly hydrated-I would say 1.5 litres of water a day is adequate.