Excessive urination

[cz3ch]

I was retaining some water last week and I took an herbal OTC diuretic on Wed-Fri.  Friday was my last dose and Saturday my urination frequency seemed to go back to normal.  Late Saturday afternoon I started urinating frequently again (every hour almost).  This continued into Sunday and I was worried so I went to the ER to get checked out.

They tested my labs and all of my electrolytes on the BMP looked good.  They said I was slightly dehydrated so they gave me 2 litres of fluid via IV and told me to continue to hydrate.  They said the diuretic may not have cleared my system yet and it may take time to get back to normal.  That was Sunday.

Yesterday (Monday) I was urinating about once an hour and to stay hydrated took in nearly 4 litres of water.  I woke up this morning (Tuesday) and am peeing with about the same frequency.

I went back to the ER and they said that between all the fluid they gave me and the water I've been drinking that I'm going to urinate a lot.  Also they said that there's no telling the half life of the diuretic I took and it could take a few more days for my system to return to normal.  They recommended moderate water intake to give my kidneys a rest.

So here I am scared that something is wrong with me.  I've never had this excessive urination problem until I took the diuretic.  Once I took the diuretic (again last dose was Friday) I've been having to go a lot.

Note: It tends to slow down in the evening and I can sleep through the night usually only having to get up once to urinate.

I'm honestly scared to death that something is wrong or I did some damage.  I'm drinking water to stay hydrated and drinking gatorade/eating bananas to make sure my potassium/etc stays normal.  But I don't know what to do.  All I can do is drink fluids and wait for my system to stabilize.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[cz3ch]

A quick update for all.  After visiting my doctor she said that I should stick to under 1 litre of fluid per day until this resolves itself.  I'm averaging 2-3 hours to go and it seems to be more often during the daytime hours.  She said as long as I continue to urinate clear that I'm hydrated or overly so.  I need to get to a point where I'm concentrating urine better.

So it seems that I'm on water restriction for the rest of the week...  I hope that's all there is to it.  This problem is getting annoying.

[cz3ch]

That's sort of what my doctor told me.  He said that I'm compounding the issue with drinking a normal intake on top of what I'm already carrying.  He actually suggested to restrict my fluids to a little under 2 litres until things return to normal.  I'm trying to get out of the habit of drinking so much water and just taking sips throughout the day to spread it out better.

I'm hoping my body balances out soon.  

[warney26]

a cup or two and hour is a full bladder an hour ie that would be between about 300 to 500 mls an hour, most bladders hold 4-500mls.  So its not urgency its simply you have taken too much fluid on board. Plus you still would have been contiually topping that up with the then normal intake.  If you are peeing a lot still, you dont have to worry that you will get dehydrated, in fact, if peeing every hour or so and over 300 mls of pale urine, you are very hydrated!  . You will only pee the waste ie the leftover that the body does not need. The more you drink the lighter your urine.  so having almost clear urine is no suprise given the fluid on board :)  

[warney26]

HI, the answer is simple, the diuretic was what has made you pee so much and then compensating with 4 litres of water a day! thats why you had excessive urination but not before this. lucky you were peeing every hour or you would have popped!  Diuretics, unless prescribed by the dr, are downright dangerous.  They can create serious chemical imbalance - but yours was fine (lucky) and even heart failure!  Your kidneys would be fine, if handling 4 litres of water and managing to filter it through (as must be if weeing it all out so often) then its an indication yor kidneys are great :) anyone with kidney damage would have big dramas drinking that much. The kidneys wouldnt handle that volume and there would like be a fluid build up in the tissues - swelling.  No more diuretics!

[ireneo]

A couple litres a day is plenty. If your urine is turning dark during the day, then drink some more. It's OK to be somewhat yellow. My habit is each time I go to the bathroom, I come out and drink some water. Some goes out,some goes in. Generally keeps a nice balance.

[cz3ch]

Things have slowed down a tiny bit today.  I went back to drinking 2 litres of water and my urine now has some color to it again.  I went back to the doctor to have my blood drawn and my electrolytes were excellent.  The only thing that was off was my ph which was 7.0 which is neutral.  The doctor said not to worry about it and also my specific gravity was 1.015 which means I'm well hydrated.

He said my body has still not adjusted yet and to give it more time.  He also suggested restricting my fluids a bit to under 2 litres until I stop passing so much urine.

Seeing him today gave me a bit of relief but I'm still concerned that I'm urinating too much which may lead to dehydration.

[ireneo]

That's good that the urine is very pale and clear (not cloudy). I've never used diuretics so I'm not sure how long the effect lasts. 3-4 litres is quite a bit of fluid per day. The usual daily recommendation is about half that. Remember there is liquid in a lot of the food we eat too: fruits and veggies, soups, other fluids like juice, milk or tea. I hope things slow down a bit for you soon. Running to the bathroom so frequently must be a real nuisance.

[cz3ch]

I'm putting out a cup or two each time I go.  It's clear when I do urinate so I think I'm hydrated.  Between getting IV fluids and drinking 3-4 litres/day I think I may be expelling excess water.  I'm hoping the urination slows down soon.  I just went 1.5 hours without going which is pretty good.

I've never had this problem until I tried the diuretic, but you would think that it's out of my system by now.  Maybe it threw my kidneys into overdrive and they are working harder than normal?

[ireneo]

When you do go, are you putting out a lot or just a couple of ounces? I know - that means piddling in a glass or measuring cup. But if you're only emptying a couple ounces an hour, that's a different story.

Glad you don't have an infection because that's one cause of urgency. It may be that you're very sensitive to the feeling now and going when your bladder isn't actually full yet. Again, see how much you're going at a time. If it's only a couple ounces, see if you can hold off to 1 1/2 hours, then maybe 2.

[cz3ch]

Also, they ran a UA on me for a UTI/Kidney infection and it came out negative.