I've got a drinking problem.........

[soberholic]

This is a weird one, but surely other people are like this, and hopefully other people will help me out of this but..........plain water doesn't stop me being thirsty. I have to drink diet drinks all day long, either fizzy or non fizzy.

I've done a Vipassana course (a meditation retreat which is pretty difficult and includes only drinking water (some coffee or tea allowed) for 10 days, and I was thirsty for the WHOLE time. It's bizarre. I had my husband meet me at the end of the course with diet cola!

1. I do drink water also.
2. I drink coffee in the mornings - that's not ever going to change.
3. I drink about 5 to 6 litres of fluid every day, so it's definitely too much.

I want to cut the 'habit', but when I keep to just water it feels like genuine, extreme thirst. I tried to keep to water yesterday, but I became 'thirsty' and upon getting home my hubby bought a load of drinks for me (non caffeine or sugar drinks, like diet orange soda etc) - at my request.

So I'm back to square one. What is this? I don't have diabetes, my weight is fine (BMI 19), any ideas?

You need to speak to a GP. It's usually a symptom of something else and not always diabetes.

Sounds like you're 'addicted' to an ingredient. As you're not dehydrated second GP.

It sound more that you are craving the sugar rather than the liquid

Water without electrolytes doesn’t necessarily quench thirst

Do you add / take electrolytes?

Other than that, you’ll need to see a GP because that amount of water is not good

What does thirst feel like for you? I'm asking because I guess a way forward for you might be to try and experience a difference between the authentic thirst of dehydration and whatever craving it is that fizzy diet drinks generate.

Do you feel the "thirst" in your mouth? Perhaps the diet drinks have an effect there that mimics thirst?

Or perhaps the problem is that water alone wouldn't be able to tempt you to drink your current excessive quantities, so the "thirst" is an absence of the stomach-filling feature of your current high-consumption?

Could it be a sensory seeking behaviour?

That's my own impression to a degree, but I don't think it's only that.

In the past I've run marathons, and at the end all I want is water. I drink it and it feels great.

During non-marathon times, to get that same 'quench' moment, I need a diet coke or diet fanta like drink (so not necessarily caffeine). Water doesn't cut it.

It's not boredom, but thank you for the suggestion. :)

I think it's not actual thirst but you're craving something you only get from those drinks. Sweeteners are very harmful so I'd really try to break the habit.

I'm hoping for advice on how to do that

Do you think you could be confusing thirst and hunger signals? You are at the lower end of the bmi scale, maybe your body is trying to make you eat more which is why you get the satisfaction from things containing sugar/artificial sugar not water? Because you're actually hungry not thirsty.

I read yesterday that carbonated drinks are the hardest fluids on your kidneys so you should really try to cut back, 5-6 litres is a lot!

Have you tried adding squash or fruits to your water to give it some flavour?

You could try fizzy water with squash as a transition. Blackcurrant high juice tastes like fizzy ribena 🙂 But this would eliminate some of the addictive nasties while you wean off. Getting to fizzy water only would be a win

That's a strategy - mixing juice with fizzy water. But surely the amount I drink would lead to a lot of weight gain, I'll try it though

That sounds like a good plan - a very gradual transition starting with things that are nearly like the carbonated fizz (but less unhealthy) and moving slowly toward fizzy water.

I'm sure the manufacturers of these drinks work hard at creating an addictive feature. I find that the sweetness and syrupyness of them kind of dries my mouth out, so that (if I didn't find them broadly disgusting!) I would want to keep on drinking. Perhaps that is deliberate on their part.

I wonder if having sugar in the drinks would help you cut back though. At the moment I am wondering if you see diet drinks as ‘free’ in weight management terms (even though in those quantities especially they aren’t free in health terms).

Some other possibilities include fizzy water with a big squeeze of lime or lemon juice and plenty of ice. Better for you than sugary stuff but more flavour than plain water

You've hit a spot too, thanks 😊.

Right, I'm going to go at this hard for the next week, I'll get something for electrolytes too to cover @hamstersarse 's hypothesis.

I broke my fizzy pop habit by drinking fizzy water from the fridge, had to be cold! Good luck

I have days like this.

I drink loads like you (not quite as much though) and sometimes the only thing that cuts it is Diet Coke or similar.

Those are the days I've had a sugar overload either that day or day before.

Some great ideas on here. Fizzy water with slices of lemon and ice is great alternative

Are the fizzy drinks you consume brand names (aspartame) or off brand (acesulfame K) ? If you are finding you are never quenched and consuming 5/6 litres of fluid a day diabetes is an obvious possibility but blood tests for aspartame poisoning wouldn't hurt either. Better to be sure before prolonged damage.

Sparkling water with fruit juice is a good alternative.

Did you feel really clever and funny when you made that post title?

I love a diet coke, and at one point was drinking a couple of litres a day. My fix is a bottle of squash on the go, with ice cubes in. I'm now down to around 2l of coke per week.

You drink 5-6 litres of fizzy pop every day? Jesus. You really need to get on top of this and just stop that.