Drinking too much water

[Fuzzybum]

My DS is 20 months old. I stopped bf at 17 months. He hasn't taken to cows milk but eats plenty of yoghurts and cheese so not worried about his calcium.
The last couple of months he's been guzzling water/ very dilute robinsons like it's going out of fashion. Hes always had a drink for between feeds etc since weaning at 6 months, but he's really been chugging it down lately. So much so that he has been soaking through his nappy and clothes within 2 hours of being changed. I've tried sizing up, sizing down, and different brands. It still happens.
Through the night he needs changing at least once if not twice otherwise I have pjs, blankets and sheets to wash in the morning.
He wakes for a drink too. He will frequently wake twice a nice wanting water. He easily gulp down half a bottle before going back to sleep. He cries and screams if he doesn't get his drink.
During the day he will easily go through 8-10 bottles of water/juice, and they are the bigger bottles designed for 18 months+.
If he cant find his juice or its empty he will seek out his older sisters drink and guzzle that.
I've taken him to the doctors and they have done a blood test- all normal.
I've tried limiting his liquids but it is so difficult as he is clearly thirsty and will throw a massive wobbler if he doesn't get a drink. He eats plenty and is perfect weight so it's not like hes mistaking thirst for hunger. And if he's hungry he will say so.
I literally can't even take him to the supermarket to do a shop without starving him of liquids for an hour beforehand and changing his nappy immediately before and after. Days out I have to take a spare set of trousers and eleventybillion bloody nappies.
What the hell do I do? Is there a medical condition that causes this or am I just allowing him to drink too much and need to start taking his drink away?
My health visitor is shite and has been off long term sick since he was 10 weeks old and they couldn't give a crap so have not given me a replacement,so its no good asking them for advice.

Thanks!

Back to the GP

Did they test for diabetes insipidus as well as type one diabetes?

They didn't want to test him at all! It was only when I insisted for my own peace of mind. Not sure what types of diabetes they tested for, there were about 5 things on the envelope they gave me. We had to go to a different surgery as our gp doesn't do paediatric bloods.

I was going to suggest diabetes insipidus too. Don't know that much about it except it causes excessive thirst/drinking. Not the same as diabetes mellitus.

I'll have to have a look into it. My GP is a bit crap to be honest. I've been let down by them before when its come to tests etc so if I can arm myself with some information first that may help. I just know that they are going to tell me that I need to cut back on his drinks and that it's normal. 7 outfits in one day last week despite nappy changes every 2 hours!

Agree to check for diabetes insipidus. Is his urine yellow or clear? People with DI don't concentrate their urine, it runs straight through.

Trouble is, diabetes insipidus is almost a diagnosis of exclusion. It should be the last thing tested for once everything else has been ruled out as it requires a water deprivation test. If there's something else going on and he needs to be drinking this amount of water, it could make things worse. That said, diabetes insipidus is treatable with medication

Orange, you may well be right - but that's not to say it's a harmless condition... and it can be a secondary complication of other serious problems, like pituitary conditions.

Its always clear or very very pale. Hes still in nappies at the moment but if he does have any nappy free time he can easily leave me with 2 decent sized puddles within half an hour. Ive blamed the poor dog more than once only to find out it was DS!
Off to Google I go to do some research

No experience of this particularly but it might be worth stopping the ribena. Most squash/juice acts as a bit of a diuretic and it sounds like even a small change would be better than nothing for you.
Blackcurrant can also irritate the bladder, so could be a bit of a double whammy. (or might not be the issue at all, but can't hurt to try)
Good luck

Have you looked into sjogrens? Sorry if others have mentioned this. Am rely ng quickly on the go, but I have it and as a child my parents were always freaked out by how much I drank.

*replying

Headsmart card just sharing this in case you notice any other symptoms. Having been down this road with our son... I'm perhaps overly cautious...

Obviously the medical side needs to be checked but could it be a habit /self soothing thing? My just turned 3yo dd drinks loads and loads (drinks the whole of her drinks bottle in one go, will drain another in the next half hour if allowed to and cries if I try to restrict it. She gets through more liquid than I do). For her it's a habit and often worse if she's bored or anxious. If I only give her a few sips (when I know she's already had plenty ) and then distract her, she doesn't ask again for a while (combined with she's less keen to drain the bottle when it's water vs her favourite squash). I know your dc might be harder to distract but I'm sharing so you know it's not always a worrying medical reason driving the behaviour.

Start measuring all his liquids intake and then go back to GP but do not complain about leaking nappies or soaked clothes.

State that your DS is drinking 1, 2 or 3 litres of water per day and you are concerned there is an underlying cause and want a referral to specialists to rules out diabetes, neurosarcoidosis, hypercalcaemia. Insist to be seen by an endocrinologist

See a different doctor? Sounds unusual

Disclaimer : I'm not a HCP

Make sure to use the words excessive thirst. Bring a sheet with the hours and amount of bottle given.
And meanwhile, stop the juice, even diluted. Just water.

My first thought was diabetes as well. Get a different GP, your current one sounds useless. Document everything so you go armed with info.