Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Could dehydration be causing my headaches?

28 replies

CookieMonster · 19/03/2004 15:50

I have just been reading an old thread about the amount of water we are supposed to drink each day and wondering if this is what is causing my headaches.
I have a headache for roughly half of my waking hours - most of the time it is just a nagging ache (always in the same place in my head) but sometimes it gets bad enough to have to take aspirin. It rarely keeps me awake or wakes me up at night, maybe once a month.
I do use a computer terminal all day but I have had my eyes tested and am OK and surely I would have headaches all the time if it was my eyes that were the problem.
People have always told me that I don't drink enough fluids but I just find it impossible to keep drinking all the time. When I have tried it in the past it just makes me feel bloated and uncomfortable and I need to keep going to the loo. In a normal day I drink about 4 cups of very weak milky tea and the occasional glass of diluted squash i.e. one glass some days not others.
Does anybody know whether dehydration could cause such a problem or should I be looking at other parts of my lifestyle?

OP posts:
robinw · 19/03/2004 15:54

message withdrawn

Original poster
CookieMonster · 19/03/2004 16:02

robinw, my problem isn't finding something that I like to drink, rather it's fitting any more fluid in! Maybe I just need to increase it very gradually so that my bladder and my no-longer-brilliant pelvic floor muscles get used to the idea ...?

OP posts:
wobblyknicks · 19/03/2004 16:05

cm - tea is a diuretic so if you can stop drinking any tea and just drink water or squash instead, your bladder shouldn't be so much of a problem!

Original poster
CookieMonster · 19/03/2004 16:09

wk, yes that is a good idea and I think I can probably do that as the weather improves .. sounds daft, but I hate drinking cold drinks when it is cold outside! And I do love my cup of Lady Grey ...

OP posts:
MrsDoolittle · 19/03/2004 16:10

I get terrible headaches if I don't drink tea. I believe I am addicted (like many people) to the caffeine in tea. If I don't drink tea in the morning I get withdrawal in the form of headaches. Have you cut down since you became pregnant?

MrsDoolittle · 19/03/2004 16:15

Besides, if you don't normally drink lots anyway, you are unlikely to experience problems as acute as a headache and dehydration. Simply because that is what your body is used to.

wobblyknicks · 19/03/2004 16:15

problem is though, that tea will dry you out like nothing else but will also pass through you like nothing else and make you keep running to the ladies room. If you want the caffeine, why not have a little bit of normal coke or chocolate?

wobblyknicks · 19/03/2004 16:20

If you want a hot drink, hot ribena has been one of my favourites ever since I was 5!

MrsDoolittle · 19/03/2004 16:21

Now theres an idea!! I really fancy that now!

JanZ · 19/03/2004 16:25

Why not try Redbush tea? It's a caffeine free South African tea (also known as rooibos), which has recently been introduced into the UK. It's got a wee bit of a smoky taste (but nothing like Lapsang Souchong, which I hate) - but quite rounded. I usually drink a mix of Earl Grey and Darjeeling, but find this quite a refreshing change - and also drank more of it when I was pregnant, when I was trying to cut back on my caffeine intake (but had to get supplies sent from South Africa then! ). As the caffeine is the diuretic element, it might help.

nutcracker · 19/03/2004 16:54

My dp is amways telling me off for not drinking enough, i get loads of headaches too. I can go all day without having a drink sometimes.

I bought redbush tea for my dd once because i didn't want her drinking normal tea, but it was disgusting.

MrsDoolittle · 19/03/2004 16:59

Someone in my office drinks Redbush, it's supposed to have less tannin in it too. Everyone else in the office hates it, but I quite like it. I have just come back after a lovely hot ribena - uhmmmm!

Jaybee · 19/03/2004 17:01

Have to agree with nutcracker - redbush tea is disgusting - dh has it and I can even tell if he has stirred my tea with a spoon that has been in his - yuk yuk yuk. Each to their own though.

MrsDoolittle · 19/03/2004 17:06

Has anyone tried the new Earl Grey with vanilla form Tetley? I really liked it in the beginning but strangely I am going off it - I think maybe it's too sweet

expatkat · 19/03/2004 17:44

cookiemonster, changing the subject back to your headaches. It sounds unlikely it's dehydration. How long have they been going on? I sympathasize because one summer when I was 25 I had a headache every day. I finally went to the doctor about it. He suggested sinus troubles, as even slighlty blocked sinuses can give you a pain in your head.

As it turned outand this is an unlikely explanation for youmy body was fighting a viral illness all summer (I suspect) & at the end of the sumer I came down with an acute case of glandular fever. After the gf passed, I didn't have headaches anymore.

cutting down on caffeine can be another trigger for headaches. As can certain foods. A friend who had a headache every day of her life for a long period went to a headache clinic where she was told to record everything she ingested. She began to see a link between peanuts, chocolate and the headaches. Maybe it's worth it for you to write down what you're eating & when you get the headaches?

Stress can cause headaches, too, of course. And sometimes they just come for no reason at all & the cluster will eventually pass. But it sounds to me like your'e drinking plenty if you feel that your stomach can't hold any more liquids. No way is it dehydration.

CP · 19/03/2004 18:29

Try a slice of lemon in the rooibos tea, very refreshing. Even if lack of water is not the cause of your headaches, you really should be drinking more of it - try having a 1 litre bottle on your desk and every time you finish a cup of tea, have a few glugs of water too. You will find your visits to the loo will decrease as your body gets used to the water.

twiglett · 19/03/2004 18:31

message withdrawn

Clarinet60 · 20/03/2004 12:33

You're certainly not drinking enough, CM. All the suggestions about little & often are great. I sometimes keep a tally of how many glasses I've had. It may or may not be causing your headaches, but perhaps try upping your liquids, then see what happens. The food diary is a great idea too. And it really is true about going to the loo - once your body gets used to more liquid, the excessive weeing will settle. I like redbush, but know lots of people who hate it - like marmite, it's either love or hate.

My mother only ever drinks tea but I put it down to her general dottyness - she still smokes too! I suppose you could follow your children's drinking habits - I'm sure they have plenty of drinks and don't just drink tea!

wobblyknicks · 20/03/2004 13:24

expatkat - not trying to argue, but I get terrible headaches every single time I don't drink much in a day. Don't mean when I've just missed a glass or two, but when I've been busy and have drunk much less than normal. And after a few glasses of water, the headache goes straight away.

cm - don't think you're drinking enough anyway so that's a good start even if your headaches are down to something else.

And glad to see I've revived the ancient cult of drinking Ribena in someone else MrsDoolittle!! If I had my way, Ribena would be available on the NHS, ultimate comfort drink and great when you're ill!!

StuartC · 20/03/2004 14:06

Two things will give me headaches:-
(1) dehydration
(2) decaffeinated coffee
If I avoid the decaffeinated coffee and remember to drink water before I get thirsty, I never get headaches.

papillon · 20/03/2004 18:41

I get headaches - often my neck is out. Have you been to a physio or osteopath. Or even a massage might do the trick if your muscles are tight.

oranges give me headaches... not sure what is in your squash drink.

I like Redbush tea... yup... YUM.
My dh gets weird pains in his arms if he drinks normal tea!

udar · 20/03/2004 21:02

I also get headaches when I am dehydrated, if I feel it coming on, have a drink it goes away.
When I started making an effort to drink more water I found initially I felt like I was going to the loo every 10mins but your body actually gets used to it after about a week or so - well mine did, and I didn't need to go as often.

robinw · 21/03/2004 07:51

message withdrawn

Original poster
CookieMonster · 21/03/2004 20:06

Only just got back to this ... been feeling a bit grotty all weekend - more of a stomach problem but the headaches have been lurking too.
Thank you everybody for your responses and ideas ... somebody suggested drinking hot ribena and funnily enough that's what I decided yesterday I would try to replace my tea with! All the fluid but none of the caffeine or tannin.
I will try and up the fluid intake but gradually so that my body adjusts and I think I may try writing down everything I eat as well to see if there is any link.
Thanks again all!

OP posts:
PipBeckett · 21/03/2004 20:09

It could be lack of fluids. Sorry I only came into this late. I've been offline all week. When I was breastfeeding ds2 I had terrible headaches everyday even though I was drinking my normal amount. But producing milk for him was taking all my fluids so it was leaving me dehydrated. Taking on board more fluids helped me instantly. If it doesn't work straight away, then it's not dehydration.