Dehydration at 25 wks - nothing works to get rid of it

[kmini]

Hello,

Just looking for a bit of advice really. Almost always feel thirsty. Made a concerted effort for almost a month to drink lots before bothering midwife with it and now i rarely get orange tinged wee other than occasionally during the night. Urine test came back normal so not a sign of gestational diabetes. Blood pressure normal, baby size 'feels' normal.

Added rehydration powder and the occasional sports energy drink for when I'm feeling really thirsty and weak. Get lots of headaches too - mainly pressure headache but sometimes dehydrated headaches too (like hungover heads).

Nothing seems to improve it. Is this something I should just put up with or worth seeking another opinion from GP. I have my 2nd consultants appointment in 3 wks, so i could wait till them.

Any advice appreciated.

Milk is really good to drink to hydrate as the body retains it longer.

Hiya,

haven't had dehyrated-feeling much in pregnancy tbh, but I do sometimes get it in non-pregnant times, where I just feel I can't drink enough. This is always when my diet is poor - ie high carbs and salt, and not much fruit and veg. When I get back on my normal healthy diet, it goes away.

I'm sure what you're experiencing is more complex than that, but thought I'd mention it in case it helps. No idea how it works, but I do know that carbs require a lot of extra water to digest, and obviously the water content of fruit and veg is high.

Worth a shot if you're not already eating lots of fruit and veg and not excessive carbs?

Good luck sorting it, it's a really annoying problem!

I had the unquenchable thirst in first pregnancy. No diabetes just obsessed with drinking. Giving birth solved it unfortunately

Currently feeling exactly the same. The only thing that takes the edge off it is making sure everything I drink is fridge cold or has ice in it - gives me relief for 1/2 hour or so.

How long ago did you raise it with midwife? Might be worth going back to her? I wouldn’t bother with GP as (in my experience) they say ‘it’s a pregnancy thing, speak to your midwife’.

I’ve had my urine dipped and no sugar but I’m being sent for an earlier GTT test as you can have GD and not have sugars present in your wee according to her. I’m higher risk for it (BMI, mum/siblings with diabetes).

Thanks for the replies. @feistysheep I definitely eat more carbs when pregnant so maybe something to look at to see if it helps.

@keyboard 91 I'm not high risk for diabetes , but maybe I'll ask again at my consultants appointment in a few weeks.

Ask for a GTT to test for gestational diabetes. I had no sugars in my urine or risk factors but still had it and was very thirsty. Extreme thirst is a main symptom.

I wouldn’t wait three weeks either. Just in case

How much are you actually drinking though?

Feels like all I ever do is drink water. On a day when I really notice the thirst - at least 3 litres. I also add rehydration sachet to my water twice a day to make sure its not electrolytes I missing. It doesn't seem to make any difference how much I drink on the thirsty days - nothing really stops it. I don't drink anything else apart from one coffee a day.

It's relative to how much you were drinking pre-pregnancy, but I don't think 3 litres is necessarily "a lot". 2-4 litres is roughly the normal range, with pregnant women likely to be nearer the top end of that. Personally I drink 5-6 litres a day but that's normal for me and hasn't changed too much since pregnancy, so it hasn't been suggested to me that I'm at any additional GD risk. So I would just try increasing your intake as a first step, and properly recording the times of day you drink / feel dehydrated to ensure your drinks are suitably spread out. I find I need a lot before I go to bed and through the night in order to feel hydrated the next day, which is frustrating as then I need to get up to go the toilet in the night even more.

Thanks @PurpleCurtain. I am so impressed that you drink that much water. I literally wouldnt be able leave the house if I drank that much water - I'd be permanently busting. Ill try and up it more again.