Thursday, February 26, 2009

Drinking Problem

My dad has a disease called diabetes insipidus, a condition where his body doesn't control the intake of water and instead sends it straight through. For years, to keep from getting dehydrated, he had to drink lots and lots of water throughout the day and night, just to keep it in his system. Because it is a very rare illness, the medication has been somewhat experimental on him. When they first started him on it, Dad made himself very sick by keeping the fluids coming in while the medicine prevented them from going out, and landed himself in the hospital a few times over Christmas vacation 1994. He joked after that about his drinking problem. Mine is the polar opposite.

Something odd about me is that I hate to drink. We've all been told to drink 8 glasses of water every day, but I usually make it to half that. And my first drink of water is frequently after 5 pm. Even if thirsty, I don't like to drink. It's not that I'm filling up on other beverages; the only other liquid consumed during the day is a small amount (1/2 cup?) of milk or grapefruit juice at breakfast. At restaurants, I almost always order water, since any drink isn't really worth the calories to me. The only exception would be hot chocolate, chocolate milk, or a shake, and those are kind of in the dessert category, where I'd usually rather have something I don't down in seconds. Ironically, the hardest thing to fast from is water.

I didn't realize my drinking habits were strange until my wonderful neighbor came over with her giant happy hour from Sonic, diet coke with vanilla or cherry or whatever it is and she said she only ever has that after she drinks 64 oz of water. Of course I was thinking, Wow, I would be completely waterlogged, because I am not getting that much liquid in my day. But I know I should be drinking water and am trying to do better.

8 comments:

Liesl said...

Ah. I also despise drinking. I'm not a fan because I hate the feeling of liquid sloshing around and having to use the bathroom constantly. I could never become an alcoholic because I can't even enjoy drinking water.

Kent said...

How is she not just living in the bathroom with all that drinking? I don't drink that much, either. There's this dude at work who walks around AT ALL TIMES with his water bottle, and can't go 15 seconds without drinking from it. "Dude, I'm hydrating. It's good for you." I told him it was annoying to try and have a professional conversation with someone who's drinking every 2 words.

Brian said...

WHAT?! Wait a minute...we're supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day?! How come nobody told me? Was I not paying attention all through my public schooling?!

Heidi @ Honeybear Lane said...

It's ironic that so many people in our family struggle with drinking water. Maybe it's because we just assumed that it was Dad's duty to drink all the water in the world.

I've been trying really hard to drink more water lately, but I can't even drink a whole glass at once unless I'm really really thirsty. That usually happens at night, so that I can conveniently be up all night in the bathroom.

Flem said...

Do you dislike the taste of water? Maybe you have never had good tap water. I think Orem water is not that good personally so perhaps it is just that you have never had the cool, crispy water that they have down in Provo or the Sierra Nevada special blend from Cali.

gary_hansen@byu.edu said...

In my opinion it is not necessary and may even be harmful to drink 2 qts of water every day. Remember that the food you eat contains a high percentage of water, which you should count in your daily quota. The only time I drink a lot is when I go out to eat. I believe I drink a lot at restaurants because they salt their food more heavily than I do. Dad had to go to the hospital when he had drunk 3 qts of water--not that much more than 2 qts.

Paula said...

I also do not enjoy drinking much--which has nothing to do with the taste--but when I feel a bladder infection coming on or when I'm incredibly thirsty at night, then I regret not drinking more during the day. I also get headaches sometimes from not drinking enough so I am frequently recommitting to drink more. Living in a dry climate doesn't help. Then there's Mindy who doesn't drink nearly enough and has serious constipation issues.

Lauren said...

Thanks for the inspiration. I should drink more water, it just never seems to quench my thirst.