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Nightime Dehydration

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March 1st, 2012
I struggle to sleep because I'm constantly waking up either dehydrated or needing to wee. I drink about 3 litres of water per day, I dont eat a lot of sugar or salty food, I eat well, I exercise regularly, I'm a generally fit and healthy 23 year old female.

But I wake up constantly in the night (for 10+ years now), not just thirsty, but feeling sick and headachy from dehydration, and this is every single night. It hasnt been until the last year or so that it even occured to me that it wasnt normal.

I was just wondering if there was any obvious causes for this? I've been tested for diabetes a number of times (blood and urine) and they have always come back clear.

I also sometimes have 'episodes' in the night where I wake up screaming, but I dont know if this is related or not. Also, I often find in the daytime that I get lightheaded and dizzy, I'm constantly tired (always have been, since I was about 5 years old), I'm prone to headaches, stomach upsets and bouts of shaking (and Im not a nervous person, nor am I especially stressed). I've been to the doctor about these things numerous times and had tests for all the obvious things.
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Temirah
replied March 3rd, 2012
CandleJar, I guess this is a frustrating problem for you as it's been going on for so long.
I don't think the thirst/dehydration and waking up screaming are related. Do you remember what you've been dreaming about when you wake screaming? If you do it sounds like you've been having a nightmare. If not perhaps you're having night terrors. There is a lot of advice about these on the web - try the National Sleep Foundation.
The tiredness can be caused by lots of things at different times in your life but from what you describe, a broken sleep pattern (having to get up to pee a lot) won't be helping.
Getting up to pee frequently isn't normal, as you say. Sugar diabetes (doctors call it diabetes mellitus) is easy to test for and it's great that you don't have it. Water diabetes (diabetes insipidus) is different and rarer, so no one ever thinks to test for it. We have a hormone from a gland in the brain that releases a hormone which regulates how much we pee. If the hormone is missing for any reason we pee too much and are therefore constantly thirsty and potentially dehydrated.
See your doctor and ask about diabetes insipidus. It may be that some of your other symptoms are due to hormone imbalances too but you won't know until a specialist (an endocrinologist) looks for them and does the right tests.
I hope you get to the bottom of the problem, but sometimes (frustratingly) the answer is that there is no answer.
Good luck.
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