Is anyone helped by large amounts of water?

[s3th]

I've had Crohn's for decades now, and one symptom that has always flummoxed doctors is my need for huge amounts of water - 6-7 liters a day. Without the water, I will have fatigue, intestinal pain, even increased heart rate. My water needs drop substantially if I fast, so my presumption is that this is caused by Crohn's.

Does anyone else share this symptom? Curious to get feedback from the crowd, as the doctors can't provide any explanation.

 

[contepomi]

I notice that if I don't drink enough water in a day (i.e. at least 1.5 litres) then I get pain in my digestive tract/chest (I'm not very good at pinpointing exactly where pain occurs) that often borders on extreme. It's almost as though I need that much water to flush through whatever else is in there...

 

[Bufford]

I drink a lot of water, less now than in the past. Prior to colostomy surgery when my Crohn's was active and not being treated I drank close to 8 - 10 liters of water not including juice and coffee. After the surgery and with the disease under control I now need less, but still require 5 - 6 liters a day or I become constipated fatigued and generally feel awful.

 

[s3th]

Bufford, my symptoms mirror yours. I can't go anywhere without my water bottle. Never met a single doctor who could explain, much less treat this.

Curious how your albumin/protein levels are; mine are low.

 

[Layla]

I also need a lot of water, otherwise I get headaches and feel faint, ie typical dehydration symptoms. I drink at least 3 litres a day not counting other liquids. It doesn't really do much to my gut, only if I drink very little I get cramps.

I also have low albumin, can't seem to get it to go up. Drs say that it will go up once the inflammation is under control. I've never made the connection to high water intake, why do you think the 2 are connected?

 

[Bufford]

I am a little low, but nothing that the doctor is concerned about with my albumin. I have to carry a water bottle around too. I keep the bottle clean by sanitizing it each time I use it by adding a few drops of bleach to half a cup of water and shake it for a minute before rinsing out and filling.
If I don't have my water, I simple stop functioning, and if I let it go much longer I will be very constipated. I tend to transpire a lot of fluid through my skin and my BMs are loose.

 

[s3th]

Layla, when we have inflammation and our blood vessels get leaky, albumin escapes from the vessel. Albumin and other proteins are the reason that our blood is liquid in the first place (see Wikipedia "oncotic pressure"). The hypothesis is that if our albumin levels are low we are driven to drink more water to increase our blood volume - we literally lack enough blood, and get fatigue and a constellation of dehydration symptoms because of it. But clearly Bufford's experience isn't aligned with this, so there must be more to it.

Bufford, I am in the same shape as you - with no water, I shut down. Water requirements drop by 1/2 if I fast (still high by normal person standards, but noticeably lower by mine). Never have gotten a satisfactory explanation.

 

[s3th]

Contepomi, I am similar in that I get pain if I don't drink enough water. I just require 3-5X more!

 

[JaimeM]

same. i drink buttloads of water. it really helps with the pain and constipation i get with my crohns. if i dont drink a lot even for one day i can notice a difference.

 

[zHassanz]

I noticed that recently. Since the weather started getting colder, I started to consume less and less water, which caused an aggravation of my symptoms.

I started consuming more water, and it sounds to help calm things down a bit. I wouldn't say that it makes me feel healthy -nothing really does, but it seems to be of a little help.