Drinking too much water??

[brit 14]

I drink more than 80 ounces of water a day, probably near 100 or 120 ounces. I know drinking too much water can cause overhydrating or water intoxication. I'm scared because I drink so much and today I had about 5 20 ounce bottles of water and I drank one, went to the bathroom, drank another, went to the bathroom and then drank milk. I just feel so thirsty most of the time, but I don't want to die because I'm drinking too much water. The weird thing is I went to the doctor once and they kept accusing me of not drinking enough and kept bringing up dehydration, but I drink more than the recommended amount. I also made the mistake of going on Google and looking it up and now my head feels really weird and I feel like I'm going to die because I drank too much. I haven't googled in over 9 months, but I couldn't stop myself this time

[jonathan123 2366]

Hi brit. Good to talk to you again. It's not something terrible to want to drink a lot of water but, as you say, it has scared you. Your body will take care of the excess water and your loo will have the enjoyment of being flushed often  , but no more that that. Yes, you have become obsessed with the IDEA of drinking too much. You WON'T die from drinking too much. Now if it was alcohol that would be different but not water. Now like everything else in life we have to do it in moderation. Excess is as bad as too little. Feeling thirsty all the time is another anxiety symptom because our mouth goes dry. Have you not heard from someone who suffers a shock, 'My mouth went dry'. FEAR, always at the root.

I would suggest you are not drinking to excess you just think you are. Your body will take care of it all so try to stop worrying.      Jon.

[JungleJulia 235]

Hi Brit, You should probably speak to another doctor about feeling thirsty all the time. They'll tell you if its within normal limits, or if its something to worry about. If you're thirsty, you probably need the hydration though, so dont worry about drinking. Also, one of the symptoms of anxiety is getting a dry mouth, so if you're anxious you're likely to feel even more thirsty. I drink quite a lot of water too, I have never measured it, but everybody is different and needs different amounts. Just do what your body asks you to, and double check with a doctor next time you're there xx

[Mark G 1186]

I drink up to 4 litres of bottled water a day as i like to keep hydrated.  You would have to drink a huge amount of water for it to start damaging your body so don't worry.