How Much Water Should I Be Drinking?
One of the most common questions I get is, "How much water should I be drinking?"
Usually, I answer, "Enough to keep your urine flowing and generally a light-yellow color."
The advice many of us are used to hearing is that we should be drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day. However, that advice should come with the caveat that it only applies if you aren't eating food—you have to consider the fluids in your food as part of your daily water intake. That means 8-10 glasses a day is too much water for many of us who eat throughout the day.
Most active women who are exercising on a regular basis will need somewhere between 30-60 ounces of water a day to keep well hydrated, which equals about four-seven and a half cups.
If you drink too much water, it's as though you're running your body's plumbing in overdrive, which can lead to an overactive bladder.
If you drink too little water, your urine will become very concentrated, which can also be irritating to the bladder and can also lead to an overactive bladder.
If you seek care for bothersome urinary issues, your urogynecologist may ask you to fill out a voiding diary to track your daily fluid input and output.
With a voiding diary alone, your urogynecologist will often be able to diagnose your bladder condition with urine leakage, retention, frequency, urgency and overall bladder bother as relating to fluid intake: either too much, too little or you're simply inputting the wrong types of fluids.
If you have bothersome bladder symptoms, look at what you drank that day and consider tracking your fluid intake for 1-2 days to see if types of fluids or amounts of fluids correlate with your bladder symptoms.
If you are seeking care for bothersome bladder symptoms, bring your bladder tracker diary along to your visit. You and your provider can go over it together and it may help your provider offer some helpful advice for you to overcome your symptoms.
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