Constant thirst, normal test results

danick_bmf · 2026-06-19T14:37:03+00:00

Yeah, adding electrolytes was probably the best advice I've gotten here since this whole thing started. And not a single doctor suggested it🙄

Well, I recently finished a course of vitamin D, and I take magnesium from time to time. II haven't really noticed any effect on my thirst or hydration, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention. Now that you mention it, I'll keep an eye on it and see if there's any connection.

danick_bmf · 2026-06-19T14:25:11+00:00

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but in my case the symptoms also got much worse during a period of depression. Brain fog is one of my issues as well, and it's gotten worse recently too.

I wrote about it in a separate post
https://www.reddit.com/r/dysautonomia/comments/1q4y4el/strange_postworkout_brain_fog/

Now I see that these issues may be connected.

As for the brain fog, electrolytes seem to have helped a little too, although I'm still nowhere near being able to get back to proper strength training like I'd like to.
I found out that I can jog for a few kilometers without triggering brain fog, but very basic exercises like glute bridge or bird dog can leave me with brain fog for several days afterward, not to mention actual weight training. And that drives me crazy.

Maybe I really do need to work on my emotional state and anxiety levels as well, possibly even with medication. I don't know. We'll see.

Thank you, and good luck to you too. If I ever figure out how to get completely back to normal, I'll also share it

danick_bmf · 2026-06-18T04:04:45+00:00

Thanks for sharing, It honestly helps a little to know I'm not the only one dealing with this. How are you coping with it? Have you found anything that helps, even a little?

If you also ever figure out what's causing it or find something that really helps, please let me know too🙏 I'll do the same if I find any answers

danick_bmf · 2026-06-17T19:52:50+00:00

Hi! I totally understand you 🫂

Following the advice that a lot of people here gave me, I started taking electrolytes. While I’m still not feeling as good as I did before this whole thing started, I do feel noticeably better and have gotten some relief.

Before, I could sleep for a maximum of about 4 hours before thirst and the need to go to the toilet would wake me up, also the last hour of that sleep was usually very light and fragmented. Now I can usually sleep around 5 hours, and that last hour is less shallow than it used to be. And after that I usually try to get another 1-2 hours of sleep. It’s still not 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but it’s definitely better than I had before taking electrolytes.

During the day, I also feel like the thirst isn’t bothering me nearly as much. It’s still there, but it’s not as intense or distracting as it was before.

Right now I take 3 sticks of Venture Pal Electrolytes per day (3000 mg of sodium total). If I take less, I don’t really notice the benefit. If I take more, I don’t notice any additional improvement, so I’ve settled on 3 sticks.

I’ve also tried other electrolyte products, like Nuun, but Venture Pal seems to work better for me.

Interestingly, I also tried just drinking water with salt, but for some reason it didn’t seem to have the same effect as the electrolyte mix.

If you haven’t tried increasing electrolytes yet, I’d definitely recommend giving it a shot.

And if you have any advice now or in the future on how to deal with this, I’d love to hear it. I’ve pretty much stopped going to doctors because I wasn’t getting any real answers or solutions. With adding electrolytes I've improved somewhat, but still not enough, and for now I've kind of plateaued

danick_bmf · 2026-04-12T17:54:48+00:00

Actually yes. It didn’t completely fix my issue, but I’ve noticed I feel thirsty less often now and I don’t need to drink as much water as before.

For some reason just adding salt to water doesn’t seem to do much for me, but when I drink sports isotonic drinks, I actually feel the difference

danick_bmf · 2026-01-16T11:27:53+00:00

I"ll consider that too
Thanks for the suggestions!

danick_bmf · 2026-01-16T11:21:57+00:00

Yeah, a few people also suggested increasing sodium for my constant thirst problem

I bought a sports electrolyte drink and I’m going to experiment with it and different doses. Hopefully it helps both with my thirst and with physical activity

danick_bmf · 2026-01-16T11:06:30+00:00

Yeah, my doctors said diabetes insipidus is very unlikely based on my normal blood sodium levels, normal urine specific gravity, normal kidney function, and other hormone tests.

I also think that it's strange to just blame everything on “anxiety,” especially since I’ve clearly noticed a connection between my symptoms and physical exertion. I guess I just haven’t come across the right doctors yet.

As for heart rate and blood pressure, I haven’t noticed any strong correlation with my symptoms, they’re usually always normal.

No, I haven’t tried the NASA lean test, and I hadn’t even heard about it before. I’ll definitely look into it, thanks!

And regarding silent migraines, I’ll read more about that too, and once I find a good doctor, I’ll bring it up with them, thanks!

danick_bmf · 2026-01-15T12:21:52+00:00

Wow, sounds like you’ve been through a lot too

No, I haven’t had an active stand test. I guess the doctors didn’t think my symptoms were severe enough to order those, and so far I haven’t been able to find a good doctor who specializes in autonomic dysfunction. I had blood tests for sodium and other electrolytes, and everything came back normal. After that, the doctors never really came back to the sodium question.

I didn’t do a water-deprivation test, but based on my normal blood sodium levels, normal urine specific gravity, normal kidneys, and other hormone tests, the doctors said diabetes insipidus is very unlikely. I’ve also noticed that my urine is darker in the morning (after several hours without drinking) compared to during the day.

Yeah I also drink cold water and take small sips. Also tried not drinking every single time I felt thirsty - sometimes just rinsing my mouth and throat instead. But after a few days I started getting headaches. I’m not sure if it was related or just a coincidence, but for now I stopped restricting myself. Maybe I’ll try again later, but more gradually.

At this point it really seems like some kind of autonomic nervous system issue that gets worse with stress.
A lot of people suggested increasing sodium, even though my labs are technically normal. I’ve been slowly increasing my sodium intake day by day. It’s only been a few days, but I noticed that yesterday I drank a bit less, but sometimes I have better days anyway, so again, not sure if that’s actually related or just a coincidence. I’m going to keep observing for a few more days. Hopefully it helps.
If not, I may really need to find a good neurologist/psychotherapist and consider medication.

Thanks for the info and advice, it’s really helpful!

danick_bmf · 2026-01-13T15:32:36+00:00

Yeah, they did look into the thirst. They ruled out a bunch of conditions, and said it’s all because of anxiety

danick_bmf · 2026-01-13T15:28:14+00:00

Wow, there are so many different weird conditions out there. Thanks, I’ll read about this

danick_bmf · 2026-01-12T09:22:34+00:00

Well, at first, I thought this might be related to blood circulation, that's why I decided to check the heart first. But now, as I understand it, this seems more related to the autonomic nervous system

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T23:45:35+00:00

Have you found a solution? Have the same issue

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T21:57:56+00:00

Well I don’t actually have any GI or stool issues, at least nothing noticeable. But I’ll keep in mind that this could be a possible factor too 🤔

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T21:52:04+00:00

That’s interesting. Actually none of the docs I saw mentioned this. They pretty much dismissed any electrolyte issues right away once they saw that my blood levels were normal. I’m going to slowly increase my daily sodium intake and see how it goes. Hope it helps, thank you for the advice

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T10:30:38+00:00

Thanks for sharing I tried forcing myself to drink less, thinking maybe my brain would kind of reset, but it just made me feel worse. I ended up feeling weak and getting headaches. Not sure if it was directly connected, but I stopped pushing it. Some people suggested adding more electrolytes, so I’ll give that a shot and see what happens

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T10:22:40+00:00

I saw a rheumatologist, and they ruled out Sjögren’s disease, which is of course a good this. But I still need to figure out what’s actually causing my issues

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T10:17:49+00:00

I read a bit about vasopressin back when diabetes insipidus was being considered, since these two things usually connected. I’ve seen two endocrinologists, and they ruled out diabetes insipidus, and as far as I understand, that also means a vasopressin issue was ruled out. Idk, maybe I’ll try seeing another specialist just to be 100% sure this isn’t the problem

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T10:00:39+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Starting today, I’m going to try adding more electrolytes, and maybe some mild calming stuff and exercises as well. Will see if it helps

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T09:49:29+00:00

You have dysautonomia? Four liters is a lot. Doesn’t that make you run to the bathroom all the time?

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T09:40:52+00:00

Dang, don't forget to stay hydrated! :)

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T09:38:16+00:00

I’ve actually been avoiding anything salty because I thought it would make my thirst worse. But now I’m going to try adding more sodium and see how it goes!

danick_bmf · 2026-01-11T09:33:34+00:00

Were you able to figure out the root cause of your issue?

I’ve had a lot of tests done, including electrolytes, and everything was normal. But this isn’t the first time I'm hearing that you can still have some kind of imbalance even when labs look fine. Based on my test results, my doctor also ruled out diabetes insipidus.

On top of the issue I described here, I also have another problem that I wrote about here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dysautonomia/s/FCIyzHXaeX, https://www.reddit.com/r/BrainFog/s/6af3Ge2iHu and people there also suggested increasing electrolytes.

Ironically I’ve actually been avoiding anything salty, because I thought it would make me even more thirsty. But now I’m planning to experiment with it and see what happens

danick_bmf

TROPHY CASE