It’s true.  Purposefully cutting back on how much water you drink actually makes your pee (& poop) problems WORSE!  Today, we’re going to focus on the pee problem part. Has anyone ever told you this before??

Hi  🙂 I’m Dr. Kelly Sadauckas (sed-OW-skiss, thanks for asking). I am one of a handful of Doctors of Physical Therapy IN THE WORLD who are double board certified in Pelvic Health and Orthopedics.  Today, I’m going to talk all about hydration, and why you NEED to drink enough water, especially if you have pee problems!

Dehydration Makes Pee Problems Worse

Note: dehydration also makes poop, and seggsy time problems worse, too. 🙁 But this post is about pee, so I’ll try to stay focused 😉 

To understand how dehydration makes pee problems worse, make sure you first understand ‘how’ normal, happy, bladders are supposed to work in the first place.  This post covers that. 

Dehydration makes pee leaks worse because it concentrates your urine, which annoys the bladder, which then overreacts to early “half-full” or “full” signals. 

Then…just like when you start to get frustrated that your best friend is being a whiny-b!tch, this angry bladder then starts to annoy your pelvic floor…which causes the pelvic floor muscles to over-tighten….which further irritates the urethra (pee hole) as well as pre-fatigues the pelvic muscles so they are less likely to be able to help keep pee in the bladder.  

Now are you beginning to see how dehydration makes things worse?

If dehydration makes pee problems worse, how much water should I be drinking each day?

To determine how much water you should drink each day, start by taking your body weight in pounds and divide it by two. 

This resultant number is your DAILY GOAL of fluid ounces to drink. 

75% of this should be non-caffeinated and non-alcoholic. Hydrated bodies make for healthy brains, happy bladders and less pain! 

*Remember this is a starting point! You may need to add more base fluid ounces if you are exercising, breast feeding, or living in a hot or dry climate, where you may lose more fluid due to sweat and respiration!

Isn’t that TOO MUCH water?

In general, not a chance. 

Most of us vastly under-drink fluids each day. 

If you are drinking A LOT MORE than the above recommended amount, you could create an electrolyte imbalance called Hyponatremia (water poisoning), in which the electrolytes are thrown off.  This is common in marathon runners who drink too much water and not enough electrolytes during their effort, but extremely uncommon in daily activities.  

Dehydration makes pee problems worse…okay…but I can’t be dehydrated if I’m not thirsty, right?

WRONG!  The thirst reflex is complex.  If you’re chronically dehydrated, your brain will actually turn DOWN your thirst reflex.  

What?? Why??  How?? 

If you’re always dehydrated, your brain thinks you are lost in the desert, with no access to water, so it turns down the thirst reflex, to free up brain-power, and muscle-power, for you to find water.

It’s not until you drink a glass of water, that your brain realizes that you now have access to water, and HOLY GUACAMOLE, it turns back up that thirst reflex, and now you realize you were thirsty. 

Aren’t bodies amazing??  Are you ready to see if you are drinking enough water?

Join my mailing list to get your free bladder diary & start tracking today!!

And if you were Floored by this information, and can’t wait to see what other easy tips I have to make your pee, poop and seggsy-time function thrive, check out my online courses below!