I'm extremely thirsty. Of what could this be a symptom?

Go to the doctor asap. Why isn’t your mother getting you medical attention especially is she thinks you may have her condition? Really! Tell your mom you want to see a doctor first thing next week!

…..3 gallons? Are you sure? That’s 11 liters. So you’re drinking this much water every 1.5 hours? I don’t even know how you’re alive. Are you aware you can overdose on water?

Back to the doctor with you.

Are you on any meds? Do you exercise a lot? What did your doctor say, besides diabetes?

Welcome to Fluther.

[Response retracted. I see that you had already been checked for diabetes. I’m glad that’s negative.]

I would get a second opinion. “This is a fluke” doesn’t sound very professional.

Yes get to a Dr ASAP.

Consuming that much water in that amount of time can cause all kinds of issues, not the least of which is to totally upset your electrolyte balance. Go to the doctor! There is a problem and us guessing at it won’t help.

@Coloma: I didn’t say my mom has diabetes insipitus; Isaid she thought I did. I found a legitimate list of symptoms (off the Mayo Clinic site) and they don’t match up. So that one is pretty definitely ruled out. And my mom did take me to the doc – this morning! The took three blood samples and ran a pretty complete list of tests. All the results were normal! The doctor kept saying “huh”. I really feel like both my mom and the doctor did everything they could do to make sure I was healthy. So, no worries. :)

@Mariah: I know, it’s weird, isn’t it! I couldn’t believe how fast I emptied this gallon pitcher! And then again…and again!

@Wundayatta: No meds here. I’m usually very healthy! This one issue with being so thirsty is my one problem. But, to be perfect honest, I don’t exercise enough. I really just sit around and do school. I’ve been meaning to get better about that, but it hasn’t. :/ Could that be connected?

@say_what: Like I said, the Dr. checked me out thoroughly. Perfectly normal, including all my electrolyte and vitamin levels. This has been going on for months, and I haven’t diluted anything yet… Which makes no sense. Since I could be harming myself, though, I’m trying to cut back…. But I almost think that’s a bad idea because of what happens if I don’t have all this water. Headaches, jitteriness, extremely hot, my hands get all cold… Sounds like withdrawal almost. 0.o Can you be addicted to water?

Did your doctor suggest you return if it doesn’t resolve in a certain amount of time? Something IS going on and if he can’t figure it out maybe you should get a second opinion. Your blood sugar may have been fine when you went in but it doesn’t sound like they did a glucose tolerance test. That’s where you fast and they have you drink a sugary liquid and test your blood every hour for several hours. If its not better soon I would ask for that test.
My nephew was young and athletic and found out he was diabetic when in high school. He had similar symptoms Now in his 40’s he’s still healthy but has a full time insulin pump.

Since you still have the symptoms and they are causing you problems, you need to see a doctor, perhaps a different one. Something is wrong and they need to find out what!
And, since you’re looking up symptoms, try diabetes mellitus or mellitis. There is more than one kind of diabetes. I don’t remember the differences any more.

@Judi said exactly what I was thinking after I read the details.

Go to a different Dr. and have them do a glucose tolerance test. It’s a WHOLE LOT more thorough and gives a much more accurate picture of what’s going on with your blood sugar metabolism.

You definitely need a second opinion and you and your Mom should do your own choosing of which Dr. to see. The one you went to is far too complacent about a definite red flag here. When the initial test did not reveal anything, HE IS THE ONE who should have followed up with a more thorough test instead of assuming that it’s a fluke. That’s a lot more casual than I would be comfortable with. You need to find a competent MD with more curiosity, not one who brushes aside major symptoms.

If it is diabetes, you want to get on a management regime ASAP.

If it’s something else, then you need to know. A competent Doc will not rest until he finds out what is causing this. Perhaps go to either an Internist or Endocrinologist. Something is out of whack.

@Judi, @Sunny2, & @Buttonstc: A glucose tolerance test. Got it.

Welcome to Fluther, @RandomGirl. Yes, that sounds very worrying and juvenile onset insulin dependent diabetes mellitus was my first thought on reading your symptoms. I was diagnosed when I was little and my main symptom was horrible thirst. Get thee to a doctor ASAP girl! The longer you wait before treatment, the more damage your body could be undergoing. Here’s hoping this is not your condition, but at least it’s a very livable disease these days if you have money/health insurance.

@bookish1: Diabetes mellitus is the type you hear about all the time, right? I don’t know much about it, but I do know hyperglycemia is something you have to watch for. If I’ve never had an episode, could that still be the answer? Or do you think these episodes with jitteriness and a super sore, dry throat and mouth could be hyperglycemia? From what I’ve read, the symptoms don’t match…. But I suppose it could be.

My nephew had ONLY ONE SYMPTOM, Thirst before he was diagnosed. I think that’s probably one reason he is so healthy now. It was discovered before he had any of the major symptoms and never caused the damage that most young people have before they are diagnosed.

I want to encourage you to be a little more proactive about this. I understand you feel comforted by your normal blood test results but you and the doctor certainly haven’t done “everything that can be done” to make sure you’re healthy. One set of tests didn’t find anything wrong – that doesn’t mean there’s nothing wrong.

Further, I don’t want you ruling things out because your symptoms don’t quite match up with Mayo Clinic’s website. You’re not a doctor, you really can’t make that call.

@RandomGirl: Don’t worry about types at this point. You’re getting all confused, which is normal because no one knows **** about this disease unless they have to. Diabetes mellitus is the very old Greek name for diabetes in general. It means that you have sugar in your urine, that’s all. They didn’t know about different types back then, because it was generally a death sentence. (IT’S NOT ANY MORE!)

“The kind you hear about all the time,” the time that something like 95% of diabetic Americans have, is type 2. It tends to go along with age, obesity and poor health habits, but NOT always.

However, type I was referring to, insulin dependent type 1, is usually diagnosed between birth and about 30, on something like a bell curve (which means 16 is right smack in the middle of the bell curve for type 1 diagnoses, by the way). It means that your pancreas produces almost no or no insulin. They really should have different names; any type 1 will tell you that they are not the same disease at all.

Hyperglycemia is HIGH blood sugar. The average person might not be able to tell what that feels/looks like. Don’t trust the descriptions you read on medical websites. Diabetes is a VERY individual disease and the symptoms feel different to everyone. GO TO A DOCTOR. I feel like warmed over hell when I have high blood sugar. I woke up this morning at 340 (normal is 100) and could barely open my eyes and my head felt like lead. But it’s not go-to-the-ER-urgent. I’m just getting over it now.

I THINK however that you are thinking that “hyperglycemia” means low blood sugar. Those “episodes” are much more dramatic and can result in rapid death. But NO, just because you haven’t had a dramatic low blood sugar episode, does not necessarily mean you are not diabetic!!

Think about it, untreated type 1 diabetics have little to no insulin in their blood stream. Insulin is what allows you to process sugar. How could undiagnosed diabetics have anything but high blood sugar??

Please contact me by PM if you would like to talk more. But please, I urge you to take @Mariah‘s advice. Don’t be comforted because you have a slack ass doctor. Be proactive and find some other doctor who will take this seriously. Even if you do not turn out to be diabetic, I really hope not, you seem to have a serious symptom of something.

Please let us know how it goes. Good luck.

Absolutely the biggest concern is diabetes, or some sugar related problem. Do not trust your doctor pr doctor’s office saying, “everything looks good.”

Get a copy of your blood work you recently had done and see if they tested your blood sugar/glucose. Did you fast before the blood test? You should fast at least 12 hours before that test.

I know someone who was drinking tons of V8 Juice and the doctor dismissed it as his body trying to get the vitamins it was low in. I told him he likely could be diabetic, and it turned out he was! The doctor was an idiot not to run that simple basic test initially. He wound up finally getting diagnosed when he had an emergency situation where he had to be rushed to the ER.

Thirst is one of the most obvious symptoms of diabetes, forget reading about other symptoms, you need blood tests to rule out diabetes or some other sugar or insulin problem, and then you can worry about what else might be going on.

Is there any chance you are pregnant? That causes increases in thirst also.

Had you started a new medication. Some meds give people dry mouths and they get the sensation of being very thirsty.

@JLeslie: Absolutely NO chance I could be pregnant. And, no, I haven’t started any new meds or even any new foods.

@Bookish1: Set your mind at ease. If I’m still messed up like this in a week, we’re going back to the doctor.

I know you mentioned Diabetes insipidus in your initial post, but you said it doesn’t have a connection with intake and urination, but that’s wrong (the only disconnect with intake and urination is that decreasing the intake doesn’t have an effect on the concentration of your urine). Excessive thirst and excessive urination are the key symptoms to Diabetes insipidus (which is different from Diabetes mellitus). Diabetes insipidus doesn’t really have anything to do with your blood sugar levels, so testing your sugar levels (alone) won’t tell you if you have it or not. Diabetes insipidus has to do with how your body processes your fluid and how it handles the hormones in your body that control fluid levels. Did the doctor do a urinalysis?

I agree with everyone else that you need a second opinion. I would still ask about Diabetes mellitus (and a glucose tolerance test), but I also think you should ask about Diabetes insipidus and a urinalysis and possibly even a fluid deprivation test (especially since you have such severe symptoms when you don’t drink the excessive amounts of water). For Diabetes insipidus, they should also look at your ADH (antidiuretic hormone) levels.

There is also something called “habit drinking” which is a mild form of “Psychogenic polydipsia”, which is related to mental concerns. The Psychogenic polydipsia is usually related to people with schizophrenia, but the “habit drinking” has been seen in people with no mental illnesses. A fluid deprivation test can help determine if this is mechanical (as in related to DI) or if it is more of a mental concern.

The second opinion has been moved up. My mom will be calling our regular family doctor tomorrow. (We went to urgent care yesterday.)

Good. Glad to hear that something is happening sooner than later.

What happened that caused the Urgent Care visit?

Is the Doc your Mom is calling the same one who missed the boat on this?

If it were me, I’d be switching Doctors and find my own one for a second opinion. This guy is WAY TOO casual about a MAJOR red flag symptom.

Just my opinion.

@RandomGirl I’m glad to hear you’re doing something about your condition as quickly as possible. Please let us know what happens. You have a lot of people here who care now.

Yes, let us know.

Thanks, everyone :)

Just a shot in the dark. But is your albumin level low? And what does your salt intake look like? Good luck. Hope you figure it out and let us know you made it through all right.

@rosehips: Albumin? How would I find out? I know my salt intake is normal – they told me that on Saturday.

I just got the fasting glucose test. The results were normal. I’m now sitting in the waiting room, waiting for my appointment with a second doctor. I’m thinking they’ll order a glucose tolerance test. If they don’t, I’ll ask about it.

albumin i believe is on your cbc ask for a copy of your results should be abbreivated alb and should be red flagged if its low. if a doc is looking for something in particular to be off he may not catch another red flag. or if it is just high enough so the item isn’t red flagged.

Well, today’s consensus is that it’s a mystery. Our family doctor (the one we saw today) ordered several tests, which were all normal. We get the results of the last two tomorrow. But he says it’s stress-related, which is possible, since I’m a teenager, with school and all. But in a couple weeks, my stress level will be plummeting. If I’m still having problems, they’ll send me to a pediatric neurologist and get an MRI.

Ugh…. Get a second opinion.

I wonder what they would look for with an MRI? MRI of what? Your brain?

The family doctor ran about 6 or 7 tests on me. Everything was normal (in his opinion?). He said it’s either two things: stress-induced habits, or diabetes insipidus. When my stress levels drop in a couple weeks, we’ll be able to rule one or the other out. If diabetes insipidus is the answer, then they’ll start figuring out what’s causing my pituitary gland to malfunction like that. He said that would mean getting an MRI and maybe some other imaging of my brain, to see if there’s anything that needs to be taken care of. He mentioned cancer several times.

@rosehips: a third opinion, you mean. :/ What else could it be? I can’t find any other causes online that could be giving me these symptoms, and the doc ran tests on stuff I’d never even heard of, so I would think everything has already been ruled out. Do you have something specific in mind, or do you think this doc just isn’t seeing red flags?

Are your eyes dry also?

Did they do rheumotological testing? Maybe test for Sjogren’s?

If you decide to pursue another doctor my guess would be a rheumotologist next.

Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor maybe also? Not sure. Look for a blocked salivary gland maybe? I know very little about dry mouth disorders. I would still say rheum as a first next step.

Did your doctor test ESR (eurythrocyte sedimentation rate, the test might also say western gren) and your thyroid (TSH). Both are blood tests. Be sure to get a copy of your blood test results for yourself and to show to any other doctors so you don’t have a bunch of repeated tests in the future. Although some repeats will make sense.

Unforunately, sometimes when you are just a little sick, the doctors have a hard time figuring things out. Being able to compare old blood tests and new, even if they are a year apart or a two weeks apart it can tell you something. You can see certain numbers moving in a direction, or bouncing around a lot. Hopefully you are not sick, and this will just clear up.

Are you sexually active? Give oral sex? Is your breath very changed since it started? Bad breath, or unusual smell. An STD could possibly cause a dry mouth. Dry mouth is a very rare symptom of STD’s so this is unlikely, and usually there are many other symptoms when someone gas an STD in their mouth and throat, so don’t panic that is could be this. Very unlikely. If your tongue gets black, or if you have had some ulcers in your mouth, or a sore throat, that could imply an infection.

@JLeslie: no, I’m not sexually active. I’m perfectly safe there.
They checked ESR and my thyroid. Normal.
I don’t think it’s a problem in my mouth, because it’s not a dry mouth issue. In fact, it takes quite a while for my mouth/throat to get dry – 2 or 3 hours.
My eyes aren’t dry.
A rheumatologist? What exactly would it be that they would check? What is Sjoren’s?

Sjogren’s affects the mucousal tissues, like eyes, mouth, vulva. It is an autoimmune disease. I really doubt you have it. I would think ESR would be elevated if you had it, but I am no expert on how they diagnose it; the other blood tests they might do.

Here is a link about Sjogren’s if you google it a bunch of links will come up. I highly doubt it is Sjogren’s since your ESR was ok, and you don’t seem to have the other symptoms, but it would probably be something a doctor would want to rule out. Seems like maybe your doctor did already.

You know, a rheumatologist once said to me, “the problem with being only a little sick is your tests are still in normal range, or only slightly outdie, and you are not sick enough yet, symptomatic enough yet, for doctors to make a diagnosis.” I am not saying you are destined to develop some horrible ailment. I am only saying that this sort of thing happens a lot, that patiens know something is wrong, something has changed. Being told everything is normal is frustrating, when you know it isn’t.

Out of curiosity was your TSH above 4?

I don’t know what my TSH was. They just said it was normal. Now I know we should be saving the results of all these tests. We didn’t think of it yesterday. Chances are, though, te next doctor we see will be in the same hospital, so they’ll get all those numbers. Next time we go in we’ll see about getting the results to have in our own records.

Boy, is “normal” the most annoying word ever now.

@RandomGirl :)

The thing about TSH is internists go by the lab range usually, but there have been arguments for years to change the range. Endocrinologists generally like between 1–3.5, the current range is something like .5–5 I think. Depending on the lab probably. Still, excessve thirst is not a typical symptom of thyroid disease, especially if you are only a little high or low in the normal range. But dryness is very common, and being cold. I doubt it is your problem, but still something to watch, obviously your doctor thought so too.

@RandomGirl If your doctor is questioning Diabetes insipidus (versus the stress), ask him if he would do a fluid deprivation test. That can also help rule out stress.

If the diabetes is still a question (I don’t know much about diabetes) then the specialist to see is an endocrinologist. If you get a third opinion you should be moving on to specialists in my opinion.

@Seaofclouds: I’ll ask about that if we go in in 2 weeks.