I am slowly drowning myself!!!!

I've been drinking about 4-5 quarts (a gallon plus some)  a day of water and have been easily able to get it done with a little routine....one in the morning, one at lunch, one when I get home and 1-2 before I go to bed with my protein bar. I've just been informed that my Uric Acid is twice the normal range and must triple  my water intake(12 quarts or 3 gallons) or risk having gout or worse!  Remember I'm under a doctor's close watch....doing that Protein Sparing Modified Fast thing....... How the heck am I going to get that much in?  Getting a little frustrated.  I calculated that I am pretty much on the go 12 hours out of the day......so that would be 1 quart for each of those hours.....my god couldn't I also be killing myself from water intoxication? Could I be sweating too much?  I work out 30 minutes each day on the treadmill and am up to 1.5 miles in that time. Anybody having this kind of issue?  Should I put some salt in my diet? I've been a really good girl, doing exactly what I'm told, but this could be the straw that broke the camel's back on this program!!!!

Holy moly on the water intake.  I have a hard time getting in 64oz.  I'm never thirsty. I don't ever drink that much liquid. All I can say is wow to you and good job on water intake and the weight loss. I have no advice sorry. ---Christa

Holy lord you are drowning yourself!  Girl, only thing I can suggest would be to use crystal light, or sugar free kool aid for some of tha****er.  Good luck!

Heya,      As much as I'm a fan of water drinking (I always shoot for gallon a day), telling a patient they're going to prevent gout by drinking 3 gallons of water a day is a little iffy in my book (the woman who died in England from hyponatremia was only drinking slightly more than that).  Have you ever had a gout attack before?  Going by your recent dietary history, it's very likely your uric acid levels are temporarily up due to your diet.  The normal dietary adjustments for a gout patient are to avoid liver, sardines, alcohol, and anchovies while significantly reducing the amount of fat in the diet.  Have your protein choices been high-fat ones?  I can give you a detailed list of foods gout patients need to avoid if you'd like it.      And no, putting salt into your diet and/or reducing your exercise isn't the answer.      You haven't had any kind of new joint pain recently have you?

OMG! :O  I thought I was the only person that drank a gallon or more of water a day!? Actually I've slowed down to about 3 quarts, but still!  I don't think you're sweating too much, not with as much water as you're drinking. It is important to drink lots of water when you are at risk for gout. However, I should think that 1 gallon a day is sufficient. Did you tell your doctor how much you drank? There are other ways to reduce your uric acid other than water.  You can also limit your intake of purine rich foods like liver, alcohol, mushrooms, cauliflower, asparagus, beans or peas, etc. Another way is to increase your intake of foods that are natural anti-inflammatories or foods that reduce purine. There aren't many of these that I know of.  Tofu/soybean, high omega-3 foods like salmon and some nuts/grains are about all I know of. Perhaps an omega-3 supplement would help.  HOWEVER, the diet you are on is most likely the cause of your increase in uric acid. It is designed to make you lose weight VERY fast. A diet rich in 'good' carbs found in fruits, grains, veggies is what maintains a healthy uric acid level. Your diet is opposite of that. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you're not allowed to have any carbs whatsoever on that diet. The other alternatives to lower uric acid is through medication which your doctor should prescribe if  your situation worsens. Ask him about them because honestly 3 gallons of water a day is insane and I question whether your body or your bladder for that matter can handle it. Lol, but if you did I imagine it would stretch your bladder and eventually you could drink a gallon of h2o and go on a 16 hour trip w/o peeing! lol Don't take any of my suggestions or believe anything I say without first consulting your physician and doing your own research. I'm not a physician nor do I work in the medical industry I just happen to know a little bit about this from my father and my old boss. Do a search on the web for Gout Diet or Hyperuricemia Diet and you may find some more answers. Also, KS-Julie may know more about this than I do and can probably provide some more insight.

OK, so Julie beat me to the post and did a much better job of summing it up, lol!  Good job Julie!

Thanks for the info guys!  I now know I am not going crazy!!!!  I kinda found the same (where would I be without google?)  I told my doctor's nurse how much I was drinking but she seemed to want me to drink the recommended amount.  I guess that comes from other "dieters" not really following the program and being as dedicated to it.....hey I was honest about that one pickle several weeks ago.  I go on Thursday and will discuss with him and drink what I can until then......they will retest then also.

I do recall periods where my big toe has hurt very badly and the usual aches and pains in the joints....but I always attributed it to ageing and/or being overweight......maybe I've had gout for some time now and didn't realize it.....maybe I'm in the middle of an episode I have been achy as of late....but I think that is from being out of shape and working my body harder. Hopefully it is just a temporary spike in body chemistry and will all level out......I know I'm not eating/drinking grouse (what is that?) or any other game meats....... YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!!!!

I would definitely tell your doctor how much you are drinking. I have a feeling he doesn't realize what he's told you to do. After what I just read abou****er intoxication you could kill yourself or at least run a severe risk of it.  Always ask your doctor about stuff you don't understand. It's their job to inform you of this stuff.  I bet you if your levels were high enough he would have prescribed you some meds knowing how much you drink. I remember quite a few episodes where I had severe headaches and body pain after drinking a good bit of water quickly.  I'm glad I learned about intoxication today. I had not idea how serious and real it is. The pains I had then were quite different than that of muscle aches from my exercise. A grouse is a bird.  I've never seen one but I think they are in the US. Lol, where'd that come from?

Ummmm..... Let's see normal is 2.5 to 7, I am at 15.5!!!!! sssup wid dat?

Heya,      Next time you see him, find out if he also checked your WBC and ESR.  Both will generally be elevated if you're actually developing primary gout.        Basically gout is inflammation in a joint (or more than one) from the presence of urate crystals in the joint.  Symptoms will often come on fast and include severe pain, swelling, redness, and heat.  Its favorite location to hit first is often the MTP joint in your big toe.  Untreated gout can hang around for up to 3 weeks which can really interfere with daily activities.      I'd find out if anyone in your family's ever had it too; there's a strong genetic component as well.  Unfortunately, obesity is one of the risk factors for it, so we're all potential victims. :-(  However, another big risk factor for it is being in ketosis (a consequence of living on protein).      Also, hyperuricemia can be induced by certain medications that reduce effective circulating blood volume (some of which are common  like the low-dose 81mg aspiriin many people take).      If you actually do develop gout, they might put you on allopurinol, probenecid, and/or a max-dose NSAID.  The really big gun is colchicine, but it's somewhat toxic and controversial.  But the main treatment frankly is to avoid the foods which are triggering it.  Do an internet search on "purine free diet" and check it against what you're eating on a daily basis.  Maybe you can make a few adjustments to the proteins you are choosing.