Getting enough fluids when it is very cold out

[Storymama]

I grew up in Anchorage, AK so this is not exactly a new problem for me. My parents even complain that when I was little, I would never drink enough - I would get up dry as a toddler, and not have to pee for awhile, even. Apparently I was kinda resistant to their efforts to encourage me to drink more too, LOL. Uh, gee, not strong willed since birth or ANYthing :-P . . . (I'm sure they were gentle and kind in their efforts - that describes their parening in general and I certainly don't have bad feelings associated with this stuff.)

However, even when I have improved my water intake the rest of the year, I revert to poor fluid intake when it is cold out - even if my house is not cold! I have no idea why, my thirst feelings just . . . . fizzles. Someone recently asked me if Sjogren's can be related to appropriate thirst sensations, and I suppose that could be part of it, but I don't really feel like the dryness stuff is particularly worse right now - my eyes are fine (despite forced air heat), etc.

What can I do to really make myself do this? It's not a matter of understanding I should, or whatever, it's like my basic drive to drink fluids is GONE. I can have a cup of (herbal) tea in front of me and it just sits there un-drunk.

That is one thing - I don't like to put anything cold in my mouth, when I am struggling to keep warm. One thing that helps is making up a glass of cranwater (ie, an ounce of cran-berry juice, not the cocktail crap, fill big glass with water or seltzer) and then microwaving so it's warm. I should drink 6 or 8 of those a day though, right?

Ugh, so much work. Somehow, it doesn't seem like work when I am hot and appropriately thirsty LOL!

Maybe I could get a disorder that made me not hungry, instead of not thristy ;-)? Alas, that part is not true LOL!

Suggestions??

[riversprite]

I grew up in Anchorage, AK so this is not exactly a new problem for me. My parents even complain that when I was little, I would never drink enough - I would get up dry as a toddler, and not have to pee for awhile, even. Apparently I was kinda resistant to their efforts to encourage me to drink more too, LOL. Uh, gee, not strong willed since birth or ANYthing :-P . . . (I'm sure they were gentle and kind in their efforts - that describes their parening in general and I certainly don't have bad feelings associated with this stuff.)

However, even when I have improved my water intake the rest of the year, I revert to poor fluid intake when it is cold out - even if my house is not cold! I have no idea why, my thirst feelings just . . . . fizzles. Someone recently asked me if Sjogren's can be related to appropriate thirst sensations, and I suppose that could be part of it, but I don't really feel like the dryness stuff is particularly worse right now - my eyes are fine (despite forced air heat), etc.

What can I do to really make myself do this? It's not a matter of understanding I should, or whatever, it's like my basic drive to drink fluids is GONE. I can have a cup of (herbal) tea in front of me and it just sits there un-drunk.

That is one thing - I don't like to put anything cold in my mouth, when I am struggling to keep warm. One thing that helps is making up a glass of cranwater (ie, an ounce of cran-berry juice, not the cocktail crap, fill big glass with water or seltzer) and then microwaving so it's warm. I should drink 6 or 8 of those a day though, right?

Ugh, so much work. Somehow, it doesn't seem like work when I am hot and appropriately thirsty LOL!

Maybe I could get a disorder that made me not hungry, instead of not thristy ;-)? Alas, that part is not true LOL!

Suggestions??


Hmmm. I'm usually an "ice in my water" person but I've been putting my HUGE cup or sports bottle of water on the counter and leaving it there to drink whenever I pass by it. I'm finding that I'm easier able to drink it if it's not cold. (which in the summer makes me want to hurl!)
I'm also making a WHOLE pot of herbal tea (currently loving Four O'Clock Rooibos Chai!) and then drinking the whole thing myself, but in smaller really cute tea mugs.
I'm totally slacking on my liquids intake now that it's cold, too.

[ADDled]

I hear you on the "so much work" part. I hate having to work for food or drink LOL!

Can you make up a pot of tea at once? I know that when people brew a pot of coffee they just leave it in a thermal carafe or on the burner all day and just keep refilling the mug.

Or maybe your cranberry water, warmed up, and in a thermal carafe so you have it to drink from all day long?

[aleutsi]

I grew up in Anchorage, AK so this is not exactly a new problem for me. My parents even complain that when I was little, I would never drink enough - I would get up dry as a toddler, and not have to pee for awhile, even. Apparently I was kinda resistant to their efforts to encourage me to drink more too, LOL. Uh, gee, not strong willed since birth or ANYthing :-P . . . (I'm sure they were gentle and kind in their efforts - that describes their parening in general and I certainly don't have bad feelings associated with this stuff.)

However, even when I have improved my water intake the rest of the year, I revert to poor fluid intake when it is cold out - even if my house is not cold! I have no idea why, my thirst feelings just . . . . fizzles. Someone recently asked me if Sjogren's can be related to appropriate thirst sensations, and I suppose that could be part of it, but I don't really feel like the dryness stuff is particularly worse right now - my eyes are fine (despite forced air heat), etc.

What can I do to really make myself do this? It's not a matter of understanding I should, or whatever, it's like my basic drive to drink fluids is GONE. I can have a cup of (herbal) tea in front of me and it just sits there un-drunk.

That is one thing - I don't like to put anything cold in my mouth, when I am struggling to keep warm. One thing that helps is making up a glass of cranwater (ie, an ounce of cran-berry juice, not the cocktail crap, fill big glass with water or seltzer) and then microwaving so it's warm. I should drink 6 or 8 of those a day though, right?

Ugh, so much work. Somehow, it doesn't seem like work when I am hot and appropriately thirsty LOL!

Maybe I could get a disorder that made me not hungry, instead of not thristy ;-)? Alas, that part is not true LOL!

Suggestions??


I have the same problem year round.. but it is defintiely worse in winter. I have to tie my drinks into something. Like when I'm playing World of Warcraft.. my mage has to stop and drink mana fairly often. So when she stops for a drink... I guzzle my water bottle.

I'm crocheting a bunch of scarves and I've determined that after every row I'll stop for a guzzle. If I'm working in short rows then it's after every 3 rows or so. And I have a rule, I can't just take a sip, I have to take at least three gulps - preferably more.

Running errends.. take a drink at every red light.

Basically, it has to be tied in with something I have no problem remembering to do, yk? And I have to force myself and think of it as taking pills because I am just not thristy!

[lindavw]

the tea idea. I know I"m dehydrated when I take that first sip of tea and I feel like I've never tasted anything so wonderful before in my entire life!!!

[bannanabette]

Heh, not a suggestion but a commiseration. I often find myself boiling water and then when it's boiled, deciding that tea is too much trouble and just drinking hot water. In fact, that's what I'm drinking now - boiled water.

[riversprite]

Heh, not a suggestion but a commiseration. I often find myself boiling water and then when it's boiled, deciding that tea is too much trouble and just drinking hot water. In fact, that's what I'm drinking now - boiled water.

Wow...and I thought that *I* was pretty lazy. :-P
Throwing a teabag in a mug seems pretty easy to me. LOL!
Sometimes I want coffee, but then make tea instead bce coffee seems like waaay too much work.

[bannanabette]

Wow...and I thought that *I* was pretty lazy. :-P
Throwing a teabag in a mug seems pretty easy to me. LOL!
Sometimes I want coffee, but then make tea instead bce coffee seems like waaay too much work.

omg, are you kidding? There's finding the tea, specifically the tea that has no caffeine. And most of the time it's loose leaf tea, which would be fine if I hadn't broken my coffee press about 6 months ago (which is what I make my tea in) and haven't gotten around to replacing (remember the lazy part?) and now I won't replace it until after the holidays on the off chance that DH, who has gotten me cute and completely useless tea balls the last 3 occasions running, will finally wise up and get me a coffee press. So that means that I throw tea leaves into the water and then I have to wait! Wait up to 5 minutes, which is 5 minutes that I might use to surf YAAPS or start to read a book or check my email or play a game of sudoku and then by the time I remember, the water is stone cold and the tea steeped darkest brown. And then I need to scoop out the tea leaves because I don't have a strainer either.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I think I'm going to go make myself another cup of hot water to recover ;-)

[riversprite]

omg, are you kidding? There's finding the tea, specifically the tea that has no caffeine. And most of the time it's loose leaf tea, which would be fine if I hadn't broken my coffee press about 6 months ago (which is what I make my tea in) and haven't gotten around to replacing (remember the lazy part?) and now I won't replace it until after the holidays on the off chance that DH, who has gotten me cute and completely useless tea balls the last 3 occasions running, will finally wise up and get me a coffee press. So that means that I throw tea leaves into the water and then I have to wait! Wait up to 5 minutes, which is 5 minutes that I might use to surf YAAPS or start to read a book or check my email or play a game of sudoku and then by the time I remember, the water is stone cold and the tea steeped darkest brown. And then I need to scoop out the tea leaves because I don't have a strainer either.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I think I'm going to go make myself another cup of hot water to recover ;-)

Damn. That _is_ a lot of work!! :-P
I have a good idea...next time you are grocery shopping, buy a box of tea bags. Lemon, Rooibos or whatever. Then, you can have a quick tea sometime instead of drinking hot water! LOL!

[burmkeep]

I'll do this, but add some lemon juice and honey to the hot water. If I feel a cold coming on I'll smash a clove of garlic and add that in too.

[ADDled]

omg, are you kidding? There's finding the tea, specifically the tea that has no caffeine. And most of the time it's loose leaf tea, which would be fine if I hadn't broken my coffee press about 6 months ago (which is what I make my tea in) and haven't gotten around to replacing (remember the lazy part?) and now I won't replace it until after the holidays on the off chance that DH, who has gotten me cute and completely useless tea balls the last 3 occasions running, will finally wise up and get me a coffee press. So that means that I throw tea leaves into the water and then I have to wait! Wait up to 5 minutes, which is 5 minutes that I might use to surf YAAPS or start to read a book or check my email or play a game of sudoku and then by the time I remember, the water is stone cold and the tea steeped darkest brown. And then I need to scoop out the tea leaves because I don't have a strainer either.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I think I'm going to go make myself another cup of hot water to recover ;-)


Oh, no, I can relate!

I pop open a can of soda to take my medicine. It's what I do.

When I'm out of soda, sometimes I can't take my medicine because I can't think through the steps to getting myself a glass of water! I am not even kidding about that.