just curious: whenever i have my 3 month blood work done, i get results showing that i am de-hydrated and am told i am not drinking enough water. i take a lot of medications which do indeed cause dehydration, and i do drink plenty of water. i was told by my PCP and my GI specialist that this could cause kidney problems down the road.
anyone else have this problem? anyone else resolved this kind of prolem, and if so, how did you do it?
thx ahead of time 
Yes, many people don’t drink enough.
It is a different amount for everyone, there is no standard set amount everyone needs to drink. The old thing of 8 glasses of water a day is not valid. People who live in hot areas would need more than those living in cool areas. People doing a lot of activity would need more than someone who is inactive. It depends on each person’s circumstances.
You can also drink other things to hydrate, drinks with electrolytes are good if you are sweating a lot, but water can get absorbed faster than many other drinks and doesn’t have any issues.
Do you consume enough salt/electrolytes, especially as someone who exercises? If you’re not having enough of those, you might be drinking enough water but not retaining it. That’s especially important for people who eat really low carb (which further requires more electrolytes and water), but you’re not doing that if I recall correctly.
I was told I should drink minimum 60 oz water/day as someone with health conditions leaving me prone to needing more hydration/blood volume. I thought I was drinking enough, but I realized once I tried to track volumes, I was somewhat inconsistent in that, and I’ve been trying to be better about.
this is very interesting. i wonder why. (but, as you already stated, it doesnt apply to me.) would love to know more about this.
The reason for the water is that the keto diet can increase your risk of kidney stones. Drinking lots of fluids helps balance the pH in your urine making the stones less likely to be formed.
chris, what is a keto diet?
A ketogenic diet, basically so low carb that your body lives in ketosis. For many people this is less than 25-30 carbs per day.
You like to swim a lot too, right? I like swimming laps as well. When I go running, I’m always really thirsty afterward and make sure to hydrate, but I don’t feel that way with swimming even though I might sweat just as much. Maybe it’s because I’m exercising in water?? Do you hydrate after swimming?
why would anyone do this to themselves? it sounds more dangerous for a D than perhaps something an non D could/would/should do.
and what kind of pleasure can you get out of life limiting yourself that way?
i am not judging, just trying to understand.
i hydrate during as well as after swimming. i keep a water bottle at the end of the lane and chug at it every 15 minutes -1/2 hour. then i refill it post swim, and i also hydrate a lot by drinking both milk and carb/protein (diabetic) shakes (made by Nestlie called BOOST)
BTW: i dont feel thirsty while swimming either. i dont know why. i just hydrate anyhow.
It’s not just kidney stones though (and I don’t know people who have had issues with that from keto)—you feel awful on keto (headaches, nausea, flu-like even) if you don’t amp up both water and electrolytes. This is especially true when beginning keto, as a side effect of glycogen metabolism. Here’s an explanation of it: https://www.perfectketo.com/keto-electrolytes/
Also it’s important to be clear that keto/ketosis is nothing like being in diabetic ketoacidosis. It’s at most producing very low amounts of ketones, nowhere near the amount in DKA. For some people this is an effective way of managing weight and blood sugars (esp for people in the prediabetes/early T2 phase). Personally, I’ve done it from time to time, and it’s the only time my blood sugars are ever a flatline consistently, and it’s been easy to lose weight and eat fewer calories without feeling hungry all the time. Definitely not for everyone, but it seems like some people are able to achieve results with it that they are simply not otherwise, which is why they do it.
Also if you’re only drinking water post-exercise, you might consider trying an electrolyte supplement with that to see if that helps. Most premade bottled sports drinks also contain sugar, but you can get powders online, or just use sea salt.
as i mentioned, post swim i drink 2 full bottles of replacement carbs/protein/hydration drinks that are especially made for Ds. it is very low in sugars and only modest in carbs and protein (16gms each respectively). it seems to do the trick. i also use (probably too much) salt in my diet, which might have some effect on my body, good or bad; i havent a clue, i just like salty things. 
no, i wasnt being clear. the shakes i drink have 16 gms carbs, 16 gms protein, and 8oz each; thats a total of 16 oz, deff not 64oz
but i do drink a lot of water, too, when i swim. and, i am also a milk drinker which i know is excellent for hydration as well as a slew of other good things.
@daisymae
I should have mentioned this to you before. Maybe I already did and forgot.
It’s more difficult to know how much you are losing from sweat when you are swimming compared to running. I finish most of my runs dripping wet. I bet you finish all of your swims that way.
But what you should do is follow the sweat-loss calculations I have mentioned on a different thread. Weigh yourself before swimming, and then immediately after you have finished. Add the weight of the water you drank while swimming and you can calculate how much you are losing in your workout.
Here are detailed steps on calculating it:
figure-out-your-sweat-loss
This can give you an idea of how much you should be drinking to replace it!
Would being dehydrated affect insulin absorption?
For some reason, I recall being dehydrated is really bad for interstitial fluid could lead to inaccurate CGM readings.
I have also found this to b true. the more water I drink, the closer and more accurate are my CGM readings. (and I use the FSLibre 14 day sensor, not the Dexcom)
As for me it is not only about the amount of water, but also its’ quality. I check my filters once in three months. I use this tester.
Maybe I’m trying to calm myself down, but after I started to monitor the quality, I do feel better.
Hi @lh378,
I am very sorry, I missed this the first time and did not reply.
Yes, when you are dehydrated, your body will reduce the amount of blood that flows to the skin. This will affect insulin absorption.
The G6 has been pretty accurate - my first sensor. I figure that I don’t drink water overnight so I may be the most dehydrated overnight or first thing in the morning and perhaps the readings may not be accurate. Yet, the G6 has been good.