Drop in urine output - is it due to the weather?

[Athena]

I've noticed that I have far less urine output overnight during sleep (I use a bedpan to monitor this). It's now about half of what I normally pass each night. It is now winter time in Australia where we have cold & dry weather conditions. I drink less water during the day and rarely feel thirsty. I am not retaining fluid, my ankles are not swollen and my weight is unchanged. The only thing that I've noticed is that the colour of the urine is a bit more darkened yellow ... Should I be concerned?

[Deanne]

If you're drinking less it's natural that your output is low. The darker color indicates you might be dehydrated. You should probably talk to your neph about how much you should drink. My instincts say you aren't drinking enough, judging by the dark color.

[Athena]

Thanks Deanne. I will see my Neph in about 2 weeks time & will discuss with him. They'll be new lab results by then! 

The only other thing I have that's going on right now is iron overload (high transferrin saturation levels) from, no doubt, too much Aranesp &/or iron infusion treatments over the last few months. I don't know if this could be linked to that.

[Charlie B53]

Most people don't realize the seasonal change in diet.  Eating and drinking less total fluids will have a direct effect on urine output.

Do you keep track of your intake?  If you started keeping record of intake vs output you should soon see the relationship.

[Athena]

Hi Charlie

I just know that I have less thirst and am just drinking less water than before. I don't really measure the input exactly, as I don't really have a fluid intake restriction. I just drink according to my thirst.  The weather is now very cold and dry here and that is why I'm drinking less water. I find it a bit unsettling to not be passing much water overnight - makes me feel like something's not working. But I feel well otherwise.

[Deanne]

Since you don't have fluid restrictions, I'd start drinking more. The dehydration will show in your labs as a higher creatinine level.

[Athena]

That's exactly what I did Deanne and my fluid output was up to normal capacity last night. It's amazing how our plumbing system is so sensitive to water. I never noticed this before. Problem seems to be over. This is a lesson to me about monitoring fluid intake & having enough of it. 

[Charlie B53]

There will be days when your diet contains far more liquid in the foods and thus your thirst will be less those days.  Not to worry,  it will balance out.  So having a 'required' amount to drink may not be the best answer.  Your body can give you clues, such as thirst.  I weigh daily, morning and night and record in my PD Log.  I too have very little restriction on what I can eat and drink.  But that does NOT mean I can splurge often.  Once in a while is O.K. fine, but generally I am a firm believer in "All things in moderation."

The last few days temps outside here in mid-Missouri have been in the mid-90's but the killer is the humidity.  It makes me seriously weak.  So I go through a LOT of water, far more than usual.  And it shows in my evening weight.  Even sweating profusely, I gained three pounds.  Some days I have remained within a tenth, but that isn't very often.

Pay attention to your thirst.  It knows when you need more fluids.

Take Care,

Charlie B

[Athena]

Pay attention to your thirst.  It knows when you need more fluids.

Take Care,

Charlie B

Charlie, that is what I believe as well. Our bodies will tell us when we need more water or not. However I think that sometimes we can miss the cues for more water & we can fall into some mild state of dehydration without really noticing? That seems to be the lesson for me from recent times. That may be why GPs are fond of saying 'you may have been a bit dehydrated on the day' when a patient's results are a bit off.

There seems to be some fine balancing act here that I need to keep an eye on. In fact, I feel like a drink right now as I write this!

[Deanne]

I've never really been able to use thirst to judge my need for water. Back in my younger, healthier days, I had to be reminded to drink something. Now that I'm a transplant patient and must drink a lot, I have to force myself to drink a lot every day by using a measured water bottle and making myself do it. Maybe you're a bit like me in that regard.

My neph never said anything about my urine concentration. I never saw a pale color until my kidney function got very low and I wasn't filtering wastes very well anymore. I don't know if it was an issue and she didn't tell me to drink more, or if it just didn't matter that much at your level of function.