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Can You Confirm Or Deny That I Can Or Cannot Be Dehydrated If My Urine Is Yellow ?
Question: I am a 41yr old Caucasian male, non smoker, 190lbs, 5'8". For the last six days I have been exhibiting signs of dehydration, dry mouth that doesn't go away, headaches from time to time, and fatigue. I have never had an issue with dry mouth, headaches, or fatigue in the past. The symptoms have persisted without fever or any congestion. The dry mouth and sometimes headaches seem to get worse 10-20 mins after eating a meal
I have taken glucose readings and they are normal range. My urine is normal light yellow color always. My blood pressure is normal. I stopped all caffeine and alcohol consumption they day it started and reduced sodium intake.
I have drank minimum one gallon of water every day by sipping all day and night. I have not started any new medications. The only thing that was different was that I went to the hospital the morning of the start of the dry mouth and had a CT scan with contrast IV and liquid consumption due to increase in pain in a hernia and bloating. The ER said I had constipation, which is unusual because I take two tablespoons of psyllium husk twice a day and normally do not get constipated.
I cannot see my primary for at least three weeks so I went to urgent care this morning. I had them do an urinalysis and there was no protein or blood in urine. I take Claratin and Flonase, no prescriptions. They told me to stop Claritin for a week to see if that could be cause. I have been using claratin for 10+yrs and flonase for a couple of months.
There is hypo and hyper thryodism in my father/mother/sister. My blood work was done about 1.5yrs ago and everything was in normal range for full panel. I do have slight BPH and GERD which has caused dysphagia. I have medication I am waiting to take for this, however, do not want to start something new with current symptoms.
I also had the flu in March 2018 strain A and had complications with water in my ear and constant sinusitis to this day, hence the flonase. I still get congested from time to time from the complications. I took a packet of steroids that got rid of most of the water after two months of it not naturally leaving. I have Eustachian tube dysfunction my whole life and have had ear drum surgery 20yrs ago.
Any ideas?
Also if no real ideas without further testing, can you confirm or deny that I can or cannot be dehydrated if my urine is transparent yellow at all? times?
I have taken glucose readings and they are normal range. My urine is normal light yellow color always. My blood pressure is normal. I stopped all caffeine and alcohol consumption they day it started and reduced sodium intake.
I have drank minimum one gallon of water every day by sipping all day and night. I have not started any new medications. The only thing that was different was that I went to the hospital the morning of the start of the dry mouth and had a CT scan with contrast IV and liquid consumption due to increase in pain in a hernia and bloating. The ER said I had constipation, which is unusual because I take two tablespoons of psyllium husk twice a day and normally do not get constipated.
I cannot see my primary for at least three weeks so I went to urgent care this morning. I had them do an urinalysis and there was no protein or blood in urine. I take Claratin and Flonase, no prescriptions. They told me to stop Claritin for a week to see if that could be cause. I have been using claratin for 10+yrs and flonase for a couple of months.
There is hypo and hyper thryodism in my father/mother/sister. My blood work was done about 1.5yrs ago and everything was in normal range for full panel. I do have slight BPH and GERD which has caused dysphagia. I have medication I am waiting to take for this, however, do not want to start something new with current symptoms.
I also had the flu in March 2018 strain A and had complications with water in my ear and constant sinusitis to this day, hence the flonase. I still get congested from time to time from the complications. I took a packet of steroids that got rid of most of the water after two months of it not naturally leaving. I have Eustachian tube dysfunction my whole life and have had ear drum surgery 20yrs ago.
Any ideas?
Also if no real ideas without further testing, can you confirm or deny that I can or cannot be dehydrated if my urine is transparent yellow at all? times?
Brief Answer:
Possible causes and tests to help diagnosis explained below
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Dry mouth can be caused by several causes and it is very important to have some tests to rule out some important conditions. Having sugar blood test is important to rule out diabetes and you have already had one as mentioned above.
The urinalysis is very important as it can tell us about the density of the urine. If the density of the urine is within the normal values mentioned as normal than this is a good sign as well.
It is important to have TSH checked (to rule out thyroid problems) especially if the symptoms are recent and you have never checked TSH or the check was more than a year before the symptoms started.
Checking electrolytes is very important: Na+, K+, Ca+, Cl- in blood and sometimes in urine as well. Creatinine check should be done to evaluate kidney function. If these tests show alterations from normal values than other tests like checking blood osmolarity and urine osmolarity, checking steroid production (cortisol) and antidiuretic hormone (ADH) in your body may be important.
A CBC and ERS is always done as a routine check and would be recommended.
A possible cause of dry mouth is use of certain medications and it is good you are trying to stop claritine for a while as antihistamines can effect and cause dry mouth. Even the nasal steroid spray can cause drying of the mucosa and i would advise it is worthy to stop both the claritine and nasal steroid spray (Flonase) for at least a month to make sure the dry mouth is not related to these.
Treating GERD might be of great importance because it cause acids to effect your throat and may affect the way you feel in your mouth as well. Make sure you take Omeprazole 20 mg twice a day and try to eat frequent small amounts daily with the latest meal earlier than 3 hours from the bed time. Avoid junk food and fried or spicy food and all food you know makes GERD worse. It is great you stopped alcohol and caffeine consumption as these can contribute in the dry mouth so i would encourage you to go on not using them. If you are smoking it is recommended to quit this as well as smoking effects GERD.
A rare cause of dry mouth is an autoimmune condition called Sjogren which can be diagnosed with specific tests and your doctor might decide to go towards ruling it out.
If we do enough tests to rule out problems mentioned above and all come out normal than stress can be a possible cause of the dry mouth and headaches and treatment for this would be recommended.
I would advise you to talk with your doctor on this list of tests and possible causes of dry mouth and decide together on the best plan to diagnosis.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Kind regards.
Possible causes and tests to help diagnosis explained below
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Dry mouth can be caused by several causes and it is very important to have some tests to rule out some important conditions. Having sugar blood test is important to rule out diabetes and you have already had one as mentioned above.
The urinalysis is very important as it can tell us about the density of the urine. If the density of the urine is within the normal values mentioned as normal than this is a good sign as well.
It is important to have TSH checked (to rule out thyroid problems) especially if the symptoms are recent and you have never checked TSH or the check was more than a year before the symptoms started.
Checking electrolytes is very important: Na+, K+, Ca+, Cl- in blood and sometimes in urine as well. Creatinine check should be done to evaluate kidney function. If these tests show alterations from normal values than other tests like checking blood osmolarity and urine osmolarity, checking steroid production (cortisol) and antidiuretic hormone (ADH) in your body may be important.
A CBC and ERS is always done as a routine check and would be recommended.
A possible cause of dry mouth is use of certain medications and it is good you are trying to stop claritine for a while as antihistamines can effect and cause dry mouth. Even the nasal steroid spray can cause drying of the mucosa and i would advise it is worthy to stop both the claritine and nasal steroid spray (Flonase) for at least a month to make sure the dry mouth is not related to these.
Treating GERD might be of great importance because it cause acids to effect your throat and may affect the way you feel in your mouth as well. Make sure you take Omeprazole 20 mg twice a day and try to eat frequent small amounts daily with the latest meal earlier than 3 hours from the bed time. Avoid junk food and fried or spicy food and all food you know makes GERD worse. It is great you stopped alcohol and caffeine consumption as these can contribute in the dry mouth so i would encourage you to go on not using them. If you are smoking it is recommended to quit this as well as smoking effects GERD.
A rare cause of dry mouth is an autoimmune condition called Sjogren which can be diagnosed with specific tests and your doctor might decide to go towards ruling it out.
If we do enough tests to rule out problems mentioned above and all come out normal than stress can be a possible cause of the dry mouth and headaches and treatment for this would be recommended.
I would advise you to talk with your doctor on this list of tests and possible causes of dry mouth and decide together on the best plan to diagnosis.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Kind regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Than you Doctor for the thoroguh write up on the condition.
I will discuss all of this with my primary car doctor at our next appointment.
I do have one follow up question. I was given a prescription on Tuesday from my GI for Omeprazole 40 mg. I have not started it due to the current condition. Do you suggest that I start on it right away even with my condition?
Thank you.
I will discuss all of this with my primary car doctor at our next appointment.
I do have one follow up question. I was given a prescription on Tuesday from my GI for Omeprazole 40 mg. I have not started it due to the current condition. Do you suggest that I start on it right away even with my condition?
Thank you.
Brief Answer:
I think it is worth trying omeprazole
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I think it would be good to try omeprazole to reduce the acid reflux in your throat. This might bring improvement and is worthy to try it before having extensive work up. Acid may dry up the throat and may contribute to your condition so it's worth trying.
I see no risks with using omeprazole while you are having these symptoms.
Hope this is helpful but please let me know if I can assist further.
Kind regards.
I think it is worth trying omeprazole
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I think it would be good to try omeprazole to reduce the acid reflux in your throat. This might bring improvement and is worthy to try it before having extensive work up. Acid may dry up the throat and may contribute to your condition so it's worth trying.
I see no risks with using omeprazole while you are having these symptoms.
Hope this is helpful but please let me know if I can assist further.
Kind regards.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
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