Hi everyone,

Does anyone know if extreme, unquenchable thirst always relates to diabetes?
I get episodes where this happens to me & I could drink several gallons a day and it still doesnt quench my thirst. Plus I will end up going to the bathroom like every 15 mintues, even throughout the night. I had this for 2 months straight once and I also started eating pickles. I drank water like mad and could only eat pickles all day. Also got extremely tired and felt like i was out in a desert with no water, and no energy to move anymore. Then one day it just suddenly went away. Over the years Ive had short bouts of this and it always goes away. I have tried to tell doctors this and they just give me the usual rounds of tests and always say im fine. ALthough about 2 1/2 years ago I was finally diagnosed with Lupus, but no idea if any of this could be related. My sister has type 1 diabetes & was diagnosed as a toddler. My fathers uncle died from diabetes complications. My grandmother had weird symptoms where she would pass out and ended up with horrible infections in her feet and ended up getting both legs amputated...but was always told she did NOT have diabetes.

Any info would be appreciated, thank you. :)

Polydipsia is the medical term and it generally is associated with diabetes. Drinking excessive amounts of water can result in hyponatremia (low sodium) so I'm sure that's why you've been craving pickles. You can cause water intoxication which is very serious if your blood sodium becomes too low.
I think you need to contact your doctor and have some labwork done to find out what is going on.

Baybreeze,
I think the only way you're going to get some answers is to see your doctor WHILE this is happening, if you haven't already done so.

There is another type of diabetes, called diabetes incipidus, which causes extreme thirst but does not affect the blood sugar levels. It's quite rare, though.

It's also possible that you're body just tends to dehydrate easily, and the thirst is its way of getting you to replenish fluids that you don't even realize you need. You should, however, definitely have your blood sugar levels checked a few times during one of these very thirsty periods.

Ruth