AF / Increased micturition / dehydration. Balance?

[jennydog]

Since my ablation I have occasional mild AF. I can always predict its onset because I start to produce unaccountably large amounts of urine.

Normally I go to bed at about 10 then maybe have to get up for a wee at 1.30 then I get up at 7.15 (a creature of habit)

Yesterday morning I was up at 1 30, 5.15, 6.30 and 7.15. I produced 4 complete bladder fulls yet I had drunk nothing since early evening. ( no alcohol involved ) I knew when I woke at 5.15 that my heart was fibrillating.

We have discussed increased micturition on here previously and have established that a fibrillating heart sends the kidneys into over-drive. What I want to know is this. Is my body getting rid of excess fluid which I should not have retained OR am I becoming dehydrated in which case I should be drinking extra water to compensate? We know that dehydration can trigger AF but taking on too much liquid isn't good either.

[BobD Volunteer]

Interesting question and one I usually answer for myself by colour. If your wee is like water or dry white wine then all is well. If it looks like Lucozade then drink more water. If it looks like Rose' then you have an infection problem! lol I don't exactly keep a colour chart in the loo but it is quite a useful guide.

In warm weather we need to drink at least two litres of water a day and this does not include tea , coffee , wine or beer etc. which are all diuretics and have a negative effect on hydration.

Your night time sounds quite average to me but then I had part of my bladder removed during prostate cancer surgery so two to three hours is my best storage anyway.

[jennydog in reply to BobD]

Bob, I never looked. In actual fact I have a blue block hanging on the side of the pan so everything is very blue. I'll have to remove it so that I can assess things !!

[CDreamer in reply to BobD]

There IS a colour chart in our loo - produced by one of the research nurses of the RD&E - we were asked to trial it along with a simple fluid chart in/out. Made us very much more conscious of how much fluids one has to drink one to keep hydrated - however they include tea, coffee, soup and even custard!

Also bear in mind that certain foods (beetroot is a good example) and supplements will colour your urine.

[Nannadee in reply to BobD]

Thanks for the colorful wee discriptions Bob, you never cease to make me laugh.

[Finvola]

It is an interesting question and my guess would be that too much water after AF episodes will be excreted normally if kidneys are normal. I always felt thirsty after an episode but mild dehydration could have caused it in the first place.

I love Bob's description - rose, white wine and Lucozade will never mean the same again. 🙂

[Hidden]

I judge my dehydration by my pee colour; it gets darker even half way through a game of golf if it's hot. Mind you, the way I play I do a lot of walking in a zig-zag pattern! Anyhow, I find that test works for me and I sip water accordingly trying to never get the dark colour. So if your pee is normal colour, you aren't dehydrated (I think?).

My wife drinks an incredible amount of water and I have to say it worries me.

Koll

[Hidden]

Yes, severely increased urination during AF episodes.

[Hidden]

Hi Jenny, I would say you are being dehydrated and I would replace by drinking.

I agree your early AF signposting through the sudden production of unaccountable urine; incidentally this still occurs when on Flecainide only because of the drug no AF results - as mentioned here before. I experienced this up to one year after taking the drug but in my second year no longer.

Again read here, the best advice I have seen (as we are all different) is as Bob says adjust water intake according to colour; mine can be anything from very dark yellow to almost completely clear. Drinking too much water can leach out essential nutrients....it's good old granny advice back in the day!

[nettecologne]

The urine you produce during an AF attack does not concentrate. So it would be little use I think looking at the color. Normally color of urine is a sign for whether you drink enough. But during AF (if it is just an attack of several hours) there is no concentration. Your kidneys just work overtime and go on doing so as long as there is one drop left to work on. It is different from what happens during summer or sport if you drink too little.

For me too the urine thing is always there when in AF. I have to go about every hour when at night, during daytime and when pulse is really high in the beginning sometimes every 15 minutes. I go less when in AF and pulse is got down some by meds (with me never under 100 though).

Might have something to do with vasopressin, will have to look it up. Then it would not concentrate either.

Sorry if my English is faulty, I am German.

nette