How does diabetes insipidus affect the body

The reduced level of ADH may be caused by damage to the hypothalamus or pituitary gland. This damage may be due to surgery, infection, inflammation, tumor , or injury to the brain.

This controls urine output and fluid balance and prevents dehydration. In mild cases, drinking more water may be all that is needed. If the body's thirst control is not working for example, if the hypothalamus is damaged , a prescription for a certain amount of water intake may also be needed to ensure proper hydration. Outcome depends on the cause. If treated, central diabetes insipidus usually does not cause severe problems or result in early death.

Not drinking enough fluids can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. When taking vasopressin and your body's thirst control is not normal, drinking more fluids than your body needs can cause dangerous electrolyte imbalance. If you have central diabetes insipidus, contact your provider if frequent urination or extreme thirst returns. Many of the cases may not be preventable. Prompt treatment of infections, tumors, and injuries may reduce risk. Brimioulle S.

Diabetes insipidus. Textbook of Critical Care. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap The hypothalamus. In some cases, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus may go away after treating its cause. For example, switching medicines or taking steps to balance the amount of calcium or potassium in your body may be enough to resolve the problem. Your health care professional may also prescribe a class of diuretic medicines called thiazides to help reduce the amount of urine your kidneys make.

Sucking on ice chips or sugar free candies to moisten your mouth and increase saliva flow may help reduce your thirst. If you wake up many times at night to urinate, your health care professional may suggest you take a small dose of desmopressin at bedtime. Your health care professional may also monitor your blood levels of sodium, which can drop too low if you have this condition. Health care professionals treat gestational diabetes insipidus with desmopressin, which is safe for both mother and baby.

Gestational diabetes insipidus usually goes away after the baby is born, but may return if the mother becomes pregnant again. Researchers have not found that eating, diet, and nutrition play a role in causing or preventing diabetes insipidus. To reduce symptoms, your health care professional may suggest you eat a diet that is low in salt and protein to help your kidneys make less urine. In some cases, these changes alone may be enough to keep your symptoms under control, particularly if you have nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.

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Griffin P. Rodgers explaining the importance of participating in clinical trials. You can view a filtered list of clinical studies on diabetes insipidus that are open and recruiting at www. You can expand or narrow the list to include clinical studies from industry, universities, and individuals; however, the National Institutes of Health does not review these studies and cannot ensure they are safe.

Always talk with your health care provider before you participate in a clinical study. The NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public.

How common is diabetes insipidus? Who is more likely to have diabetes insipidus? What are the complications of diabetes insipidus?

What are the symptoms of diabetes insipidus? What causes diabetes insipidus? How do health care professionals diagnose diabetes insipidus?

How do health care professionals treat diabetes insipidus? How do eating, diet, and nutrition affect diabetes insipidus? Diabetes insipidus is a condition where the body loses too much fluid through urination, causing a significant risk of dangerous dehydration as well as a range of other illnesses and conditions. People with diabetes insipidus produce excessive amounts of urine, resulting in frequent urination and thirst. However, the underlying cause of these two symptoms differs from types 1 and 2 diabetes.

The disease takes two main forms: Mephrogenic diabetes insipidus and central or neurogenic diabetes insipidus. Central diabetes insipidus occurs when the pituitary gland fails to secrete the hormone vasopressin, which regulates bodily fluids. In nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, vasopressin secretion is normal, but the kidneys do not correctly respond to the hormone.

Diabetes insipidus affects roughly 1 in every 25, people in the United States. The main symptom of all cases of diabetes insipidus is frequently needing to pass high volumes of diluted urine. In this case, results from the loss of water through urine.

The thirst prompts the person with diabetes insipidus to drink large volumes of water. The need to urinate can disturb sleep. The volume of urine passed each day can be anywhere between 3 liters and 20 liters, and up to 30 liters in cases of central diabetes insipidus. Another secondary symptom is dehydration due to the loss of water, especially in children who may not be able to communicate their thirst. Children may become listless and feverish, experience vomiting and diarrhea , and may show delayed growth.

Other people unable to help themselves to water, such as people with dementia , are also at risk of dehydration. Extreme dehydration can lead to hypernatremia, a condition in which the sodium concentration of the serum in the blood becomes very high due to low water retention. The cells of the body also lose water. Hypernatremia can lead to neurological symptoms, such as overactivity in the brain and nerve muscles, confusion, seizures, or even coma. Without treatment, central diabetes inspidus can lead to permanent kidney damage.

In nephrogenic DI, serious complications are rare, so long as water intake is sufficient. Diabetes insipidus becomes a serious problem only for people who cannot replace the fluid that is lost in the urine. Access to water and other fluids makes the condition manageable. If there is a treatable underlying cause of the high urine output, such as diabetes mellitus or drug use, addressing this should help resolve the diabetes insipidus.

For central and pregnancy-related diabetes insipidus, drug treatment can correct the fluid imbalance by replacing vasopressin. For nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, the kidneys will require treatment.

Care should be taken not to overdose, as this can lead to excessive water retention and, in rare, severe cases, hyponatremia and fatal water intoxication. The drug is otherwise generally safe when used at appropriate dosages, with few side effects. It is, however, not effective if diabetes insipidus occurs as a result of kidney dysfunction. Mild cases of central diabetes insipidus may not need hormone replacement and can be managed through increased water intake. A doctor may also advise a low-salt diet, and a person with diabetes insipidus may be referred to a nutritionist to organize a diet plan.

Reducing caffeine and protein intake and removing processed foods from the diet can be effective steps to controlling water retention, as well as consuming foods with high water content, such as melons. Both types of diabetes insipidus are linked to a hormone called vasopressin but occur in different ways. Vasopressin promotes water retention in the kidneys. This also keeps blood pressure at a healthy level.