Water2 min read
How much water to drink on GLP-1, and why it matters more now
Why water matters more on a GLP-1 medication, what changes how much you need each day, and how to drink enough when your appetite drops.
Why water matters more now
Part of each day’s water comes from food. When your appetite drops, meals get smaller, and drinking often falls behind too, without thirst giving you a warning.
Vomiting and diarrhea, which can come up during treatment, take fluid and salt with them. The prescribing information for GLP-1 agonists notes that, in these cases, dehydration can end up affecting the kidneys.
And water helps with constipation, which is common during treatment.
How much to drink
If you have a water goal, start there. What changes the math is the day: heat and exercise call for more, and vomiting and diarrhea call for a lot more, because the body is losing fluid.
If your goal feels hard to reach, it’s worth adjusting it with the people who care for you instead of forcing down large amounts. And the body’s signals help you check: a dry mouth, strong thirst and dark or scant urine show that fluid is running low.
Before any water goal
If you have heart failure or kidney disease (including if you’re on dialysis), or your care team has given you a fluid or salt limit, follow that limit, not a general goal. In these cases, oral rehydration solution is also only with your care team’s guidance.
How to drink day to day
More than how much you drink at once, what helps is spreading water across the day.
- Drink in sips throughout the day, not large amounts at once. This also helps with nausea.
- Try to drink between meals, with only a little alongside food.
- Water and unsweetened tea count.
- If you take semaglutide as a tablet, like Rybelsus, it goes in the morning, on an empty stomach, with up to 120 mL (4 oz) of water, and your next drink waits 30 minutes. The day’s water starts after that.
- With nausea, bloating or heartburn, choose still water and go easy on carbonated drinks.
- Sugary and alcoholic drinks don’t help: alcohol dehydrates and can make nausea and reflux worse.
When to get help
Vomiting or diarrhea that won’t stop, not being able to keep even water down, little or no urine, or severe dizziness call for urgent care. Confusion, severe drowsiness, cold and pale skin or trouble breathing are an emergency: go to the emergency room. If you take a diuretic or a blood pressure or diabetes medication, let your care team know the same day vomiting or diarrhea starts, because these medications need extra care when you’re losing fluid.
In Morphi
Your water goal is one tap away, with what’s left for the day, and a reminder can arrive at the time you choose.
