[pct-l] Bathroom stops

[mkwart at gci.net]

  Melanie:

The amount of times you pee is not necessarily related to a serious 
medical problem--only of you consider getting older a serious medical 
problem. I don't know how much desert hiking you have done--but I drink 
exactly what I feel I need. You can gage by the color of your urine if 
you are drinking too little. Monitoring water intake (with the aim to 
reduce water intake) is not prudent in that or any other backpacking 
situation.

One of the natural consequences of getting older is an increase in 
frequency of urination. It is not a serious medical condition.
--Fireweed



On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 5:40 PM , Melanie Clarke wrote:

   Dear PCT,

I am amazed by all the people who allow themselves to be inconvenienced 
by urinary frequency when the remedy is so simple.  

I think it is important to get a good night's sleep.  If I had to wake 
up more than once (even once is too much) I would seriously consider 
monitoring my fluid intake near bed time.  It is difficult for me to 
fathom how some people consider urinating once every 15 minutes to be 
normal, rather than indicative of a serious medical issue.  Never mind 
hiking, I wonder how these people can get any work done?  I never 
understood how people could poison themselves by drinking too much water 
(hyponatremia), I can only reason that they achieve this by shutting 
down all common sense.

Too much of a good thing can be bad.  If a person weighed 300lbs, reason 
tells us that it would be prudent to monitor food intake, or see a 
doctor for glandular issues.  If a person is spending half their life 
over a toilet, reason should guide us to cut back on the fluid intake or 
see a doctor for diabetes, bladder infection or other medical issue.

I don't want to offend anyone but please let me suggest that you would 
have more fun in life if you ate the right amount of food and drank the 
right amount of water.  (I'm still working on "the right amount of food" 
thing!)  There are exceptions, of course, I can understand an occasional 
night of revelry and drinking which results in a lot of bathroom visits 
but this everyday water-bathroom thing, oy!

Toga


On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 10:15 AM, < mkwart at gci.net 
<mailto:mkwart at gci.net> > wrote:
The first few days backpacking I have to pee frequently (the first day
out almost once per hour). Then the frequency diminishes. I strill have
to pee about 8 times a day. I use a cottage cheese container to pee into
at night inside my tent so it doesn't disrupt my sleep as much having to
get out of the tent. I put the cover back on the container and just
dispose of the contents in the morning. I read the Andrew Skurka book
where he says he uses three sheets of toilet paper a day--I ration about
10. I've also switched from regular toilet paper to cutting sheets of
good quality paper towels in quarters--it is more absorbent for the size
than toilet paper. I have also used the small travel packets of
kleenex,which do not have to be cut and our local hardware store often
has them on special in their bargain bin at 10 packs for $1.50.
--Fireweed
_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net <mailto:Pct-L at backcountry.net>
To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l 
<http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l>

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/ 
<http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/>
All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.