Ask the Therapist
Polydipsia
I am a 21 year old female and I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
I am also pretty certain that I have some degree of borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.
My question is in regards to polydipsia. Since early high school I can always remember being very thirsty and as a result, always having a water bottle or glass of water in hand. Six years later I still find myself being plagued by this same incessant thirst, and usually drinking more water or fluids because of it. The extra water consumption is not the issue, but I am finding the thirst to be: I usually find it really hard to concentrate when I am really thirsty. In addition in the times that I have been depressed and suicidal, I think I was also usually really thirsty.
I guess my question for you would be whether the thirst that I experience would be part of some sort of personality disorder. If it is I would really like to know what to do to eliminate it as it does seem to have a significant impact on my life. (I recently talked to my psychiatrist and he said that he had never seen psychogenic polydipsia in a mood disorder, but I'm hoping that you have seen more cases)
Excessive water-drinking is a common feature in psychiatric populations, particularly in persons with personality disorders. The causes are not precisely known, but one hypothesis is that vasopressin, a hormone that controls water balance and hydration, may be abnormally regulated relative to some psychiatric states. There is also evidence that some meds like Thorazine and Prolixin may actually contribute to the condition, although it's not always meds related.
Read Leadbetter and Shutty in Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, September 1994, supplement B, pp. 110-13.
