Water

[robinc2525]

I generally have problems in the morning with urgency, but I've noticed that if I drink water right when I get it up speeds things up considerably and usually ends up giving me watery D within a few hours. I have always wondered why this happens. Is it because my intestines are inflamed and don't soak up the water properly and so it goes right through me?

[tex]

Is it because my intestines are inflamed and don't soak up the water properly and so it goes right through me?

Yes. With secretory D (the type of watery D that characterizes MC), instead of absorbing and recycling water and electrolytes, the colon infuses water and electrolytes into the lumen. This is why we can become severely dehydrated so quickly when MC is active. When we are in a flare, the colon will continue to secrete water and electrolytes until no more water is available.

When we wake up in the mornings, we are essentially dehydrated (because we haven't ingested any liquids for an extended length of time). As we drink water, the small intestine will absorb as much of it as possible, and then the colon will take advantage of the available supply, and dump some of it back into the lumen (the interior of the intestines). Some people try to limit the amount of water they drink, for that reason, but that's a dangerous game to play, because dehydration is the one complication of MC that can (and occasionally does) lead to fatal consequences.

Tex