Q. Is it possible for postpartum psychosis to cause dehydration?

Hi doctor,

Is it possible to dehydrate yourself overnight? For about 11 months, I was malnourished and dehydrated. I have been drinking water, eating well, and gaining weight since then. All of this has been going on for over a year. I consume electrolyte-enhanced water. I recently had a blood test to check my electrolytes, and the results were normal. I drink at least 60 ounces of water daily, plus juice and tea. I drank 68 ounces of water, a cup of chai tea, and about 8 ounces of juice yesterday. Last night was scorching. I woke up in the middle of the night and fell back asleep. My body gets hot quickly, and I occasionally have night sweats (not sure of the cause of night sweats, but possibly a side effect of my medication).

I felt terrible when I woke up this morning. My head did not feel right (it is difficult to describe how it felt), and my body felt weak and as if I had gotten out of a sauna. I drank water immediately and felt better about an hour and a half after waking up and drinking 15 ounces of water. Is it possible that I was dehydrated? I am concerned that I was dehydrated at night, despite being told several times that you cannot get dehydrated overnight. Also, what can I do to avoid getting dehydrated overnight if you believe I am? I drink water throughout the day, including before going to bed. I do not know what else I can do. What could it be if you do not believe it is dehydration or something else?

Hi doctor,

Thank you for the reply.

Postpartum depression and anxiety were the root causes of my dehydration and malnutrition. I never had these mental illnesses before giving birth to my child. However, I was very ill after having her, had no appetite, was in bed all the time, depressed, dizzy, nauseous, and dehydrated. It continued for 11 months. I was underweight. I consulted a doctor and started antidepressants immediately, and I have been on medication, hydrated, and eating healthy. I put on weight. My health has improved, but not nearly as much as it used to be.

I have orthostatic hypotension (not sure what the cause is or why it continues even though I drink a lot of water), I wake up feeling cranky some days, and my body does not feel right. I also get brain fog and feel lethargic. It almost feels like I am drunk or that I just ran on a treadmill and got off, leaving me with that strange feeling in my head.

It is difficult to describe, but it occurs to me frequently. My body is weak, resulting in poor posture. In addition, most of the weight was around my belly, making me bloated, which made me feel very uncomfortable and affected my posture. My heart rate is always increasing. I take multivitamins and Vitamin D supplements. I recently had a blood test to check my thyroid hormones, vitamins, electrolytes, iron, and so on, and everything was normal.

As you can see, this traumatic experience has left me with a slew of symptoms. How can I recover from this situation? And also I would like to know why it occurs.