Cloudy Urine In Crashes

[Machair]

I have noticed that when my other symptoms are flaring I have cloudy urine. It seems to be related to dehydration as as I go downhill I need to drink more to boost blood volume. A few drinks of water and it goes clear again. I am not diabetic but I have had kidney stones in the past.
Anyone else have this?- it is like I need to drink like a fish but the body just pees it out leaving me dehydrated. There is no pain or infection there just a need to keep drinking to stop it getting cloudy.

 

[Legendrew]

I have noticed that when my other symptoms are flaring I have cloudy urine. It seems to be related to dehydration as as I go downhill I need to drink more to boost blood volume. A few drinks of water and it goes clear again. I am not diabetic but I have had kidney stones in the past.
Anyone else have this?- it is like I need to drink like a fish but the body just pees it out leaving me dehydrated. There is no pain or infection there just a need to keep drinking to stop it getting cloudy.

Have you had kidney stones recurrently? If so i'd recommend a blood calcium test.

 

[xchocoholic]

I'm a stoner and I get this sometimes. Are you on the low oxalate diet? That and avoiding tea help me.

Drinking a lot of water without avoiding these didn't work for me. Nuts and seeds esp would cause symptoms.

Oh and drinking cranberry juice helps.

Tc ... x

 

[CBS]

I have noticed that when my other symptoms are flaring I have cloudy urine. It seems to be related to dehydration as as I go downhill I need to drink more to boost blood volume. A few drinks of water and it goes clear again. I am not diabetic but I have had kidney stones in the past.
Anyone else have this?- it is like I need to drink like a fish but the body just pees it out leaving me dehydrated. There is no pain or infection there just a need to keep drinking to stop it getting cloudy.

I wanted to comment on this because I have noticed for years that when I overdo it and "crash" my urine is usually cloudy. It isn't dark because of low fluid volume, it is cloudy which is very different. In fact, it is more likely to be dilute due to excess fluid loss (an importnat distinction from being highly concentrated due to dehydration).

According to the NIH page on urine color "Cloudy or milky urine is a sign of a urinary tract infection, which may also cause a bad smell. Milky urine may also be caused by bacteria, crystals, fat, white or red blood cells, or mucus in the urine."

I doubt the cause for myself is a urinary track infection as I have none of the other symptoms and the cloudiness is transient. I've wondered how many patients had brought this to their doctors attention and whether or not any one was giving this any thought. It might be too non-specific but for me it is quite a reliable indicator of how well I am doing.

 

[xchocoholic]

After several years of having kidney stones or utis, I found it impossible to tell a "crashed" feeling (tired can't function for more than a few minutes) from having a mild uti unless my urine is chalky or pink then I know it's my urinary tract.

I'm assuming the white chalky substance is from whatever the oxalates have bound to that didn't turn into a stone.

Fwiw, I typically have pinkish or even dark red urine with obvious pieces of tissue if I'm passing a stone. So far medical persons have been impressed with the color and texture of my urine when I'm passing a stone. They always swish the urine container around and say "Uh huh, wow".

As a pwc I'm always pleased to have a documentable symptom.

Btw, does anyone else have bladder spasms? That was one of my first symptoms. Those stopped on their own after awhile, months or years, I can't remember.

Tc ... x

 

[Legendrew]

People having kidney stones should certainly have their calcium levels checked if they haven't already, this could be pointing to another condition aside from or in combination with ME/CFS.

 

[Machair]

Yes I agree calcium is important with regard to kidney stones. I have a family history of kidney stones but have been very lucky to only have one bad bout of them in my twenties almost 30 years ago.

This cloudy urine is a finding that is associated with ME crashes as it occurs when other symptoms are increasing, such as all the autonomic ones including IBS temperature control and low blood sugar attacks. As I move into relapse my body craves carbs and fluids as if to keep going, but it only works for a short time before I am in a dreadful state.I get a sore throat with enlarged tonsils as well as restless legs, poor sleep and many other hallmark symptoms.Anyone else have this cloudy urine?

 

[Machair]

Yes CBS I really see where you are coming from and can identify with what you have experienced exactly. I know Nancy Klimas has said we are a litre short on blood volume so maybe as this falls too low the kidneys struggle to filter the urine. I think the brain may also be too tired to control the renal system and as we improve the urine becomes clear again.
I know it gives me a bad headache as well at times so this would suggest dehydration.

 

[barbc56]

If you have a history of having kidney stones it is importants to get calcium levels checked if they haven't already, this could be pointing to another condition aside from or in combination to ME/CFS

.

I think this is an important point. I had kidney stones two years apart and each time I had been taking large amounts of vi,am in D3. I just found out that my calcium is high.

Have you had your kidneys checked by a blood test and then talk to your doctor. I would think so when you had kidney stones, but don't know if this would skew the results.

You also have to be careful with taking too much vitamin D3. But consult with your doctor as this is my personal experience which may not pertain to you.

Good luck.

Barb

 

[Wendi C]

I had this symptom for years before I started seeing my doc who turned things around to positive. For me, it still happens on occasion when I'm having a horrible down day and eat a lot of protein, but years ago, it happened on a good day and always after eating a high protein meal. I started taking pancreatic enzymes, shooting up with sub-q B6, Bcomplex and glutathione. This completely went away for years but has come back on a rare occasion so i started up again taking pancreatic enzymes with high protein meals. It seems to make a difference. I have never had pain or anything else associated with it; it just struck me as odd and not normal. No MD has ever had an answer for me on this.

 

[Timaca]

I was having cloudy urine, especially in the morning. Then I decided (for various reasons) to go on a low histamine diet. I wasn't eating that many foods high in histamine....avocados being the main one. I dropped the avocados and the next day my urine was clear. Today it was clear also. I am shocked. I am also feeling better. So we'll see where this leads. If you want info on a low histamine diet see my post here.

Best,

 

[vortex]

I just had a cloudy urine crash, which is why I am here posting on this old thread.

It is the same pattern as always, I will be very tired during the day and sleep or take a nap and then I get up to go and it comes out cloudy.

It is almost like my body is fighting some sort of infection and the cellular debris protein that is circulating in my blood is cleared by the kidneys and making it cloudy, I didnt think the kidneys could do that so maybe thats not even possible. They are supposed to filter and not pass protein.

but it seems to be related to some sort of infection die-off in my system, not in my urinary tract.

I generally start to feel better after passing the cloudy urine like it was purged and now I feel better.

I first started noticing this when I would take iodine. Now iodine is complex and does alot of things in the body so I am not sure what was happening. But its probably one of two things, one taking iodine purges bromine from the body and is known to make cloudy urine, so I thought it was that, but it is also a pathogen killer so it could have been the infection theory die-off too.
Since it happens now that I dont take iodine, I am more apt to think it is a die-off effect of some sort of infection.

 

[IreneF]

My husband gets kidney stones. I think they are calcium oxalate. He's never said anything about cloudy urine, just intense pain that's involved trips to the ER. He had one removed about 8 mos. ago.

Strangely enough, his urologist told him to eat more calcium-rich foods. I think the logic is that the calcium gets bound up in the intestine and passes out, instead of going into the kidney and causing problems.

So he eats lots of yogurt.

 

[adreno]

Sounds like low aldosterone. This will cause a loss of minerals.

BTW, avocados are a source of GLA which inhibits aldosterone.

 

[zzz]

I started having cloudy urine shortly after my last relapse 16 years ago. As with people here, the occurrences happened in conjunction with flare-ups.

My doctor asked me to bring in a sample of the cloudy urine. When I did, he measured the pH and found it to be 8.5. The normal pH range for urine is 4.6 to 8.0; for most people, it's usually in the range of 5.5 to 6.5, with the lower numbers in the morning, and higher numbers in the evening. Lower numbers mean more acidic urine, while higher numbers mean more alkaline urine; a value of 7 is neutral. My blood pH was measured; it was normal.

The most likely cause of cloudy, alkaline urine that occurs during a flare-up is precipitation of phosphates and carbonate salts into crystals. In the presence of a UTI, this can be caused by a urea-splitting organism. Otherwise, the cause is not obvious. But considering that these episodes often accompany flare-ups for us, in these cases it could be a sign of a low-grade infection, which would then be resolved when the flare-up ends.

You can see how alkaline your urine is either by using pH strips, or by dissolving a few drops of vinegar in it. If the vinegar clears up the urine, it was alkaline.

So if your urine is cloudy during a flare-up because it's alkaline, and it returns to clear when the flare-up is over, then it's probably nothing to worry about. However, if the cloudy urine is due to a UTI, the UTI needs to be treated. And if your urine is cloudy all the time, you should see your doctor.

 

[barbc56]

My husband gets kidney stones. I think they are calcium oxalate. He's never said anything about cloudy urine, just intense pain that's involved trips to the ER. He had one removed about 8 mos. ago.

Strangely enough, his urologist told him to eat more calcium-rich foods. I think the logic is that the calcium gets bound up in the intestine and passes out, instead of going into the kidney and causing problems.

So he eats lots of yogurt.

I don't want to sidetrack this forum but the fact that it a good idea to increase your calcium intake but not take an oral supplement may show that supplements are not metablized the same as getting the same nutrients in food. Just a theory as I don't know if there is any science behind this.

As I'very stated before I had kidney stones when taking vitamin D3. However I have been dealing with several stones since April and am not supplementing with D3, so who knows?

Something interesting my urologist said is NOT to drink cranberry juice, at least for stones as it binds with the minerals that form kidney stones.

Cloudy urine can be normal or indicate health issues, so best to have it checked by a doctor.

Barb

 

[IreneF]

I don't want to sidetrack this forum but the fact that it a good idea to increase your calcium intake but not take an oral supplement may show that supplements are not metablized the same as getting the same nutrients in food. Just a theory as I don't know if there is any science behind this.

As I'very stated before I had kidney stones when taking vitamin D3. However I have been dealing with several stones since April and am not supplementing with D3, so who knows?

Something interesting my urologist said is NOT to drink cranberry juice, at least for stones as it binds with the minerals that form kidney stones.

Cloudy urine can be normal or indicate health issues, so best to have it checked by a doctor.

Barb

There are several different kinds of kidney stones, so you should definitely talk to your doc. I thought my husband would have the uric acid type, because he also gets gout. I think his are related to a birth defect (flattened kidney tubules).

Now I'm wondering if the mineral water we drink is good or bad. It has quite a bit of calcium. When I took calcium supplements I got constipated. I'm not sure how that works.

I think cranberry juice is no longer recommended for anything(?)