Diabetes Insipidus

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Excuse me for a minute, I've got to go for a pee...
Phew! that's better. Sorry about that but, well that's DI for you, no sooner do you get connected to the Internet or step onto a bus or even stand in a queue. And I'm not talking about a slight need either

Let me set the scene for you on the day that I was prescribed Desmopressin. I was fairly lucky that day as I was driving myself to the hospital, Thank god I wasn't on a bus. I live around 15 miles from the hospital and I set off at around 9am. By five past nine I was standing peeing in the public toilets at the end of my town. At quarter past nine I was doing the same thing three miles further along the road. Another three miles - same again. That was it, no more toilets till I got to the hospital. I would just have to cross my legs and hold to luck. It's not so easy to drive with crossed legs though and I will admit to speeding along that road until I was able to find a discreet tree to hide behind. Actually it was not all that discreet but I was desperate so I just kept my head down and pretended it was discreet. When I got to the hospital I all but dumped the car and legged it toward the toilets. I had to go again whilst I was waiting and again just as the doctor called my name.

I'm not talking about little dribbles here, It's the full bladder every time and the thirst that comes with it is quite simply unbelievable and constant.
The doctor was on the ball, spotted the problem straight away and issued me with a script so that I could get access to some relief without having to go through the normal GP prescription process.
In a nutshell that's DI. As you can see it is a complete pain in the behind.

So what is it..
There are actually two parts to the Pituitary Gland, the anterior and the posterior. It is the posterior part that controls urine production sending signals in the form of hormones to the kidneys.
My tumour was in the anterior part of the gland but the posterior part inevitably gets damaged through surgery or follow up radiotherapy. It is this damage that causes the problem. I could explain the ins and outs of the hormones but I will leave that to others. (Some links are available at the bottom of this page) From a layman's point of view, the medication (currently Desmopressin nasal spray) replaces the hormone that tells the kidneys to stop producing urine - it has something to do with the balance of salts within the body. The effect of using this spray is almost instantaneous. Urine production slows down and the intense thirst recedes. I am fairly lucky in that I only need to use a low dosage of this hormone in order to normalise my functions and I have learned to use the spray to better effect than "2 sprays, 3 times/day" As long as I have spray available, I am in control. The problems arise when I forget to take a bottle of Desmospray out with me and I'm miles from home when I remember... But that's another story!

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