I just answered another person about the uniqueness of each PKD patient.
many people experience very little pain with PKD, others can be in a lot of pain. it depends on how the kidneys are growing and where the cysts are.
as to thirst, you should be drinking plenty of water, you should also be avoiding salt. that means more than leaving the salt shaker alone, it means avoiding as much salt as possible in the foods you choose.
things like cold cuts, smoked meats, many canned and other prepared foods are high in salt,
its a good idea to read labels, keeping in mind you should only be consuming less than 2000 mg. sodium daily. when you check labels, check portion size too. what a person thinks is a portion may be as much as 3 portions according to the nutrition information on the label.

If you have noticed an unusual increase in thirst it's a good idea to have it checked out, especially if you have not increase sodium intake. Excessive thirst could be a sign of diabetes also. Lin.

*hugs polykid*

I don't know why there are "chosen ones" when it comes to PKD pain. My entire family has it practically and the only ones who had/have any pain are me and my late Uncle.

I just find ways to distract.

And about the salt...even the frozen veggies have a ton in them. Who knew, right?

Do you have sugar problems as well?

I know when my sugar gets low I tend to get more thirsty.

Hope you find an answer soon :)

To find out the nutritional content of different foods and drinks check out the USDA nutrient food database. It also gives the sodium content. Lin.

Thanks everybody for you advice. I am not a diabetic but my sugar is usually low. As regards to salt, I am probably eating too much of it, I don't add salt to anything or eat meats but it could be the frozen vegetarian dinners that are causing it, I don't really pay attention to the salt content. I guess it is because I eat once or twice if I am lucky. But I will try to keep a better eye on it. (My sodium intake is 1500mg a day)