Is there really such thing as drinking too much?

I used to be so bad with under drinking. I'm talking I'd have only one drink in a whole day. I know its bad and I felt the side effects so I've been making a real effort to drink more. My aim was 2L a day, and I've been doing it but i find even after drinking 2L, I still feel just as dehydrated and thirsty (just minus the headaches) and so I've been thinking of increasing the amount, say to 3/4L a day but now I'm worried about over drinking and doing damage too...is there really such a thing as drinking too much and if so, how much is too much?
Any advice/thoughts are appreciated

Just as having too little water can cause dehydration, having too much can cause over-hydration. Have a look at water intoxication for more information.

For some people, 3L is too much, for others, it’s fine. I’d monitor your intake though and if you get any headaches, nausea, muscle fatigue.

One of my patients at the moment has a risk of over-hydrating as he is constantly requesting drinks/ fluid and will seek it out from wherever possible.

One of my patients at the moment has a risk of over-hydrating as he is constantly requesting drinks/ fluid and will seek it out from wherever possible.

Wow I thought this thread was going to be about alcoholic drinking and I was about to send a link to the NHS liver cirrhosis page

Does he have diabetes insipidus?

Your body will tell you when it's thirsty. When I was on a low-carb diet (and so not getting much water from food), 4 litres was actually more like my minimum intake per day, because I was thirsty and needed it. If you're thirsty, then you likely need to drink.

3-4 litres is absolutely fine imo, and probably good for you really. It's more about the time in which you drink it. Your body can probably handle about around a litre per hour at its maximum capacity, so try to space it out and you'll be just fine from what I've read. Since everyone is different I would keep an eye out for symptoms of overhydration, but some sources say that it would take around 20 litres in a day to cause serious damage.

I used to go by this article so take a look yourself if you'd like: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318619#how-much-is-too-much

That makes a lot of sense. I had also been wondering if my issue was drinking too closely together rather than spacing out. Thats good to hear, so I'm good to drink whenever i feel thirsty. Thank you!

Not a problem! Keep a mental note of how you feel and don’t ignore warning signs, but yeah in my opinion you should be just fine drinking when thirsty

Thank you, really appreciate the advice!