How to Diagnose Pituitary Diabetes Insipidus

Pituitary diabetes insipidus (DI), also called central or neurogenic DI, is a condition in which the pituitary gland has been injured in some way and cannot regulate how your body deals with fluids. Water that normally would stay in your body is excreted through urination--a much higher output of urination than normal. People who have pituitary DI are often very thirsty, may lose weight easily because of excessive urination, and may get up several times a night to use the bathroom. A variety of diagnostic testing can be used to identify diabetes insipidus.

Things You'll Need

• Journal
• Urinalysis
• Water deprivation test
• MRI
• Blood tests

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Instructions

• 1

  Keep a journal of your symptoms if you have been using the bathroom more than usual. Record when you last drank liquids, how much you drank and when you urinated. Bring your notes to your doctor so he can compare them to his diagnostic testing.

• 2

  Submit to a urinalysis test as the first step toward diagnosing central diabetes insipidus. People who have DI tend to produce urine that has proportionally more water than waste products. Testing the urine to determine its concentration can lead to a confirmation of DI.

• 3

  Take a water deprivation test in an effort to diagnose pituitary DI. Don't drink anything for two to three hours before the test. Your doctor will measure how much urine you produce, how much you weigh, and measure hormones that are present in your body, trying to link the findings to factors that indicate you may have DI.

• 4

  Undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of your brain so that your pituitary gland's activity will be revealed. This type of test will show if you have an inflammation or other pituitary disorder that is interfering with hormone storage, one of the common causes of neurogenic diabetes insipidus.

• 5

  Determine if you have a type of DI that runs in families by undergoing genetic testing. Simple blood tests, along with your family's medical history, can lead to a diagnosis of hereditary forms of pituitary DI.