Weight inexplicably drops after shower

Dear Dr. Gott: This is a strange question, but I was hoping you’d be able to answer it.

Tell me why, right after I wake up, I can weigh myself (sans clothing, jewelry, after going to the bathroom, etc.) and a half-hour later, usually after taking a shower and drying my hair, I’ll weigh again and invariably will be 1/2 to 1 pound lighter.

My buddy has noticed the exact same phenomenon, and we can’t figure it out. Even without the shower (though I doubt that could be a factor – the amount of pre-shower dirt can’t weigh 1/2 pound!), we weigh up to a pound lighter a half-hour after waking.

I know it’s a completely inconsequential and silly question, but it’s really an interesting phenomenon, and I can’t think of a logical explanation.

Try it and see if the same thing happens to you. I’d be curious to hear your theory.

Dear Reader: I don’t have an explanation for this unusual phenomenon. I could reassure you if you weighed 1/2 pound more before urinating in the morning, because you easily could expel 1/2 pint of urine. (One pound equals a pint.)

Sorry, you have stumped me. Any suggestions out there?

Dear Dr. Gott: I read your column on Lyme disease being a problem in the Midwest.

In 1995, I contracted Lyme disease while hiking in the Santa Monica mountains in Ventura County about 45 miles from Los Angeles. I was lucky.

I developed the erythema migrans rash, so it was clear I had been infected. I contacted my family physician and at least four other doctors in my area and was told that “there is no Lyme disease here in Southern California.”

I was fortunate to find a doctor who took immediate and aggressive action to counteract the spirochete development.

I consider myself very fortunate. Awareness is the key to prompt and effective treatment.

Dear Reader: Other readers also have commented on the reality of Lyme disease in areas outside the Northeast. I hope that physicians in the Midwest and far West will recognize that in addition to Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease always must be considered in patients who have the characteristic Lyme rash and muscle aches and pains.