BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - A young man from Bosnia and Herzegovina drinks up to 27 liters (over seven gallons) of water a day to prevent his body from dehydrating due to a rare disease, known as pseudo-diabetes.
Marin Cuturic, 26, was diagnosed with congenital pseudo-diabetes, or diabetes insipidus, a disease that causes excessive urination and seemingly unquenchable thirst.
Cuturic, who lives in the central town of Fojnica, takes a few bottles of water with him wherever he goes as, since his childhood, he has constantly craved a drink.
"If they don't give me what I want right away, I'll get a fever," Cuturic told Anadolu Agency.
He recounted that, as a child, his family took him to see many doctors across the country upon his uncommon requests for fluid.
"The diagnosis was made in Split, Croatia. Pseudo-diabetes, or non-diabetic diabetes, means that two hormones secreted by the pituitary gland are damaged," Cuturic explained.
He has since learned to live the incurable condition, but says he can get a fever and even lose consciousness if he does not drink enough water.
"I've accepted my situation. This is how I can be live. Water is my source of life. I drink 27 liters of water a day in the summer. It's a little less in the winter. I drink 23 to 24 liters of water, on average."
"I was dehydrated once. I was in a car accident in the forest. My car flipped over. I was dehydrated until I got out of the forest," said Cuturic.
However, despite all the difficulties, he prefers to have a positive outlook on life.
"This is what I suggest for everyone. Don't create pressure. Anything can be solved in your head. There's nothing that a person can't do if they want to," he said.
Cuturic has to wake up every two hours during the night to drink water and has a hard time on long bus trips as he needs to take frequent bathroom breaks.
His doctor says his body, including his kidneys, are healthy and that everything is in order for him to have a long life.