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Fighting Dehydration

Kevin

Kevin

Staff member
Dehydration is the most commonly searched for keyword on this site so I just wanted to start a thread that people can post any advice they have on fighting dehydration. Any help here I think would be greatly appreciated by quite a few members. My only suggestion is Drink Water, so I'm guessing some of you can come up with better strategies.. Thanks!
 
I'm not saying this will work for everyone but my surgeon, dietitian and primary care physician said any decaf, non-alcoholic beverage will work. This includes stuff like crystal light and other sugar free powders, vitamin water, decaf teas, etc. I'm still pre-surgical but have had this conversation with the bariatric surgeon and his dietitian. Post surgery there can be no carbonated beverages either. I used to drink diet soda by the liters. I'm very happy to say I no longer drink them-gave them up last summer in anticipation of WLS:)

Now if I could only drink plain water. This has been a life long issue. Mom used to fight with me over this when I was a young thing but grandpa used to say "water is for washing" *lol*.

I try so very hard to drink water but it just doesn't want to go down:(
 
I'm a water-hound. We have our own well and the water source is an underground aquifer. It has a 7 yr filter life before it reaches our well and the first time air ever hits it is when it comes out of our faucets. So it is absolutely DEEEEElicious. Our kids drink it 99% of the time as well, by choice.

We are moving up to Oregon and I'm worried. I'm trying to figure out who I can get to come over here ever week and get some water for me and ship it up north. LOL.

Pat is sooo right. I was told the same thing, Pat. Add flavor to it. It's funny, I don't have to worry about too much sugar anymore but my body can't really tolerate too much so drinks like crystal light are wonderful.

I do have koolaid from time to time and tea I brew myself or get from someplace that brews it. Instant tea makes me ill.

Getting the H20 in us really is difficult, but guys, it's a fact of life now. You have to do it. It's not an choice you can make. It's a requirement. Okay, not true. You can choose to not drink the water and end up in the hospital for dehydration, nausea, heart problems, coma, or whatever. It IS a choice.

Choose wisely.
 
Is there anyone out there like me that has a problem just getting fluids down? I cant do anything flavored because of the gas. It is a daily battle and now all of a sudden, I cant eat. Everything tastes disgusting. Would be glad to have some advice.
 
I am 38 days post-op registering a loss of 38 lbs. I struggle daily to get all my water in. I find myself staying up late just to try and do so and waking up in the middle of the night with a bone dry mouth and dry eye. I have to wear a cpap mask at night so I can't put that on until I've tried to get my water in or am just too exhausted to keep at it. I don't feel thirsty most of the time so I easily don't think about it when I'm preoccupied at work. By the time I do think about it, playing catch up is hard because I can't take much in at a time. Before surgery I drank water, tea, and crystal light like a fish. People often commented on how much water I would drink. I suspect most of the weight I've lost thus far was from water retention. I worry that if I don't form a habit of taking in 64oz water that it's going to take it's toll on my body. I mostly drink water, crystal light and vitaminwater zero. I thought about getting a timer and setting it every 10 min as a reminder until I get in the habit of sipping constantly throughout the day. I never imagined it would be this hard.
 
I still fight to get it all in, Tricia. And it's been almost 3 years. I sip all day but thankfully I can drink a few oz at a time now. Just keep trying. We all have a struggle with it. Unless you truly are dehydrated dont beat yourself up over it. This process is difficult enough without beating ourselves up.
 
I too am having trouble getting enough fluids down. I think I have a fear of the "air bubble". But powerade zero helps.
 
It does get better. It was almost 4 months ago that I had the most severe issues. I am almost 6 months out and have lost 98 pounds. The fluids go down much easier now. I keep a bottle of water, (dasani is my choice) with me at all times. I occasionally drink tea with sweet & low, but I still don't care for flavors. I have also discovered that I tend to drink more water if I'm socializing. I can easily drink 2 bottles in the hour and a half that I'm in church opposed to the 1 bottle every 2 hours if I'm home by myself.
 
If you prefer something with flavor then drink that instead. Any non carbonated non caffeinated beverage will work, it doesn't have to be plain water. Just mix up your favorite beverage and take it along with you. If you use instant beverage powders than take some with you or keep in your car for unexpected trips and you will never run out. All you need to do is get some water and mix it up :) :) :)

I take my beverage with me even if I'm only going to be out in the yard. I use my 20 ounce thermal cup with plenty of ice and if I drink it all I go back inside and make another.
 
I will be 5 weeks postop this coming fri....I find myself drinking constantly all day, and have to set a timer for 30min before a meal and 30 after a meal. If I don't I just keep drinking. I am drinking about 80oz of fluids a day. For some reason since surgery I can't seem to get enough, and it tastes so good to me. Mio and SugarFree Hawaiian Punch-Purple Smash are my favs.
 
I like the Hawaiian punch all three flavors, the grape reminds me of grape popsicles and the punch flavore almost taste like it did when I was a kid:eek:. I always keep a few boxes at work and home and some in my pack and I try and keep at least 5 gallons of water in my work truck incase I get stuck out in the woods for a few days fighting fires. :cool: Tom
 
I'm also a Hawaiin Punch fan and tried a couple of the Mio flavors just recently. It's difficult to find the Hawaiin Punch at the store sometimes so when I find it I buy a bunch. My favorite is the fruit juicy red but I like the purple berry smash too. Haven't seen grape yet but if I do I wll buy some. I think the Hawaiin Punch tastes a lot better than Crystal Light and it costs about half. I tried Kool Aid and added sweetener but it never tastes good for some reason.
 
I find some great Hawaiian punch at Walmart and it's only $1. The grape is awesome, I have to hide it from my grandkids, and yes they are all sugar free
 
Hi Pat, it's the Wild Purple Blast that reminds me of the grape popcicles I had when I was a kid, I am going to freeze some this summer to see if they are like that frozen. The third one is Berry Blue Typhoon. :cool: Tom

Hi NanaG, My grandkids havent found it yet but they usually have a soda when they come over anyways, when I was a kid soad was a treat and now a days it seems like the norm, even when I was over weight I rarely drank soda, it was either tea, water, coffee, beer or wine, Now it is hawiaan punch, water, coffe or tea, but I can live with that:D Tom
 
My grandkids live with me, and it's not so much them because they are ages 5 and 2, so it's my son in law that constantly drinks them, and goes through them like crazy. So if I want to keep mine safe, I will have to hide them in my room. I'm picking up a small container today to keep my drink mixes in. I drink tea now, but only decaf unless I am out to eat, and its always unsweet tea, as I always have to request it that way in Texas, otherwise you are getting sugar with a little tea...lol....I have limited my coffee intake to a few cups a week, instead of 3 cups a day. I was never a big coffee drinker and it is really hard to drink coffee in the summer for me, so it's easy to quit the coffee, though I get some headaches from lack there of.
 
I am much like you. My Cpap seems to dry my eye also. During the day I fight with myself over what first? pills, protein, water? I have not been getting water or protein. I put water into my Cpap, will that count?
 
Question on dehydration

If I am dehydrated would that cause leg cramps? This started yesterday.
 
TwoMas said:
Hi Pat, it's the Wild Purple Blast that reminds me of the grape popcicles I had when I was a kid, I am going to freeze some this summer to see if they are like that frozen. The third one is Berry Blue Typhoon. :cool: Tom
Click to expand...

I went shopping yesterday and as luck would have it all they had was the Wild Purple Blast. I also found popsicle molds for only $1. This was at Kroger in the seasonal aisle. I think the brand was "Kids Things". The molds look very durable and come in a set of 4 per pack. I just finished making a batch of Wild Purple Blast popsicles and will know how they came out in 3 or 4 hours. It's going to be hot over the weekend here in Michigan with highs expected to be at 90 so I will be eating a LOT of popsicles :) :) :)
 
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