water before WLS

I read some where that if you drink a lot of water in the days before the surgery then it will be easier for the nurses to put in an IV... have any of you ever heard this before? Darla WLS 4/25/06

My Dr. told me to drink Gatoraid. Its suppose to help the dehydration. When vains are dehydrated they arent very easy to put an IV into.

Absolutely correct Darla! When you are hydrated it "plumps up" your veins and makes them easier to get to! Good luck with your surgery and hope you have a speedy recovery Denise

Didn't matter at my hospital... They wrapped up my arm it hot, wet towels and left them there for about 15 minutes to steam my veins up and out! This was before even looking at the veins! Weirdest thing ever to me. On top of that, they even numbed the area before inserting the IV. I had never been so "pampered" for such a basic procedure! Normally they thump me on the hand for about a minute, ram the sucker in and hope for the best!

Yep it's true. I've also had the hot towel trick done before and that works too expose them but they still are easier to stick if they are "plump and juicy." And personally I dont' like when they numb me before putting in the IV, I'd rathe rjust tough it out because I HATE the way the numbness feels. Just my opinion