I've been having struggling getting proper liquids in since my surgery 4 weeks ago. Yesterday, while not severe I was dehydrated enough that my doctor recommended I head to the ER to get IV fluids. The ER was insanely busy so I was there for 8 hours (ugh). I knew it was time to talk to my doctor when I felt nauseous, had zero energy and couldn't get a proper sentence out of my mouth. Also had more bloating than normal and liquids were harder to swallow which only made the situation worse.

Two pints of saline later I'm up 4 lbs, which I'm not worried about at all... just tells me how dehydrated I was and I need to focus all my attention on this.

Just telling my story to add to many messages that say how important this is.

Others have mentioned apps or tech solutions to help remind them to sip every 5 minutes. What are you using to remind yourself? My days get crazy at work and I need something to help here, I think.

Thanks for listening.

I'm sorry you were so dehydrated. I've heard people use a newish water bottle called MyHydrate that alerts you to drink water and tracks your water and such.  Hope that helps!  

I have the MyHdrate bottle and it is super helpful. I have still never been able to drink all of the water that the bottle recommends (it plays music when you get all your water in for the day) but I am trying! It's a great tool!

I had my surgery in 2007 and there were no apps then.  I had a piece of paper with each 15 minutes of the day marked and crossed out each time that I drank an ounce of water.

Drink, drink, drink!

I'm sorry you went through this. It's very common, and completely avoidable! At the ER, they're going to give you fluids one drop at a time. Skip the 8 hour wait, and drink them one drop at a time instead.

Preach it. I'm 6 weeks post op and while I do get hungry when its meal time,  I NEVER have a sense of being thirsty :\ Even at the gym when I have worked out or ran, I have to make myself drink

Kind of wi**** were the other way lol

I rarely had a sense of thirst pre-op. Now I wake up with cotton mouth and feel the effects... today I have more energy than I've had for a long time!

we not only need water but also salts and minerals... low carb diet - most of us are on - makes us hold on less water - so dehydration can happen very fast... 

when we were heavy - they told us to limit salt - but so early post op and even long term - we don't eat a lot - and therefore we may not be getting enough salt to maintain proper hydration.  we need carbs or salts -(sodium, potassium, etc) to keep "the water" in the body.. when I do really low carb- I do need to remember to add salts to my foods..

don't be afraid of salt - pickle juice may be really a good idea...salty chicken stock instead of plain water... 

unless you have a problem retaining fluids -  adding salt helps staying hydrated... 

Great point. When I was eating a whole foods, Paleo diet I had to be careful of this and add salt. For now, adding Vitamin Water is probably a good idea.

Thank you!

I'm so sorry you went through this. I had something very similar happen. On Friday I pushed it too far at work. I got very nauseated and couldn't keep water down. I was admitted overnight, got nausea meds and lots of iv fluids. Came home 5 pounds heavier. For me it is a nasty cycle of dehydration leading to nausea leading to more dehydration. The littlest things cause Stella (my sleeve) to get mad and it takes her a while to calm down.