Brand new to the group. Help

Hi there... I am brand new to this forum. Thank you all for being here and helpful to so many. I hope to gain so much knowledge and wisdom from all of you who have gone before. I am 45 yrs old and just had Gastric Bypass on 4/7/15. If I had joined this forum prior to sx, I may have backed out. Some of your stories are so scary... dumping effects (good lord, it all must have been super scary as you go through it). My starting weight was 269 today 8 days later I am 254. I am thrilled for the weight loss and the dream of one day being thin, healthy and feel alive again. What scares me is the process. That is why I love this forum. There are no support groups where I live that I have found anyway. I need to ask a ton of questions. So, right now this first week, my issue is fluid intake. I don't get the oxymoron of take tiny sips of fluids and wait in between but drink the equivalent of 4 bottles of water a day. Hmmm... I cant figure it out. How and what to drink to stay hydrated?? I have already had one trip to the ER yesterday for fluids. I WANT to do the right thing but I need to understand how to do it, what to drink that is best (when I hate all sweet tasting things). Any suggestions on how to stay hydrated would be wonderful. Thank you again. I am so new at this.  

Hydration as you found out is very important. It is hard in the beginning. Most can't drink a bottle of water quickly. The tiny sips are a guide but as you noted it takes a long time to get it in but you don't have to wait long between sips. Plain water is still hard for me. I still count on warm drinks. Also remember other things count as liquids. Protein shakes, soup count. Experiment with different temps and types of liquids. It does get easier as you go along to get your liquids in. 

Hey Truthseeker69, I had my surgery the day after you did and, yes, I totally get the oxymoron of sipping liquids slowly but ensuring that you get in a minimum of 64 oz of water in a day. I spend the majority of the day sipping and trying to meet my water requirement. I bought Isopure - it's a flavored, sweet, clear liquid protein. It comes in 20 oz bottles and has 40 gms of protein in each bottle. I try to drink 1/2 in the morning and the rest in the afternoon. Grape Ice is my favorite so far. Remember, your soup counts towards your water goal, too. If you don't like sweet things, Isopure may not work for you. Try regular protein shakes (check out eggface's website and Pinterest for lots of creative ideas). I'm disgusted by milk right now and hope it eventually changes - it's so thick it just gags me. This website is a godsend and the members are SUPER helpful. Love them!!   Good luck to you and I hope to see you online.  Cheers!

Stevie... great to meet you!  Great options to look into.  Thanks! !!  Love to continue to connect with you since we walk on the same exact path.  Interesting. ..your 8 days oyt and your drinking dairy? My doctor won't let me even try mushroom soup.  Clear liquids liquids only.  Just introduced masked potatoes,  sf applesauce or really mushy oats. No dairy at all.  That's it! 

Plain water (or water with some lemon or lime added for a bit of flavor) is always the best choice for fluids hands down.  Some people find that it works better with room temperature water, but a few of us preferred very cold water.  Many people find warm/hot liquids like tea goes down well (and is a nice break from plain water). SF Popsicles are a very popular choice post-op for getting in additional fluid.

There is no reason that you have to sip unkess taking a larger drink causes you discomfort.  Surgeons give that as a standard instruction because some people find it very painful to take too big a swallow at once and surgeons cannot afford to have their offices inundated by calls from worried patients for whom it hurts. Others, though, find that soon after surgery they are able to drink fairly normally.  You can start with a bigger "sip" and then try a normal drink (such as you might take if you are unsure whether or not you are going to like what you are drinking).

The reason to pause between drinks early out is because your stoma is swollen from surgery and if you drink too much too quickly the liquid will start to back up into the esophagus.  Once the swelling subsides, this is much less of an issue because your pouch and stoma sort of form a funnel into your intestine and liquids empty out of the pouch pretty quickly. It won't hurt, and it won't damage anything,but it is a very unsettling feeling if liquid starts to back up into the esophagus.

Lora

Wow..that is super helpful.  Thank you.  I will try that today! I'm so glad I joined the group! 

I'm glad you are here. Some people can drink normally right away. You only have to sip if that's what makes you comfortable. The only important thing is getting enough liquid in to keep you healthy.

I do not like water. I ate a lot of sugar free Popsicles and room temp skim milk. Sometimes I added a sugar free flavoring to water. At your stage fluids is very important. 

I'm brand new too - surgery 4/6! I'm able to drink water, thank God.  I just have learned that it has to be room temperature. Too cold and it gives me cramping and gurglies.  Warm liquids like broth and herbal tea make my pouch happiest but I am focused on the water, straight up.  Don't give up!   

Christine, thanks for the reply.  Glad to meet someone at the same spot in there journey.