Trouble with water ~ Body just doesn't like it?

I jumped on the Mio bandwagon myself. Couldn't stand it before surgery and now when I can't do plain water, it's a lifesaver and I love it.

Sorry you are having problems.  I loved tons and tons of ice water pre surgery as well. After surgery it physically hurt to drink plain water and I learned off of here on OH to put in flavourings. I also can't do Mio or any of those flavoured shots they give me headaches. So some of my go too's to ge****er in are:

• coffee, usually flavoured coffee - Vanilla Hazelnut is my most fav
• tea, also usually flavoured tea, peach, raspberry, blueberry
• Ice water (or room temp whichever you prefer) with a splash of Ocean Spray "Diet" which means is Sugar Free Cranberry juice
• Ice water with a couple slices of lemon or lime or both squeezed in
• Get an Infuser bottle and put in frozen fruit or fresh fruit of your choice and then water and you have natural fruit flavoured water, my fav is raspberry water, here is the bottle I have down below, I got it as a gift but they are everywhere, Walmart, Amazon etc
• There is a protein hot chocolate that I drink daily, I made it wtih ho****er from my Keurig and I get it from Nashua Nutrition website, the brand I get is Health Smart, that counts towards "water" intake
• When I was first post op my Centre had us drink watered down Apple Juice.  You need to break the surface tension of the water.  I am 3 yrs post op and I still have a hard time with plain water, I have to have something with it so at a restaurant its always a slice of lemon or lime just to break that surface tension.

And you asked if you should force yourself to drink, yes!  I would call your Centre and make sure there is nothing physically wrong and if you are cleared medically and you just don't like the taste of water feel free to mix up and try new things like I posted above, dehydration is a very very bad thing and you don't want to get to that point!

Good luck!

Interesting about breaking the surface tension. Where did you hear about that? My doc was puzzled about why water would give me troubles and Gatorade G2 wouldn't. I'd like to inform him of this surface tension info.

Before WLS I dran**** water exclusively. Post-op, for the last 10 years, it's been room temperature water only as ice water will not stay down.

I basically drink diet iced tea , fruit flavored seltzer water and zero sugar pink lemonade. Occasionally 50% sugar orange juice like trop 50 or a fresh squeezed vegetable juice ... though they still usually have too many carbs/ sugars.

That thing about a lemon or a lime breaking the surface tension is Really interesting- because I find I've learned to always ask for lemon water in restaurants through trial n error. Plain water just burps or comes back up .... not a good look in public !

I can't drink protein shakes but love a chai tea with lots of fat free milk powder . I feel it really helps keep my bones and teeth strong . Oh ... and I buy fresh made chicken broth by the quart full - I usually don't eat the wontons. Putting a soy sauce in it or having the Thai coconut milk variation known as Tom Ka Gai is also a very filling and delicious favorite.

I am 26 years post op/ a hybrid surgery not done any more..included basic RNY+ several other procedures. It worked! Here are some things for you to try as you find the kinks your new tool is giving you.

. First, know you are not the first to have this problem and you can figure out a solution.

Remember your tolerances will continue to change over time, If something does not work now- give it 6 weeks and try that item/method again.

You must stay hydrated..the danger from blood clots and other complications rise when one adds dehydration in the mix.

Things for you to try

#1 within the allowed time to have fluids, and ALSO within 90 minutes of a meal,.. either way... Have only warm liquids, .....others have suggested hot teas, Mint tea is a good choice if you like it. ,( you might try also putting on drop of Essential Peppermint oil on your stomach in epigastric area(where ribs meet in center of stomach.) Another option,an Orange spice. these are two of my favs- you may find something else you prefer.. A cinnamon or Christmas blend goes down well for me. Some prefer ginger teas and it s generally soothing to irritated /angry insides.

.#2.For cool liquids use filtered water only, you could be rejecting some additive....Try adding a slice of orange or Lemon to cool water.

#3 try ice chips..alone- ice is frozen water- so will fill some of fluid requirement,,,. and just suck on it...

I TOTALLY feel for you. My husband and I both have this issue. He can usually tolerate water with wylers powder packets from Walgreens. He also drinks lots of coffee. We would both spit it up almost immediately. I know this is a big NO NO to most but I can pretty much only tolerate carbonated beverages. Specifically Coke Zero. Just don't get in the habit but I literally couldn't tolerate anything else but coffee. My doctor said it's because water is so light weight that it just comes back up. He said to add lemon or powder mixes to it to weigh it down. I can't tolerate the powdered drinks because they cause intolerable acid reflux which they are aware of. So, I'm still working on figuring it out. I had gastric bypass in 2016 and a revision to distal bypass (shorten my intestine) in feb of 2019. Never could tolerate it.

Try warm liquids to "prime" your pouch before drinking your water. Any non-caffeine free clear liquids also work towards your fluid requirements. Try broth, tea, etc

you"ll find there are almost as many definitions of what counts toward hydration as there are pre/post op food plans. So much variation! My plan recommends 100 Oz per day for people with my low bp issues and they include caffeine within reason (my reason is 3 cups of coffee a day) but if you have a protein shake, they consider that a meal, not fluid...even though technically it is. It's like there are only guidelines and recommendations vs hard and fast rules.