The Key

So as many are aware, I have been in lots of pain.  I spent most of yesterday speaking with my medical team about the issues that I'm having and it seems that what may be contributing to my pain is dehydration.  I had been managing to drink 500 ml of water in a 24 hour period each day and was quite proud of this accomplishment.  Yeah - I found out I need to be at 2 L per day!   Imagine that. 

So yesterday I managed to drink 1 L and was quite proud of this accomplishment.  My team did say that I would need to work up to the 2 L mark and should aim for 1 L for now.  I figure if I can reach this for a solid week I will move on to 1.5 L.  As it also turns out, I amy have been dehydrated prior to the surgery during the Optifast stage.  With drinking so much fluids, who would have thought I would need to be drinking additional water.  I know, I know many are saying well duh...but this is how my mind works. 

So here is why I have found that drinking water and being properly hydrated is important:
1.  It helps keep the kidneys functioning properly.
2.  it removes toxins from the body.
3.  It assists in bringing up the garbage from the lungs so there is less risk of pnemonia. 
4.  It promotes bowel movements.
5.  it generally makes your body run smoother and healthier.

As a result of drinking 1 L of water yesterday, I had 3 bowel movements which greatly assisted with my gas and adominal pain.  I had a bit more energy and today I've been trying to do some laundry and some other light chores.  So my focus is drinking the water I need to, eating my vitamins and supplements and doing what I can to consume the protein that I need in order to promote healing. 

The key is hydration. 

Soooooo glad to hear you are feeling better today. Keep on chugging... best of luck in getting those fluid intake levels up. Thanks for sharing. Good info for other newbies to wls.
Hugs!

I came here to specifically look to see how you had been doing post-op.  I'm sorry to hear you had a lot of pain.  But I will absolutely remember your advice.  So, thank you for sharing it!