Question:
I need real help here about dehydration... please...

I am 2 1/2 weeks post op. I am getting headaches every day and night. I try to get the water in, but it hurts when it hits my pouch. I am doing the best I can. I have tried drinking the water at different temperatures... tried flavoring it... tried other drinks... I was doing great with the protein at first, now just the thought of it makes me nauceous. I do still manage to get it in at least once a day. I am taking all of my vitamins regularly, so I am really making an effort at doing everything right, but it is getting increasingly harder. Now, due to some comments my surgeons nurse made, I'm in fear of dehydration. I will talk to my Doctor later today, but I was wondering... if I go into the hospital today for dehydration, how long can I expect to stay there? Is it overnight? A few hours? Is there any other way to get the water in? I can't even get out of my apartment anymore because my headaches are so bad and so often that I find myself spending all day in bed. Please help!    — Janet C. (posted on December 3, 2001)

December 3, 2001
Dear Janet, I was readmitted back to the hospital for almost a week for dehydration. I was only 4 days post-op when I went back in! Dehydration is not something to fool around with. It's horrible and it can really make you sicker than most anything. I had a hard time pushing water down my throat, so I understand what you mean when you say that you just can't. My suggestion would be to keep in contact with your surgeon's office and take care of yourself as much as possible. Maybe you could try decaffinated iced tea, make yourself water-popsicles, get some ice chips. Maybe (ONLY IF YOUR DR SAYS OK) you could try some gatorade. Increase water intake by adding more of it to your protein shake. Make yourself some broth and add even more water. I was soooooo dehydrated until I was about 5 weeks post-op, then all of a sudden I woke up one day and was able to take in massive amounts of water (that is compared to the weeks before). Also, someone would have to correct me if I'm wrong, but jello is made with water, so I would assume, you'd count that too. Be creative--drink out of a baby bottle--sippy cup. Maybe pop a tylenol for your headache and rest. Don't worry about how much time you'd have to spend in the hospital, if you go back. You lose weight faster when your hydrated! Take care of yourself and feel free to contact me.
   — Kristin R.

December 3, 2001
You need to pee at least every 12 hrs. If not ,your dehydrated and need extra fluids, whether by drinking or IV. Watch the color of your urine, try to keep it as colorless as possible. If your urine is dark then its time to hit the fluids. SF Popsicles, soups, SF jello, ice cubes, SF ice cream and of course anything you can drink. When drinking liquids make sure you are taking baby sips. I found that too much in a swallow caused pain. I sipped on something day and night. I found the thought and smell of foods made me nauseated. The fluids start reversing dehydration right away. You need to monitor how often you urinate because if you are not urinating at least every 12hrs it can hurt your kidneys. As you consume more protein you need more fluids too so its not so hard on your kidneys. You don't want to go through all this and end up damaging your kidneys. Short times of dehydration won't cause permanent damage. I found that my headaches were due to low blood sugar due to low calorie intake and that by getting more calories my headaches went away. Check how many calories your getting. I think that with the low calorie intake we are in ketosis and often that makes everything taste yucky. Hang in there, just do what you have to do.
   — Helen B.

December 3, 2001
Have you tried apple juice? I drink quite a bit of White House brand No Sugar Added apple juice (I water it down though...half water, half juice) and that sat really well with me at about weeks 4-6 when water/crystal light was making me sick. You should be careful though...some people dump on juice. I don't dump on anything though unfortunately :( so it's OK for me. That's why I mentioned White House brand...no sugar, no extra anything...it's basically just apples and water. You might also want to try milk if you already haven't. That's especially good because you're getting in extra calcium, too. I hope you're feeling better soon.
   — [Anonymous]

December 3, 2001
Please have them check you for marginal ulcer. It's not as common in proximals, but it DOES happen. Water being painful is one thing, protein tasting yucky is another. The fix is very simple if caught early on. Please don't take no for an answer. Insist on ruling this out.
   — vitalady

December 4, 2001
Hi.....I'm 5 weeks post-op now and was readmitted into the hospital for dehydration about three weeks post-op. I started feeling extremely nauseated and fatigued where I had not been for the first couple of weeks. I didn't feel like eating, I didn't feel like drinking and I all I would do is sleep to try and forget about how badly I felt!! Of course that just complicated my problems and it just got worse from there! I was admitted and started on IV fluids right away and ended up staying in the hospital for 3 days....I was feeling much better after the first 4-5 hours of treatment, but they would not take me off of the fluids until my urine out put was normal again. That didn't happen until the middle of the last night I was there! Once I got home and got my strength back, I was a new person!! Now, after going through that, I make sure to drink like crazy, and it's much easier to do that now! My doctor told me there is no magic number of ounces to consume in a day, but she said I shold be going at least twice a day and it should be a decent amount and light colored. She said that's my sign that I am getting enough, and she has been absolutely right! Everyone else says I need to getting 64 oz in, which would be great, but that leaves me no room for food or anything else! Between my water and protein supplements, I usually get in about 50-60 oz total for the day - about 30-40 oz from water and that has been just fine for me!! If you even suspect dehydration, get in and get it treated!! It made me feel so horrible and made me so frustrated and depressed....once it was fixed I was a whole new person and have been since!! Good luck to you and keep us posted!
   — Amy R.