Hi Everyone. I have a complicated situation and I don't know what to do. I have a permanent ostomy and live in southern California. It gets really hot during the summer, and I have a real struggle sometimes keeping myself adequately hydrated and my electrolytes where they need to be. I have been having headaches and getting muscle cramps for the last few days and I am concerned that my electrolytes are out of whack.

The problems are these:

1) I have one kidney. My urologist told me to never drink electrolyte supplements because they increase the liklihood of developing kidney stones and were generally hard on kidneys. This was before I had my kidney removed though, and I was growing kidney stones like crazy that had to be surgically removed because of blockage in the ureter. I don't really know whether it's ok for me to drink it now since the kidney stone problem has been resolved. Can I safely drink Gatorade or other similar with one kidney?

2) I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes about four months ago and whatever I use, if I can use anything, needs to have very few carbs in it.

3) I drink about 2-3 liters of water per day and sometimes more when it gets hot. My colo-rectal surgeon told me to drink less water because it dilutes my electrolytes, and to drink Gatorade or other electrolyte supplements (this was before the kidney issue developed).

How in the heck do I manage hydratation/electrolyte issues and keep my kidney and my blood glucose levels happy? I've been drinking 8 ounces of low calorie G2 (Gatorade 'lite') a day for the last two days and am wondering if this is probably ok or whether I need to just not drink the stuff at all.

-Rae

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RLHadley,

Sounds like you need to contact your doctor and try to work out an optimum solution.

(you might ask them about V-8 that may help some).

Best of luck .

Lew

Hi,

I would say definately call the Dr. I think they should be able to answer your question about being able to drink the gatorade etc. over the phone. If you can, Powerade also has a zero calorie drink now too.

Also try adding a little more salt to your diet as it will help you retain the fluids longer.

Rae,

So sorry to hear of the dehydration/kidney/diabetes concerns. I understand your weather has been a bear, my suggestion is for you to move up here where our days rarely top 80!

If I were in your shoes I would get all three of your doctors on a conference call together to come to an agreement of what is right, safe, and necessary for you to do. They can hash out the best treatment for dehydration taking in consideration your uniqueness.

I also recommend you check out Vitalyte. You can purchase it online at www.vitalyte.com or buy it in person at REI stores. It's a fantastic hydration beverage and the only one I drink when engaged in long distance hiking. The citrus flavor has very little flavor and sugar. It tastes like plain water to me. Anyway, Vitalyte has save me a number of times when I have been low on electrolytes. It works in about 4 minutes to improve function. It comes in powder form and buying in kilo is very cost effective as compared to bottled hydration products.

I've been thinking about you lately so I was happy to see a post from you! I hope you can get this turned around soon, otherwise move here to the land of summer fog!

Sue

I second Sue's recommendation about Vitalyte. I was hiking in the Tetons and just got slower and slower and slower. Like a wind-up toy. I drank some Vitalyte and it didn't take 4 minutes - it was instantaneous (or so I remember). I got wound back up and was just trucking up that trail.

I drink the original which has no coloring either. As Sue mentioned, it has very mild taste so it doesn't have to be gagged down.

kathy

Yeah, I have calls in to my PCP, urologist and surgeon. The question is whether or when they will call back! I have looked into Vitalyte and it kinda has a lot of carbs in it- 10 per 8 ounces. Doesn't sound like much at all, but my current limits are 15g for snacks and 30g for meals. G2 has 5 mg, but I would feel a lot better about drinking it if my doctors would clear this up for me. I don't want to do mean things to my only remaining kidney.

I can't help your at all with your kidney-related questions. As far as electrolytes go, being a triathlete, I've seen all kinds of choices that might work for you while avoiding carbs. Two are actually capsules you take with water: Endurolytes by Hammer Nutrition and SaltStick capsules by SaltStick. There is also something called Nuun, which has a very mild flavor (I use the berry) like Vitalyte but with little or no carbs. It's an effervesent tablet that you drop into water that then fizzes and disolves. All of these are available on line and at various cycling, running, and triathlon stores. Good luck.

I hope you find a solution soon but my 1st thought is if you feel any worse with cramps, headaches, etc, get to the doctor or hospital ASAP. I had major dehydration issues and it almost ended badly. Hope you are feeling better!

On the sugar front have you checked pedialite? Easy to get and supposed to be low sugar cause it's for kids.

Hi Jill! Thanks for the suggestion. Yeah, I've tried pedialite. It tasted absolutely horrid. I fail to see how they get kids to drink the stuff!

I have heard back from my urologist and colo-rectal guys. I can have limited amounts of gatorade or similar drinks as long as I follow up with equal amounts of water, and for a short time. This is not going to be a long-term solution, but at least I can have some. I meet with my surgeon on Tuesday and will ask more about alternatives.

There are a couple of home made recipes out there...that allow you to modify the sugar content and it is much cheaper that way too...check out some older posts...and play with it...you may want to see if certain veggie juices help too (dilute them 1:3) they have all of the natural minerals and sodiums but low sugars (beware of the really green ones..they are diuretic too! think oranges and yellows).
Sharon

V8 or Low sodium V8 work wonders for me.

Rae, hi. One thing you may want to look into and/or discuss with your medical team is coconut water. I was doing some searching for something more effective than what I currently use for hydration due to this heat that has been prominent in the Southeast (not a native of this area) as well as much of the nation. I remembered from some years ago that I had drank coconut water for hydration help and it is the best thing that ever drank (particular brand and flavor omitted) and was the most effective at keeping me properly hydrated. I guess I shunned it because it is a little more spendy.

Anyway, I'm investigating the multiple brands and flavors now and considering using it during this oppressive heat (and perhaps more regularly). While investigating, I came across the following statement on, what appears to be, a grower's site:

quote:

Coconut water can be used by diabetics, since it does not contain sucrose (a type of sugar). It is prescribed by doctors around the world to help with minor and major ailments of all sorts. The health benefits are truly astounding.

Florida Coconuts

The only thing I can't reconcile is if you look at the nutrition labels on some of the commercially available coconut waters (natural/plain), they show, perhaps 15g or so of sugar. I don't know if this is fructose what. I also don't know what kind of guidelines diabetics must follow in regard to sugar. Hence, the need to analyze this yourself and possibly discuss with your medical team.

Another option, which I plan to investigate further this week, is to purchase young/tender coconuts and extract the water from those instead of buying something packaged. That is my preference since the packaged products are pasteurized and more expensive. The downside might be finding these coconuts available and the effort involved in extracting the water (however, the latter appears to be a matter of learning a nice technique and should be simple after some attempts).

Hi Rae, I make up fresh green tea or herbal tea and drink several glasses during the day to stay hydrated. It has no calories and is good for you. You can sweeten with stevia (never tried it, but good for diabetics) or I use Agave (and a slice of frozen lemon) which isn't suppose to spike blood sugar either.

BUT....the previous post was about coconut water and I have to agree. This is a wonderful way to hydrate as it contain 5 essential electrolytes and it taste delicious. It's the purest liquid second only to water itself. It is way better than any of the sport drinks out there as it's all natural, lower in sugar and has 1/2 the sodium that we all have to watch. I recently just got into it and order it by the case load. The health benifits are tremendous. I also use coconut oil in baking (and it's a wonderful skin moisturizer I might add) and coconut milk in smoothies. Google coconut water and get all the info and of course discuss with doctors before trying anything new. Hope your feeling better soon!

Jane *~*

I am pretty good about drinking fluids throughout the day and always have a water bottle with me. I do like green tea and I use some veggie juices as well, but there were a few days earlier this month that I was having some problems. A break in the heat and some Gatorade helped a lot, but I want to find more long-term options to help replace electrolytes.

Coconut water huh? Now that sounds rather interesting. I will have to look into this.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

-Rae