Hi All -

I've been battling dehydration for the last three months - nothing too severe, but with takedown next month, I'm really trying to get a handle on this.

Currently, I drink about 80 ounces of water a day, and about 20 ounces of gatorade. The water goes right through me most times, no matter what "slowing" remedies/medicines I use. The gatorade does as well. I've tried other electrolyte-enhanced drinks that didn't have sugar, but found them next to impossible to drink due to the taste.

So, I found these electrolyte capsules at the bike store (don't ask why I was there - I don't even own a bike ) - more generally used for hardcore athletes / marathone runners, but the guy there, who was really knowledgeable, said that they help absorb water, no matter how active or inactive one may be.

My question is this - since these will be so easy to take, is there a way to have "too much" electrolyte? The ingriedients are all natural, so I'm thinking not, but don't want to mess around and take too many if there's a chance it could do damage.

thanks!
Lisa

You are probably fine, just make sure to drink plenty of liquids with them.

Jan

Have you tried Gookinaid Hydrolyte? It's really, RALLY good at electrolyte replacement. And it tastes good. It has a barely perceptable flavor - not overwhelmingly sweet like Gatorade. I think it also has less sugar than Gatorade. http://www.gookinaid.biz/

kathy

I tried the Gookinaid Kathy and I thought it tasted horrid! lol I guess we all have our preferences. Lisa - Have you tried Propel? I drink so much of that stuff that I buy boxes of the powder packets by the dozen (I would buy by the case if I could). You just add to 16 oz of water and shake. It is similar to Gatorade, but doesn't have all the sugar. You can also try adding some salt to your diet. Have some pretzels or something similar with your drink. It should help you hold onto some of the fluids.

I'm not sure what the lesser of two evils is, sugar (Gatorade) or some artifical sweetner (Propel) that might be considered a neurotoxin. I consume Gatorade, albeit sparingly. Another option is to add 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt per quart of water. Water doesn't run right through me and it keeps me well hydrated. Sure it tastes a little "salty" at first, but it is not very noticeable on an ongoing basis. If the taste bothers you that badly, squeeze a little lemon into it for flavor. Works for me. Good luck.

Hi LisaR,

Like you I had a lot of difficulties with dehydration with the ileostomy. I think everything goes through our bodies much quicker since the trip from the mouth to the ostomy site is so short.

I noticed that after takedown, I am able to keep more in me and things slow down since there is now a resevoir (the jpouch) where our bodies can simulate the large intestine and absorb more fluids. For me it still took some time for that to work properly, but I noticed a big difference in that it was easier to stay hydrated.

I am now a little over a year after take down and things are much better than right after takedown. I think it takes some time for the jpouch to stretch out. However, I still must do what I can to stay hydrated. I'm one of those people that gets sidetracked throughout the day and forgets to drink enough, especially now that things are working good. So I make it a priority to still drink a lot of gatorade and salty foods to keep my electrolytes up. I will look into the electolyte pills - they sound like a great idea. (with lots of fluids like Jan said)

So takedown will be good for you. I wish you best and hope your takedown goes well. Have a happy and healthy jpouch life.

I buy a lot of "smart water" for my son. It does have added electrolytes and does not taste funny. He has an illeostomy and it seems to do the trick. I had also asked the doc's about what to do if we had a hard time keeping him hydrated and the told me they do have a pill they can prescribe. I can't remember the name of it, but i'm sure if you ask your doctor would be able to tell you. Also here is a link for the smart water if you want to read about it. You can buy it just about anywyere.
http://www.glaceau.com/

Hi Lisa -

I've used various types of electrolyte tablets & capsules (some with dextrose / glucose) to get me through endurance sports and training that I am involved in, and have had good success. As Jan mentioned they need to be taken with water.

Good luck!
Bjorn

I tried that Gookinaid and I thought it was one of the nastiest tasting drinks I've ever choked down lol. I've got like 10 packets aging in my pantry :-). I personally drink about 2 or 3 20 oz bottles of propel every day and then just other regular drinks like soda and the like and I've never had a problem with dehydration.

I drink a lot of vitamin water. They'res two that are for electolytes, Revive (which is fruit punch) and this lemon lime one which I can't remember the name for. They taste great, but are somewhat expensive if you drink them reguarly. But like gatorade, they'res quite a bit of sugar but its a LOT less sweet than gatorade.

I like the propel because it doesn't have all the calories/sugar of gatorade but I'm not thrilled about the artificial sweeteners. If I could find just a plain water drink with electrolytes but without sugar or artificial sweeteners - that would be ideal.

I would try "SmartWater". Electrolytes are added to water and no flavors or sugar. You can find it in the health food section in most stores. It got me through chemo with temp ileo. Oncologist thought it was great.

Jeannie

Lisa,
There are a few products which we have tried with some success:
1. Trace Mineral Drops (made by a company called Trace Minerals) - you take 10-20 drops in a glass of water (or juice if you can tolerate it). They taste terrible but you should notice that you start to feel better after 3 or 4 doses (a day or two).
2. Electrolyte capsules/tablets - we use ones called Electrolyte Stamina tablets and they work very well. We use them before workouts now and they help with endurance not just recovering from dehydration.
Both these products have no added sugar and are formulated for easy absorption (which is very important with a pouch) and are balanced across all trace minerals and salts needed to balance.
By BF used to get terrible muscle pain from his dehydration with colitis and these were nothing short of miraculous in getting him a fast recovery from dehydration. They also helped after his step 1 - he really had no problems with his ileo and dehydration at all.
Good luck!
Nicole

I appreciate the info about electrolyte tablets and trace mineral drops and will be picking some up to try tomorrow. Thomas has been drinking quite a bit of Propel and other similar flavored water drinks for some time, I am becoming quite suspicious that with the pouch they actually may be increasing diarrhea and fluid loss.

The health food store guy told me he has a brand new type sweetened with stevia. That sounds interesting.

At the risk of being perceived as combative, I highly recommend that you try the 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt per quart of water. Does sea salt not contain necessary minerals? Is salt not an electrolyte? Use only pure, unrefined sea salt. While I'd be a fool to believe that sea salt and water are the cure for whatever ails us, I do believe that the combination will help to effectively stave off dehydration.

watercure
watercure2