Hey everybody,

I've been having some ongoing issues trying to stay hydrated. In 2006, I had my entire colon removed (due to ulcerative colitis), and a month and a half ago I had the j-pouch constructed (although I still have a temporary loop ileostomy). I've ended up in the hospital 3 times since my initial surgery in 2006 for severe dehydration, and 2 weeks ago it was so bad they couldn't even find my pulse.

I've heard different tips from different people (including my surgeon) about the best ways to stay hydrated, but I'm really not sure what works and what doesn't.

My doctor recommends drinking Gatorade on a regular basis, but I've read in some sources (i.e Crohn's and Colitis Diet cookbook published by Mount Sinai Hospital) that sugary sport drinks actually INCREASE stomal output because the concentration of sugar is higher in the intestines and thus draws water out of the cells, dumping it all in my bag.

I've also heard my doctor recommend Gastrolyte, but I find the taste so offensive I have a very hard time taking it. Has anybody had any experience (good or not so good) with this substance?

Also, what about those nutrient-enriched waters, like Aquafina Plus? I know it's hard to get the vitamin b-12 up, and this drink supposedly provides 70% of the daily recommended value. But because of my surgeries, is my body even able to absorb these nutrients?

I'm very confused because I know certain vitamins and minerals are only able to be absorbed in specific areas of the digestive tract, and I need to know what works and what doesn't. I'm desperate to avoid another visit to the ER, and I would appreciate ANY info you kind folks might have to offer.

Thanks in advance,

Sarah Bee

My surgeon told me the best thing for me to drink when I had my temp ileostomy was a mix of half gatoraide and half water. It cuts down on the sugar to eliminate the bad effects. I think it even tastes better this way. Drinking this helped me and my dehydration was pretty bad. I hope you find a solution soon!

There is also the low sugar Gatoraide. You might want to give that a try. I drank a lot of that with the ostomy.

I have been liking this, which I read about somewhere else here:

http://www.vitalytestore.com/

It's very low in sugar, and they make it in small packets so you can taste-test it before buying a bunch (which I ended up doing).

I also have a temp loop ileo and have noticed that I am really dehydrated first thing in the morning, so now I'm keeping a big glass of this next to my bed and drinking whenever I wake up at night.

The other thing that has worked for me is to sit down and drink (anything) until it makes me pee two or three times a day.

This stinks, but I'm trying to remind myself that it's temporary.

I was in the lab 2 times per week for fluids with my temp ostomy. I may not be the best person for advice, but for me...
1. NO Gatorade. This DID increase output tenfold.
2. SIP water. No matter how thirsty you are, take slow, constant sips throughout the day. I wanted to gulp down large quantities, that just came right out!
3. Talk to your hospital about IV therapy. This is a more serious route, but was the only thing that really helped me in the end.
4. I was also on B12 shots.

GOOD LUCK!! PM me any time you want to vent!

Hi Sarah,

I've had a lousy time with dehydration, too, both with my j and now with a permanent ileo. Many drinks just seem to wash out electrolytes. I went to an oral liquid vitamin, a lot of smoothies, and juice diluted heavily with water. I haven't been vit deficient in quite a while,but when I have diarrhea, I sit with a little bowl of salt and lick my fingers with it. Even when I had no vit deficiences, I often test low for potassium and/or sodium. For a while I have craved milk, and since local goat's milk is available and easily digestible, I have been drinking at least a quart of that per day. My craving seems satisfied lately, and our friends have dried up their goats, so I'm drinking less milk and buying commercial goat milk. When my dehydration was worst, I bought bottled water by the six pack in little bottles, refilled 6 of them every day and made sure I set them out in the morning and drank them before 4 p.m. I, too, awake feeling dried out, so leave tea or juice on my night stand. Whatever I haven't drunk overnight, I slug down before my feet hit the floor. Now I drink at least a liter of green tea per day in addition to a smoothie at lunch and 3-4 cups of goat's milk.

When you've been dehydrated regularly or frequently, it's hard to sense when you are dehydrated BEFORE you get to chicken skin, headache, and confusion. It's also hard to listen to well-intended friends who think you can just drink more, but often, when I did that, I just washed out more nutrients. Now, I'm careful to eat some crackers or other salty snack food ahead of drinking (seems to thicken things up), and to take lomotil and Benefiber about 20 mins in advance of a meal. If my ileo output is quite high and the output very watery, I sometimes add a third lomotil to the two I've already taken. That rarely happens to me now, but it is imperative to slow down your gut when it starts running. Otherwise the output gets way ahead of what you can take in and the E.R. comes right up! When my output is high, I return to food that I know sticks with me, usually including rice, bananas and sourdough bread. That's not hard to do because sushi is available, it's full of protein and seaweed, and I love it. It might help you to think less about increasing your fluid volume and more about slowing down the gut when it starts racing.

I hope you get it straightened out soon. Gatorade doesn't work for a lot of people, but there are other solutions. Keep coming here!

Best wishes,

Barbara

I really like Smartwater. Mixing half & half with gatorade, or any fruit juice worked good for me.

I'm telling you,the best thing I've ever had is the Gookinaid Hydralyte. Used to be called Goodinaid, now called Hydralyte. I drink a glass or two of that when I'm starting to feel sluggish, or when I'm outside and sweating more than usual and it works WONDERS!! I bought the big tub and just mix one glass at a time whenever I need it. My sister-in-law has IBD and still has her colon but started using it too and she loves it as well. You just mix it with water and it's just like slightly flavored water. No sticky, sugary taste, just nice and refreshing.


I hope it works for you!

Erin

Gookinaid/Hydralyte is now Vitalyte! Confusing, yes! I also am a fan after having first tried it while hiking in and out of the Grand Canyon with my j-pouch. This is the only hydration beverage sold in the Grand Canyon so you can bet on it's performance. It has less sugar than Gatorade so it can be consumed at full strenght. It's also great for preventing muscle aches. On a 200 mile hike across England my SIL and I were the only 2 who drank Gookinaid and the also the only 2 who didn't whine and complain about muscle aches. There is nothing better for hydration, in my opinion. You can order it online or purchase it at REI stores.

Be sure to also increase your salt intake to increase your water retention.

Sue

I also havhad a lot of trouble w/ dehydration in this "in-between" time. I have the loop ileostomy and will have my take-down June 17. i finally went the route of home IV hydration and it has been great. It is really not hard to do, I have a mid-line which is a more extensive IV that can stay in for several months. I hook up the IV myself, and I have a pack that is the size of a large purse that I can sling over my shoulder and do whatever I need to do. It has made all the difference in the world, and after 3hospitalizations you may be ready for this. When will your take-down be? I heard from both my doctor and the IV nurse that it is not that unusual for someone in our situation to need this home IV.
Good luck!
Jenny

Wow, you guys are a fabulous resource!! I haven't heard of half the drinks you mentioned, but will be looking them up online first thing tomorrow.

I also set my bottle of water by my bedside religiously, and, although tedious, I drink from it whenever I wake up. I'm actually currently monitoring my stomal output (as per the doc's request) to see if I am slowly getting dehydrated on a daily basis. He said that around a litre of output a day is "normal".. he was worried I might be around the 1.3 or 1.4 litre mark. So far (after "pooping" into my dollar-store measuring cup for the last 4 days), I'm averaging between 500-700mL per day... far from dehydrated, or so it would seem. This is not including peeing.

I've also been advised (more like lectured) by my doc to salt almost everything I ingest. I'm finding this REALLY hard to do, especially since all you see on TV is "low-sodium" this and "reduced-salt" that. It kinda contradicts everything we've been taught growing up about eating healthy... I guess it's just something I'm going to have to get used to, eh :P

Oh yeah, and my take-down is probably going to be late July or early August. I've never heard it called a "take-down" before... usually we refer to it as a reversal. But then again, I don't have many (read:none) friends that have ostomies either. You guys really are great, and I totally appreciate your input. Any other hydration tips you might have I'd love to hear about... I'd rather not have to get into home IV hydration techniques... but I will mention it to my doc.

Cheers!

Sarah Bee

I was just about to post a question like this, because I was having trouble finding the names of the hydration drinks.

My Mom has had an ileostomy for 32 years now, but had her ist issue with it. she had a hernia near her stoma that she needed to get repaired. And we found out when she went to the dr 2 weeks ago before surgery, that she actually had a small bowel obstruction.

She seems to have developed an issue with dehydration currently, and I want to find her the best drinks for her to keep her from being dehyrated without her electrolytes becoming out of balance, we are trying to have her not drink too much water.

But with her health history we have to be careful. She has COPD, CHF, Asthma, Diabetes oh and did I say pancreatitis issues. So she is on a low salt, low fat, high carbohydrate diet. But we are not wanting her to be getting empty carbs.

thanks again for posting this, I know that I can go to REI here in Denver and by her some Gookinaid/hydralyte and send it to her.

Beth B.
(s-pouch created 1982/1983)

I also think Vitalyte is absolutely the best stuff on the market. Even those low sugar drinks are too sweet for me. And artificially sweetened drinks are even worse. My mother drinks Vitalyte too - to get rid of leg cramps at night, to keep healthy during winter, and she actually says that she's able to deal with that Christmas gift buying crowd much better because she's less cranky because she drinks Vitalyte. And my mother is perfectly coloned. The flavor is so mild that it is never overwhelming. And if you order the original citrus flavor it doesn't even have coloring added.

kathy

Sounds like Vitalyte is the answer! I checked out the website last night, but I could not find a Canadian distributor... I'm in Nova Scotia. Are there any Canucks on here that know where I could score some? Or anybody else with some ideas, for that matter :P

Cheers and thanks for all the help folks!

Sarah Bee

Sarah Bee,

I recommend you contact the company via their website and ask them if they could ship the product to you.

Sue