Hi all.
I would like to know if anyone here already faced severe dehydratation. This happened two times to me. I had to go to Hospital urgently where they put me on a drip. Doctor said that with my condition (J-pouch, no colon), dehydratation can indeed be rapidly severe and I have no choice but to go to hospital.
Wanted to know how you guys manage gastro-enteritis ?
Thank you.
FranÇois. (Paris - France).
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If you can't keep fluids down or keep up with your losses, IV hydration is the only way. I was in shock by the time I gave in and went to the ER last time. They ran two liters in simulaneously in about 20 minutes. Wound up having to stay a couple of days. Scary stuff (at least for my husband- I was too goofy in the head).
Jan 
Yeah, every month since J pouch creation I've suffered from severe dehydration; each occassion was worse than the last and all resulted in an emergency hospital admission by ambulance.
Every admission, the diagnosis was Gastroenteritis and the local hospital treating me for Kidney failure.
Without a colon and due to the loop ilostomy, enough fluids wasn't being absorbed and I dehydrated.
The dehydration crept up on me, it was very difficult to distinguish between tiredness and dehydration and by the time I'd realised, it has gone too far and was too late to replenish the lost fluids and electrolytes orally.
Since takedown, I've never dehydrated to such an extend, I'm always tired and lack energy and from time to time, I suffer severely from fatigue.
I tend to awake in the mornings feeling tired and remain so, despite how much I drink; I tend to perked up a little late afternoon though.
We sleep for 9 hours and that's 9 hours when we're not consuming fluids and it takes the best part of the day to replenish such fluids.
St Marks Hospital, recommend a Rehydration Solution:
http://www.stmarksfoundation.o...y%20Advice%20HOS.pdf
I believe Imodium can also help with the retention of fluids, not only does it thicken the output but it also slows down the bowel and doing so, it provides more time to absorb fluids, I guess via the small intestine and maybe the J pouch.
. If I'm feeling really depleted I have electrolyte and vitamin B-12 tablets that I drop in my bottle. They are made for that purpose and they come in different flavors. Hope this helps! Drink up!Be careful about the sugar content in oral rehydration solutions. For those of us with no colons the sugar can pull fluid into the intestine and make dehydration worse. I drink G2 which works well for me. There are lots of recipes for sugar free oral rehydration solutions on line.
I am an ER nurse and would far rather see someone who just needs a couple of litres of saline to top up the tanks than someone who needed resuscitation because they thought they could manage at home. If you are in any doubt of needing IV fluids PLEASE go to the ER. It can be a quick and easy fix, you will feel much better quickly, and in most cases will be out the doors and on your way home in about 6-8 hours or so. DO NOT tough it out on your own.
I'll be surprised if the Oral Rehydration Solution recommended by St Marks Hospital would be unsafe.
http://www.stmarkshospital.org...matory-bowel-disease
The solution actually contains Glucose rather than Sugar, whether that makes a difference.
http://www.stmarksfoundation.o...y%20Advice%20HOS.pdf
Glucose is a sugar, but is absorbed directly into the bloodstream (does not need to be digested like sucrose). So, it is far less likely to cause extra diarrhea, like "sports" drnks can.
However, glucose (dextrose) is not found in most American supermarket shelves. But, you can find it in specialty stores and online.
Jan
Glucose isn't readily available on UK supermarket shelves either; only Health Food stores and the UK equivlent of Drug Stores
