Dehydration?

Anyone else have big issues with dehydration?

I just wound up in the hospital for 2 days with severe dehydration which caused my heart rate to go up to 180...then...a day later I had to go back to the ER to get another bag of saline because I was dehydrated AGAIN (even though I was drinking ALL day). I'm not even having as much D from my Crohn's as usual, so I'm confused as to why this keeps happening.
Also, my hands and feet keep getting this tingly sensation which the ER doc told me that was caused from the general dehydration because the only electrolyte that was low was my potassium. (the low potassium doesn't make much sense because they gave me potassium pills and IV in the hospital).

Sooo, what do you guys do to make sure you keep hydrated? And has anyone else had experiences like this?

I am a newby to this site but I have definitely had the problems that you are describing.  I always drink a minimum of a gallon of water a day and could never understand why the Dr.'s were telling me I was dehydrated all of the time.  Also had a lot of problems with inaccurate test results because of supposed dehydration.  The potassium problem I am finding seems to go along with the Crohn's as well.  I had always assumed it was from the loss of blood but I now have realized that I just don't absorb or retain enough for some reason (I'm told by my GI that it's common with the disease).  Most of my hospital stays have been prolonged only due to my low potassium level.  Almost went into cardiac arrest from such low potassium so keep an eye on it if it is something that you are having trouble with.  (I'm sure your Dr. will talk to you about it but in the ER you can't always be sure.)  It might be that, as in my case, you need the potassium supplement not the additional liquid.  I get mine in a liquid form because my intestines don't like most solid forms of supplements.  Not sure if this was helpful, but it's kept me out of the ER lately.

I am like Grandpato2 in that I drink Gatorade. My GI told me to sip it every 5 minutes. Also, when feeling dehydrated and feeling crampy in my legs etc I immediately try to eat a banana and that helps. Hope you get this figured out soon.

Having crhohns disease makes you dehydrate a lot quicker than normal due to the amount of fluid lost from toilet stops. I was told to keep up

fluid intake but didn't listen and have had 4 bouts of kidney stones (very painful) was told by dr. that crohns also causes them.

You could try coconut water (not coconut milk.) Also, Powerade Zero is a good electrolyte drink without sugar.

Wow, ZZTop has a new member! Awesome!

Cramping is the number one sign of low potassium,,,,charley horses is what we called it when we were young. A good way to gauge your hydration status is how much you are urinating, not pooping, also, if you lay your hand flat on a table and pull up the skin on the back of your hand it should go down right away. If it stands up, we in the medical profession call this tenting. Tenting of more than 4 seconds is pretty bad hydration and needs to be improved as soon as possible. Everyone is right in telling you to use an electrolyte drink. Hydration for Crohnnies is different than hydration for your normal joe. we don't absorb fluids and electrolytes like your normal counterpart, so we need to do more to help our bodies out. Salt chemically helps draw fluid toward it so if you add salt to your body, it will pull fluid into your body and keep you hydrated. But you have to be careful not to use too much salt, theres a balance that our bodies need. Plain water will go right through us, that's why people who drink a lot of water can still become dehydrated. Also, be careful of water intoxication,,,,,you can drink too much water and shake up your electrolyte balance.
I've been having problems with low potassium also, a good sign of it is charley horses/muscle cramps. try eating foods high in potassium, bananas, dark green leafy vegetables, potatoes, but if you are anything like me, you cant keep up with it all and I'm intolerant to a lot of foods right now. Electrolyte drinks sound like a good idea to me,,,,,one to two a day is what i might try. I am also getting my labs checked more frequently and I figure if the insurance company has a problem with this I'll remind them they aren't paying for an ER visit or hospital stay.
Remember, our intestines were designed to absorb nutrients from our food and to absorb fluids from our drinks. With our condition, they don't do as good of a job so we have to tweek it and help it along. I can't take supplements because my body won't tolerate them, they come out just like they go in....
I'm still getting usedto all this and I'm a nurse, so hang in there and be diligent.....it's a lot of work, but I'm realizing that being able to stay home is much better than being in the hospital!!!

crohnniedoe
DX-2/2008
hospitalizations-1/2008,2/2008,2/2009,7/2009,10/2009
meds-pentasa 4000mg daily, zegerid-40/1100mg 2 times a day, humira 40mg every 2 weeks, celexa 40mg daily, requip 1 mg daily, phenergan, vicodin, miralax as needed