low bp / dehydration

Drink vitalyte. It's the best hydrating beverage on the market, and the only one sold in the very hot National Park of the Grand Canyon. You can buy it online or at REI stores. It was developed by a chemist/ Olympic marathon runner. www.vitalyte.com


Sue

If you google oral rehydration solution, you can make your own for pennies with water, sugar and salt.

Or cents rather.

Are you eating enough? I really didn't eat much the first month or so after my loop, I just felt horrible with the loop. I had so much output that the weight was just melting off of me and on top of that I wasn't eating. I just felt tired and foggy all the time, even though I wasn't eating I made sure to stay hydrated.

Are you taking Imodium at all? I needed six tablets of Imodium every day that I had my loop to stay hydrated.

Drinking too many fluids, especially plain water, can flush your system so quickly that you paradoxically absorb less water. Instead of drinking more fluids, try adding a bowel slower like Imodium. Lomotil is another one (prescription only) that works through a different pathway if the Imodium doesn't agree with you.

Regarding oral rehydration solutions, Pedialyte works for adults too (there's nothing specifically about it for kids, it's just more dangerous when kids get dehydrated so that's who the product is marketed to). You can also make your own by diluting Gatorade with water (50/50) and adding about 1/4 tsp of salt.

Don't dilute pre-made rehydration solutions with more water. The thing that makes them rehydration solutions is that they have the appropriate ratio of electrolytes to water (bottled Gatorade is an exception to this).

Post Edited (Pluot) : 10/3/2015 4:41:09 PM (GMT-6)

There are a bunch of lifestyle recommendations that can help with high output -- if your doctor hasn't mentioned them your ostomy nurse might be more helpful. As for me, I didn't really drink plain water at all for a few weeks after my loop surgery because mine was so high output -- only rehydration drink (half gatorade, half water, with a little salt, like I posted above). You'll also want to avoid hot liquids and soups as those will speed up your transit, too. Pretzels and potato chips are your friends right now. Avoid caffeine as much as possible.

Were you sent home from the hospital with a measuring cup for your output? You should be measuring or at least estimating your daily output for the first couple of weeks and aim for less than 1 liter per day. If you're consistently over 1 liter you're in danger of dehydration and your doctor should consider increasing your Imodium or adding Lomotil. Tincture of opium is another option, we've had users here with real problem loops who took all three.

Dehydration with the loop is no joke. I avoided needing IV rehydration with my loop but I was very, very careful, and I lost almost 20 lb in the three months I had mine because I was barely absorbing any of my food.

My loop ran like a faucet 24/7. It was awful. In spite of that, I never had any dehydration issues luckily. Hopefully your takedown surgery isn't too far off. I remember counting the days until mine. Thursday is my five year anniversary of my takedown surgery. I cannot believe it's been five years already. Looking back now that it has been a while I realize what small amount of time the surgeries actually took up. When you are in the thick of it the whole thing seems like it will never end.

Thanks for the tips! I didn't realize cutting back on the water would help, but it definitely has - I could feel a difference just from today! Also snacking on salty pretzels with peanut butter has thickened up the output as well as made me feel less dehydrated. Has anyone successfully transitioned to a more normal diet with the loop, or does it make sense to stick to the typical thickening foods until takedown?

NSSG - I think we may be getting our takedown done around the same time! My surgeon is having me wait 3 mos from my first of two surgery dates, which puts me at the week of thanksgiving for takedown.

Same! Hoping these next two months fly by. I snacked on starchy, salty foods today too and it definitely helped. Let me know how you like the vitalyte. My doctor recommended Emergen-C packets as well as Nuun tablets. Both are good, but a little effervescent so if you get gassy easily, probably best to stay away and stick to a pedialyte or similar. I also can't comfortably drink too many sweet drinks, especially if it tastes anything like gatorade - im sure it has something to do with all of the lovely miralax/gatorade bowel preps I've endured over the years! Thankfully that's a thing of the past for us now :)

Good call on the bidet bottle; I ordered one from Bed Bath & Beyond the other day. I've also stocked up on diaper cream and baby wipes.