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Sip, sip, sip, hydration and following the plan !!

  1. Zeekecavaricci
    Zeekecavaricci
    THE QUESTION POSED IS: DO WE REALLY HAVE TO DRINK 64 OUNCES OF WATER/DAY AND WHY ????

    Water is vitally important. Dehydration causes weakness, headaches, depression, and fatigue. The bariatric doctors will also tell you that when people feel "hungry", 80% of the time you are actually dehydrated. If your body lacks hydration, everything is concentrated. I am a nurse (RN) and some of the problems are concentrated blood = risk of clots, concentrated respiratory secretions = potential for lung infections and thick mucous. Dry skin and dry hair which becomes dry and brittle. You body will also start conserving anything that it is deprived of. If you do not eat feed your body (what is allowed at the time) a little bit every couple of hours when you are dieting, you body goes into crisis mode and locks down fat and holds calories. If you eat or feed your body every couple of hours it is not in shock mode and will release fat, utilize calories in place of storing, and your metabolism functions efficiently. Most starvation diets, go no where, except up. The body will continue to hold and hold and eventually builds up to where you gain weight. Water is a key to life. You will also release toxins from your body through your liver, kidneys, and bladder. If you get a massage, they tell you afterwards to drink, drink, drink. The reason is the massaging of the body releases toxins from the skin and fat cells and they are free floating in your system waiting to be expelled. If not expelled you will develop aches, pain, headache, nausea, etc.....so as you can see you must hold a drink, bottle or glass in your hand at all time and sip, sip, sip. Drinking 2 or 3 drinks a day and struggling with it just doesn't cut it. After my band surgery, I thought the same thing, but after advice from all the nurses I worked with at the bariatric hospital, they made sure that I was sip, sip, sipping all the time. 24 of the nurses there have all had the sleeve/band/RNY. It becomes a habit to sip, sip, sip, and it gets easier. Another point, when you drink any liquid there is a technique to it. You do not hold it in the back of your mouth and then swallow hard or gulp. It takes 22 muscles to swallow water. It is the hardest for many people, but juices, broths, etc...have a different consistency and do not take so much effort to swallow. The technique to practice is sip a small amount and let it slide down the back of your throat. It is hard to do at first, but if you do it enough, it becomes habit and you unconsciously will begin swallowing your liquids much easier. Gulping and using all 22 muscles causes pain, and inflammation to the esophagus. No wonder so many have problems with the liquids. You also sip because your pouch is small, initially, swollen and the capacity is limited. If you are trying to swallow liquids and are pushing for quantity, you will overload the pouch. The pouch has to have time to drain. The sip, sip, sipping allows you to ingest only a small quantity and it has time to exit the pouch before the next sip. The repeated sipping will build up in quantity and you will also be meeting the 64 ounces of liquid a day. Initially I went to Walmart and bought one of the large drink bottles that has the snap up and down flip cap like some of the water bottles. I looked at all of them and actually found one that was 64 ounces. I filled it in the morning and I always knew at what level I was at and since it was clear and see through would sip more often as I realized I was getting behind. I also kept Crystal Light packets and MIO with me at work and if you get tired of the water or tea or whatever liquid, you could add the powder and now you have a new and different drink and you will find that you will drink more if you have a variety. I also kept gatorade and propel (especially grape) at work, at home and in the car/truck. White and Purple Grape juices come in small containers or boxes and are a nice trade off to just drinking one or two things all day. If you need any additional "Nurse" advice, just ask. There is a science and reason for everything that is on your bariatric instructions. Everything from what to eat, not eat, drink, not drink, not to pick on lap holes, keep lap holes and incisions clean and dry. Moist and wet environment is the best site for bacteria to grow. That is why they culture bacteria on wet petri dishes with wet agar (jello like) and put it in a warm oven for 24 hours. Bacteria will go wild in that environment. A dry wound that scabs is a seal to keep bacteria out. Protein is a major requirement for healing, especially after surgery. Protein also gives you energy. We don't add foods until about 6 weeks, reason it that over 35 years of nursing I see that any surgery takes about 6 weeks to heal and recover from. We don't stretch and expand the pouch doing the wrong thing unless we want to get a leak or a perforation of our gastrointestinal system. So..................back to the hydration status.........YES you do need to consume a MINIMUM of 64 ounces per day and more if you want to stay healthy and well. I have found that those of us who have been/or are overweight or obese have a limited self control and it has become a habit to not follow the plan. We will just do it our way, but has our way really worked for us ??? I keep addressing these issues over and over on here because people verbalize they don't want the laxative, they don't want the protein powder, they don't want the liquids, etc...........but they do talk an awful lot about wanting hamburgers, cokes, ice cream, alcohol, steaks, etc.......We all have to break that mold and commit to ourselves that we are going to stick to the orders, rules, and plan that has been established by our doctors, surgeons, nurses, nutritionists, psychologists, etc.......These plans have been tested and are tried and true for our success with our band, sleeve, and RNY tools that are there to assist us to do the right thing, but if we don't follow the plan and we abuse our selves, our tools will fail. It seems being the RN who has worked bariatric surgery, bariatric pre op, bariatric recovery, and been a bariatric patient myself, it has become my place on this forum to "SPANK EVERYONE WHEN THEY NEED IT". Everyone on here is the best support you can get. Read, Read, Read. You will get valuable information that even all of your practitioners can't understand because they have not had a bariatric surgery, have not been overweight or obese, have not experienced our lives, but all of us on here can say: Good Job, We are proud of you, Stop that, Quit whining, Keep it up, because we have "BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT" and many of us over and over. Example: I am having my lap band out and a sleeve done and my gallbladder out all at one time on April 5th by Dr. Almanza. The lap band was great at the time, but I didn't quite get there for me. The sleeve was not available as an option 6 years ago, so I had to go with the sleeve. My 34 year old daughter got her sleeve 2 weeks ago. She is doing great. I only have about another 25-30 pounds to go, but I need that extra boost. If you need advice or need to talk, come to Pappa !!!! I am old enough to be most of you guys father and some, you guys grandfather. I will be 60 in September. If you see my picture on my profile, I don't look near 60, but that is because I have had 11 plastic surgeries in the last 5 1/2 years and that isn't easy either. I am getting off my pulpit now as I need to sip, sip, sip, sip, sip, sip !!!! You need to sip too !!!!
  2. 1happyloser2b
    1happyloser2b
    WOW,thanks for EVERYTHING!!!! I learned so much!! YOU LOOK GREAT!! You really do not look your age!!! All I can say is YOU SAID IT!!!!!!! Go Zeekecavaricci!!!
  3. KebfromCincy
    KebfromCincy
    Thank you for posting all this. I am an RN also and I like hearing about things from an experienced RN, especially one who has had the sugery and also worked in the field. I was forced to retire from my much loved Telemetry unit because of the arthritis in my back and all the neuropathy it has caused. I want to lose weight and be healthier. ( Although I will admit that pretty much all my labs are normal.) I do take multiple medications and therein lies my question. How do you go about getting medications down. Several of my pills ae pretty large and I can just see the problems this may cause. Any suggestions on what to do about my medications. Most of them are drugs I cannot do without for very many days. Thanks for your consideration. kebfromcincy
  4. Nikki-Coco
    Nikki-Coco
    I really needed to hear this... thanx
  5. Raf
    Raf
    WoW.... Thank you so much for all of your information....
  6. Jmduenez
    Jmduenez
    Thanks so much for all this information!!
  7. SANDRA62
    SANDRA62
    This is so genuinely helpful...I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
  8. Alisha M
    Alisha M
    I too am a RN and this post was extremely helpful to me as well. I am just beginning the whole process and I will keep this information with me as I go along my journey. Thank you.
  9. tbrown9
    tbrown9
    Boy did I need to hear that! Preach on my brotha!!! lol! I am about to get sleeved on Aug 4th and that was the best post that I have read since I started my journey. Thank you for that! I am going to Walmart today and practice that sipping technique. I want to have it down before my surgery. I will be reaching out to ask you questions from time to time because I know that I will have a lot. Thank you for also being there to care about us because we all need a little scolding sometimes.
  10. Ms. S
    Ms. S
    Thank you for the valuable info. My surgery is scheduled for July 8th.
  11. CaymanKarma
    CaymanKarma
    While I am not sleeved yet, your info is invaluable! Thanks for all you share with us. It reminded me to practice the art of sipping....
  12. Ownit2013
    Ownit2013
    Thank you for this info. I am having a hard time figuring out how not to swallow. I cannot seem to allow it to just run down my throat without instinctively swallowing. Any pointers would be great!
  13. Mstlove29
    Mstlove29
    I'm a newbie and this just summed everything up for me. I was sleeved on 10/08/13 and felt I was starving by the third day, but I could only drink about 21 oz per day, so I am sip, sip and sipping. Thanks for the info.
  14. workingonit
    workingonit
    I was sleeved aug 6th and have lost 55 pds and my doc says that's not enough!! well im doing what the dr says I read the diet sheet and im going thru the steps post op , now ive been on solid food for about a month but it hurts in my chest , a burning hurt when I swallow and I can't hardly eat anything without it comng back up ( spitting up type thing not actually throwing up) so I suppose im not doing something right huh? other wise I feel great! less pain and Im hardly ever hungry, but just not sure what to eat. any sugggestions papa ???
  15. Rades69
    Rades69
    Such phenomenal advise!!!! Thanks so much for breaking down the process so thoroughly. It is very much appreciated.
  16. ManOfSorrow
    ManOfSorrow
    Dumb question but is Gatorade (G2 auger free) consider as our daily water intake of 64oz??
  17. bikrchk
    bikrchk
    I put Syntrex Nectar Lemon Iced Tea in my water and suck on it all day. Great way to get the water AND the protein!
  18. BladeFox
    BladeFox
    Actually, I heard that you should drink half your weight in ounces per day. I currently weigh 310/2=155/64= a whopping 2.42 64oz of water per day. Quite a bit huh?
  19. dynomite
    dynomite
    great tip on the sipping. I am not sleeved yet but i have started sipping and put down the straw for about a month now- trying to get into the habit.
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