Several days ago, I set up and stepped out of bed, only to watch the room around me go black and spin momentarily. I steadied myself on my night stand, thinking that I had just stood up too quickly. But as the morning progressed, I noticed that I was very lethargic, my muscles hurt, and I was out of breath just walking across the kitchen. That is when I knew something was not right and due to experience, I knew exactly what was wrong: dehydration.
I thought back to the previous day. What did I drink? How MUCH did I drink? I felt my stomach flip when I realized that I had not drank nearly enough and that was exact reason I felt this way today. On average, I aim to drink at least 2 liters of water a day minimum, just to stay ahead of dehydration. Without a colon, my body does not absorb the nutrients and water from the things I eat and drink as well as someone with a colon. Additionally, a lack of colon means a shorter route for my food to digest. Some days, my food goes through me in less than an hour!
So, there I was, in a situation that I have been in one too many times. I was dehydrated and really feeling it. But it was Saturday and my primary care doctor was not in the office and the last place I wanted to go was the ER for fluids, so I committed to trying to tackle it on my own. I started building my army of rehydrating agents:
Water: self-explanatory, right? When I am feeling dehydrated, I do drink water, but I also try to focus more on drinks with the electrolytes and sodium to help me retain the water I am drinking. Otherwise, it simply flushes right through my body.
Lemon water: when drinking regular water becomes too tasteless, I opt for lemon water to help me get more of it down. The slight flavor of the water tricks your brain into thinking that you are drinking something other than just plain water.
Low-sugar Gatorade: I only reach for Gatorade when I am feeling very dehydrated due to the sugar content. With my ileostomy, too much sugar can cause a “dumping” affect where my ostomy actually increases its output, only dehydrating me further. So, when I do opt for Gatorade to help in the rehydrating process, I choose the G2 version, which is lower sugar than regular Gatorade.
DripDrop ORS: DripDrop ORS has been a long-time favorite of mine through my journey with ulcerative colitis. There was a time a little over two years ago when I was so malnourished, so dehydrated, and so sick that I could not eat, and I could barely drink. At that time, my parents cleared the shelves of every RiteAid of DripDrop ORS to ensure that the little that I was able to drink would be helpful in some way. It is scary to think back to how critical my health was at that time, but it is a prime example of why DripDrop ORS holds a special place in my journey. DripDrop ORS is a medical grade rehydration powder that provides the perfect balance of electrolytes and sodium to fight against dehydration. Even better, it agrees with my ostomy and does not cause an opposite “dumping” effect. The berry flavor is my favorite!
The rest of the day, I committed to slowing down and focusing on my hydration. I alternated between the different drinks to keep myself from getting tired of a specific one and just kept drinking. By the afternoon, I already felt 10x better than I had that morning. I was no longer short of breath, my urine became clearer, my muscles stopped aching- it is truly amazing how quickly our bodies can bounce back from dehydration.
If you have an ostomy, it is so important to stay on top of your hydration. I know life can become busy and even I forget to drink much some days, but my body pays for it later on. My best advice is to invest in a water bottle (save the planet) and keep your water bottle with you at all times. I have found that the simple act of carrying my water bottle with me everywhere I go reminds me to continue to drink because I can visually see how much I have drank. It is hard to get into the habit of doing this at first, but once you get used to carrying a water bottle everywhere with you, you will not even think twice before grabbing it and running out the door.
As always, if you think you are dehydrated, please call your doctor! Dehydration can lead to serious health problems if left untreated. We all fall behind at some point, but for ostomy patients, it is harder to regain traction after becoming hydrated and unfortunately, many of us end up in the ER for fluids. Listen to your body, drink plenty of water and electrolytes, and live your life to the fullest.
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