Dehydration

[Smithamd]

Hi again,
So we are back from one of the many hospital stays my husband had since surgery. This time his kidney function went haywire and calcium was at critical levels. They found he was pretty dehydrated and had to keep him in the hospital for a week and give him lots and lots of fluids, which brought down his levels. My husband has been drinking lots and lots of fluids .. around like 4 liters every day. And his output has not been that bad. And in mushy consistency (sorry for TMI). So really not sure how to hydrate him better. Don't want to keep going back to hospital for dehydration. His nephrologist mentioned that recurrent dehydration can harm kidneys. Anyone had any issues with dehydration?

[smashms]

those NuuN tablets are great there is also something called liquid IV's it is a packet of stuff you mix in water tastes like lemon lime kind of a bit salty but will also do the trick. these things can be bought in CVS or walmart over the counter. may want to try 1 a day to start, but also makes sure he drinks at min a gallon of water a day. also watch how warm it is out as he will need extra water those days. for me and i have an ideal conduit or urostomy so my output is urine. i try to drink at least a gallon to a gallon and a half a day more if hot and muggy. doing this has kept me out of the hospital thus far. also hot days i will mix a packet of that liquid iv's and drink 1 of those usually in the am but can do it any time of day. also if he is active increase the water intake as well
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=iv+hydration ... yfjas36p_e

[Smithamd]

Thank you for the information. He does drink a little more than a gallon every day. He is indoor most of the times , so not loosing water that way. We did start him on liquid IV once a day this past week. His BUN was still elevated even on that. Let us see how it goes next week.

He has never been dehydrated before surgery to get ileostomy.

[ron in mich.]

Hi smithamd the trick is to get his output thicker and not liquidy, I had resection surgery last year and my stoma went from straw size to garden hose meaning it was a lot larger and output was almost constant and I was always thirsty and dehydrated and during my followup visits with the surgeon he said to take immodium and eat foods that thicken the output, banannas, oatmeal, applesauce, mashed potatos, and that has helped me a lot. I also get powdered Gatorade and mix to my liking and alternate with plain water during the day.

[smashms]

it may take a bit for his BUN to get better the more hydration he gets the better he will be and the faster his numbers will get better.

[Rchodos1]

I live in Florida where dehydration can occur easily with all the heat and humidity. I use a product sold on Amazon called H20RS which is a rehydration powder. Check it out and best of luck