Hydrate or Die

A few weeks ago, I found myself attending the AUSA (Association of the United States Army) Conference held annually in Washington, DC. As a Department of Defense employee, I was allowed to go and my installation sponsored a bus trip.

AUSA showcases current and future technologies. Not to get too deep on acquisitions, but contractors need to put out their own money to develop a technology with the hopes that someone will buy it. Waiting for the call for bids to develop would often put these businesses in a poor posture.

This stuff is way beyond my pay grade, but nevertheless, it was a fun day checking out stuff.

I found a few booths that were giving away samples of hydration aids and I was immediately drawn to them. When they heard about the bariatric needs for hydration, I think I literally saw dollar signs in their eyes. They had been focusing on athletes and soldiers, but this market of individuals who have unique hydration needs was disregarded in their market research.

Hydration is important for everyone, but for bariatric patients it is even more important. The most common cause for hospital readmission following surgery is dehydration. It is also the most preventable. I was not the best bariatric patient I could have been regarding this, but with some tips I've learned perhaps you can learn from my mistakes.

1) You're only drinking that first week, right? Make sure you are getting water and electrolytes in as well as protein. My husband is going to go through this procedure sometime in 2018, and during that first week, he will have water, a protein shake, or both within arms length all of the time.

2) There is no such thing as too much water. I stupidly listened to the Facebook support groups, that if I drank too much water, my stomach would stretch back out. I was told by my research surgeon that this will not happen. Water just flows through your new rerouted system, which actually means you need more of it. If you drink a sip that's a little too big and you feel pressure, then you know you've sipped too much. Learn from that.

3) But, you will not get 64 ounces of water in immediately. Be patient with yourself. Know where you were at the previous day and try to do a little better the next day (this is where my severely analytical side kicks in).

4) When you get tired of water, mix it up. I still deal with this. I went away a few weekends ago, and I just didn't put any flavor in my water for some reason. I found my intake getting slower, and it took a day to realize that I was missing my flavor. It was in my bag the whole time. There was no reason for me to get a little dehydrated. Crystal Light-type individual flavor packets are great because they are portioned out. I have started using the squeeze bottle style so I can leave one or two in my bag at a given time.

5) Electrolytes are your friend. Use them. When I go a day or two without a little bit of an electrolytes in my drink, I notice that I feel just a little dryer. I have spoke the praises of Propel, but I also use the WalMart brand of Electrolytes as well as Mio.