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hospitalized for dehydration

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Ostomies
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Christine1946
Veteran Member
Joined : Aug 2008
Posts : 5987
Posted 8/10/2012 1:28 PM (GMT -7)
     A word to the wise to the new people with ostomies.  I was told this thousands of times, but do I listen?  Probably not enough.  But, I hope I finally learned my lesson now.

      A few weeks post op (around July of 2010) I had to be hospitalized for dehydration.  They kept me a few days because my electrolytes were off.  Well, this past week we were at the Jersey shore and I was basking in the sun (loved it all my life) most of the day on Tuesday.  I did drink a bottle of water while on the beach, but that apparently is not enough.  We had lunch at the casino and I drank a glass of gingerale.  Back to the beach for a few more hours.  At 4pm I gambled a bit and drank a mudslide...big booo boooo.  I KNOW alcohol can dehydrate you so why I drank it???  Because I LOVE mudslides..lol.  Only had one but that was enough.  Didn't eat much of a dinner, just picked on some crackers.  Had some ice cream and drank one more bottle of water.  At 1am, I woke up to pee, noticed my bag was full and started to feel nauseated.  After that I don't remember much.  Hubby said I started vomiting ( probably the combo of chips that came with my lunch, the mudslide and then junk) and I became incoherent.

     I was hospitalized from 1am Wednesday morning till Thursday 4pm and was hooked up to constant sodium chloride drip.  My electrolytes must have been ok.  They did a CT scan of my stomach and brain cause hubby thought I might have had a stroke.

     Weird thing is, I have no memory of going to the hospital and the care I received when I first arrived there.  I suppose dehydration can do this???

     Fellow ostomates, drink that water!!!

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Brian84
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2005
Posts : 460
Posted 8/10/2012 1:42 PM (GMT -7)
Oh wow that sounds like it was pretty scary. Glad it wasn't anything worse.
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YYC
Regular Member
Joined : Jun 2012
Posts : 75
Posted 8/10/2012 1:43 PM (GMT -7)
I'm sorry you had to go through this, but thanks for your words of wisdom! I have never been one to drink enough water and I know it's even more important now. I just have such a hard time getting it into me. I know dehydration can be a big issue but your experience has really driven the point home for me and I'm going to make a much better effort to drink more water.

Thank you.
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Ironmum
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2010
Posts : 776
Posted 8/10/2012 2:12 PM (GMT -7)
Oh my! you poor thing. Thank goodness you're ok and hubby was with you to make sure you got to hospital. Hope you're feeling ok now?
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Another UC wife
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2007
Posts : 2111
Posted 8/10/2012 5:29 PM (GMT -7)
I hope you are a lot better now. I will definitely read your post to hubby. We go to Aruba later in the year for 2 weeks (did not go last year) and that will be our first extended beach vacation and I definitely don't want to see him run into any problems.
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Christine1946
Veteran Member
Joined : Aug 2008
Posts : 5987
Posted 8/10/2012 7:03 PM (GMT -7)
     Another UC wife....I am afraid to go on cruises for this reason.  We did a lot of cruising during my UP days and I am blessed that I didn't flare during those cruises.  I am just fortunate my kidneys didn't shut down!
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80sChick
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2009
Posts : 1054
Posted 8/11/2012 6:38 AM (GMT -7)
You just have to remember when you're in the sun you have to be drinking constantly! Once like 3 mo. after surgery I went to a swim park and I almost fainted because I hadn't drank enough.

If I drink alcohol I make sure I drink at least one glass of water for one alocolic beverage.

I am constantly counting my water ounces per day. I aim for 80 per day but usually end up around 70.
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Dave D
Regular Member
Joined : Aug 2005
Posts : 404
Posted 8/11/2012 8:04 AM (GMT -7)
I have been dehydrated several times. Once I lost 20+ LBS. It took about 20 saline IV's to bring me back. The month prior to my ileostomy surgery, my diarrhea was out of control so I started tintures of opium which caused me to vomit which finished me off.... I went to the ER with a kidney function level (creatin) of 5.2 and blood pressure too low to read. Many more IV's.
My ileo surgery left me with a short bowel so I am even more prone towards dehydration, plus the stakes are higher as I am on Pradaxa blood thinner and I will bleed if I dehydrate and it is allowed to build up in my system.
Dave D
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uc_free
Veteran Member
Joined : May 2007
Posts : 646
Posted 8/11/2012 3:05 PM (GMT -7)
Thanks for the reminder!!!!! A sure sign for me that I am not drinking enough is a headache. Today I was a timer for my kids' swim meet. It lasted 6 hours. I didn't drink as much as I should have initially because the bathroom situation was not a good one. Well, a few hours in I had a severe headache and had to chug 2 bottles of water. Then I sipped for the rest of the time. I am feeling better now, but I have to remember not to let that happen again.
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Christine1946
Veteran Member
Joined : Aug 2008
Posts : 5987
Posted 8/18/2012 7:39 AM (GMT -7)
     OK...this is getting redundant.  I was hospitalized for dehydration AGAIN early Friday am.  Seems this time I contracted a stomach flu or food poisoning from the buffet at the Atlantic Club rolleyes .  Enjoyed a really nice day on the boardwalk in AC all day Thursday watching them practice for the Air Show.  I stayed WELL HYDRATED, drinking water constantly.  Woke up at 4am Friday (good thing we decided to come home and not stay in our RV), bag full and filling up fast, stomach pains and nausea.  Hubby called paramedics...I had fast heart rate and dizziness so back to the ER.  Got there early enough so wasn't as bad as I was previous week.  They gave me a shot for nausea and started hydrating me with the IV.  My electrolytes were good.  Pancreatic enzymes a bit high but they didn't seem concerned.  I was able to leave six hours later :-)   with script for Zofran.  This time is was definitely a bug because today I feel great!  Had to empty my bag five times in that six hours though and that is what I usually empty in the entire day!  Lots of bile.

     Next time...no buffet and I am gonna bring anti-bacterial wipes to the casino!  This is SCARY!  I didn't even drink a mudslide tongue

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esoR
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2007
Posts : 4147
Posted 8/18/2012 10:22 PM (GMT -7)
Oh Christine. YIKES! I did dehydrate severely in St. Thomas one time. Without our colons we simply cannot take the heat, the sun, I have to stay in on hot days. With all else that is going on with my new stoma, that dehydration thing is a real dog.

We have to be sooooo careful of getting a bug too. My old stoma when it was good I had diarrhea a few times. Man i felt like crap. LOL. Anyway, it is scary. Glad you are OK. Rosemary
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Subzeromambo
Veteran Member
Joined : Sep 2009
Posts : 1143
Posted 8/18/2012 11:02 PM (GMT -7)
Christine, I would have to say that is one of the top ten worst vacation stories ever. You poor thing! I hope you feel better soon.
Cynthia
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