drinking

[jonn r]

so has anyone found a good way to get past wanting to drink all the time....so they tell me i can only have 1.5 nalgane bottles of water...but come on..thats all i can have...this is killing me....plz help with some ideas

jonn

[kitkatz]

I chew on ice chips most of the day long. If I drink something it is usually to take pills or to celebrate having a drink! They say sucking on hard candy helps. I usually end up eating and crunching the hard candy.  You have to suck on it to relieve the thirsty sensation.  Chewing gum helps a little.  It gets the saliva going in the mouth so it is not dry all of the time. Some people freeze grapes and eat them slowly. Mostly I allow myself one can of soda a day and the rest I eat on ice chips.

[BigSky]

Really watch your diet for the sodium.

Watch sugar and caffeine intake as it contributes to thirst also.

Also quench type of gums can help.

Its real easy to eat too much sodium and then drink too much which in turn makes the dialysis run not so good and people do not feel well.

I have done it and seen it happen to others where they get off dialysis and do not feel well.  First thing is to drink fluid or eat comfort food (usually sodium loaded) in an effort to feel better which in turn keeps the vicious cycle going of having too much fluid to take off and not feel well and then again eating and drinking what you want to feel better.

[angieskidney]

I love the ice chips at dialysis! But I HATE the water's after taste at my place

I am allowed 1000ml per day. It is hard but without any OUTput you really have no choice


Don't buy your favourite drink or you will drink too much! At least I find I do! I find the drink limit the HARDEST thing even more than the diet..

[jbeany]

What's worked for me so far - only use smaller glasses.  Don't set the glass on the table during the meal.  If it's not in front of me, I don't drink it on autopilot.  My 1.5 L of water equals 6 of the glasses I use to drink from, so I know I can have one with each meal, and one each for when I'm brushing my teeth in the morning and evening, and one to spare for when I'm thirsty in between.

I agree, the fluid restrictions are much harder than the diet restrictions.

[jonn r]

there has to be a better way

[angela515]

Hey jonn..... the only other thing I can offer you as far as a "better way", is

1) suck on hard candy (helps me)

2) chew on gum

3) change from hemo to PD (Not everyone can just change or they may not even want to change... however it does offer a bigger freedom in the drinking area. I still obviously cant go around drinking gallons of fluids a day, but I dont have to limit my fluid to so little either. I drink a lot of iced tea in a day, so i'm not as thirsty as when I was on hemo b/c I do dialysis everynight I can drink pretty much however much I want and I know my limits without going over board.

Hopefully these helped ya some... other than chewing on ice and puting your drinks in smaller glasses idunno what else to tell you.

[glitter]

I recently bought
 
'Oasis' by the makers of Sensodyne

http://www.dentist.net/sensodyne-oasis.asp


I saw it advertized in the orlando kidney center,my husband
 (who is the dialysis guy) says its okay-helps a bit.It was about $5.00
There is a toothpaste and mouthwash too, formulated for people with dry mouths.

[renal30yrs]

Evaporation (sweats) and frequent bowel movement seems to help.  You are losing a quiteabit of flid in this manner and means you can drink more.

[angieskidney]

I find keeping my drinks in the fridge instead of near me and only going for sips and leaving it there. Also brushing my teeth and tongue 3 times a day help. (I know odd but it helps me). That sensodyne-oasis might actually help. I gotta try that myself! 

[renal30yrs]

Have any of you used dry mouth spray?

[angieskidney]

Have any of you used dry mouth spray?

Not yet. I just saw it in this thread so I am going to try it when I find it! 

[renal30yrs]

I try to nibble on lemon and lime wedges.  They seem to help.

[angieskidney]

Has anyone heard of spitting a lot to get rid of some fluid? I don't know where I heard that but I think it was from someone in one of the few kidney forums I go on. Spitting all day he elimidated .. I dunno .. maybe 200ml per day? But I could imagine the stares if he was spitting in public!


Oh wow I hit 3000 posts!! Eeeek! Come on people get posting! Catch up to me lol!

[renal30yrs]

Spitting a lot olny makes you thirsty.

[angieskidney]

I know staying away from salt helps. Any other suggestions?

[renal30yrs]

Sugar or sugary food often aggravates thirst.

[BigSky]

Has anyone heard of spitting a lot to get rid of some fluid? I don't know where I heard that but I think it was from someone in one of the few kidney forums I go on. Spitting all day he elimidated .. I dunno .. maybe 200ml per day? But I could imagine the stares if he was spitting in public!

Better off watching fluid than trying to "spit"  it off.

Most likely it comes from wrestlers.  In wrestling it is not uncommon when we had people that were slightly over their competition weight to start spitting constantly in a effort to make weigh in.

One thing I still use from those days is to exercise with wrestling plastics to sweat fluid off.  Have thought about sneaking into the local hotel and using their sauna room on occasion..........


Hate to sound like a broken record. but the one thing that cannot be stressed enough is to watch sodium intake.  People take in far more sodium than they believe or admit they are taking in.  Since I have strictly kept track of sodium I am never thirsty anymore.

Most average people even do not think they take in that much sodium.  However studies show the average person takes in over 10,000 milligrams a day.   So therefor the hurdle for people coming off 10,000 milligrams of sodium a day to the expected goal of less than 2,000 for most once they hit renal failure.


In addition to renal30yrs suggestions of sugar and sugary food is caffeine.  They say greasy food is suppose to make people thirsty also but I wonder if it really is the greasy food or the fact most greasy food is loaded with Na?

[jbeany]

Spitting?  Ewwwww.

Wonder how much drooling in your sleep counts. . . .

[shay_pcb]

I saw either on this forum or another that drinking a glass of hot water when you get up would help with being thirsty all day. I, personally, haven't tried it so I don't know if it works or not, but I thought it might help someone here.

[Epoman]

so has anyone found a good way to get past wanting to drink all the time....so they tell me i can only have 1.5 nalgane bottles of water...but come on..thats all i can have...this is killing me....plz help with some ideas

jonn

Make sure at dialysis they turn OFF (if they use it on you) "Sodium Variation" I did and when I was in-center it helped me from being so thirsty. 

- Epoman

[Andy55]

Spitting is what high school wrestlers do when they are trying to make weight...so if you take up spitting just tell nosy bystanders you're getting ready to wrestle...that should send them scurrying...

[angieskidney]

so has anyone found a good way to get past wanting to drink all the time....so they tell me i can only have 1.5 nalgane bottles of water...but come on..thats all i can have...this is killing me....plz help with some ideas

jonn

Make sure at dialysis they turn OFF (if they use it on you) "Sodium Variation" I did and when I was in-center it helped me from being so thirsty. 

- Epoman

Epoman, I got a question about that "Sodium Variation" setting on the machine but I realized it would take this thread off topic so I have asked it here:

Go to this link: http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=2627.msg37030#msg37030

[Nan]

I can't wait to try the Oasis mouth spray....sometimes I awake during the night and I can't even swallow because my mouth is soooooooooo dry!  I too....keep my water in a glass bottle in the fridge, I go and take a sip and then put it back into the fridge.  My worse time is at a restaurant when I get those TALL icy glasses of water....!!!! Gum helps during the day.....and JELLO....cold, slippery, wet jello, eating it slowly, sometimes helps. I shake my head and laugh....all those years...we were told to DRINK...DRINK....DRINK.....and I even recall complaining about all the water my DOC wanted me to drink per day....Boy....do I miss those days!

[RichardMEL]

I totally agree the fluids thing is the hardest to deal with. i also admit that I have too much sodium!

Frankly, I *wish* I could have 1500ml a day (the 1.5 Nalgene bottles from the OP). I *should* have around 700-800 a day but my realistic limit is 1000ml and I can usually do OK (I was 1.8 over yesterday - woohoo!). What I do is not drink a whole can or bottle of water/soda/whatever at once. I might open it, take a few sips, then put it in the fridge then come back to it later. This can stretch say 350ml over a few hours.

I also keep a rough count in my head of how much I have had and try to pace through the day, and obviously leave allowance if I am going out to dinnner or something. For example, tonight I will be watching Football. I have kept myself to ~400ml so far today so i can have a little more while watching the football (so that means an amber kind of fluid!).

I also use my scales as almost a religion at times... so I can keep myself on target before the next session, or close to anyway.

I've also noticed, and this may just be me, but if I drink a mixed drink (eg: vodka/orange) for some reason when i weigh myself it doesn't always seem to translate to full fluid gain. Perhaps some of it evaporates off.

At the end of the day I have decided that if it's a question of quality of life vs. dialysis, I'll have a *little bit* more even if it puts me over the "limit" - of course if I get a cramp  or something that brings me back to earth.. but I try and relax about it.. I mean if I am 2.3 over I am not going to totally panic about it.. I think that would be worse.