Thirst Busters Help

[PrimeTimer]

Thought we'd share...To help control his fluid intake, my husband likes these three thirst busters: ice cubes, lemon drops and Nestle Outshine Lime Fruit Bars. The fruit bars have no sodium and altho I can't find how much potassium is in them, they must be very low because his labs always look good. The fruit bars contain no GMO, no sodium, only have 10g carbs, no high fructose corn syrup and are very very tart. Definitely make your mouth water. I also buy him those red-hot cinnamon Atomic Fire Balls (small hard candies). He also likes drinking the 7 ounce Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale. Perfect size. These things and sweating outdoors seem to help keep his fluid level in-check as they generally do not need to take more than 1-2 kilos off of him. Often less than that. 

[Hazmat35]

I use ice cubes; and I love Starburts and Skittles too.  My g/f makes me "flavored" ice cubes so I don't get bored.....ice tea ice cubes; and cranberry juice ice cubes; lemon aide ice cubes....anything she can get to freeze good.  It's a nice change from plain old ice.

The Nestle Outside Lime Fruit Bars; I've never heard of them, but I will look. 

[Charlie B53]

Daughter got me started on frozen Strawberry bars from Aldi's.  I've also found them at Kroger's.  There are a few other flavors, none which instantly appealed to me so I haven't tried them.

The flavored ice sounds like a plan.  I really miss my sweet tea!

I buy the big bags of Lifesaver Mints, they have the two mint flavors.  While in the VA Hospital having my PD Cath out and the Hemo Cath put in, I went to the Patient Store and bought a bbig bag of Gummy Bears.  Thinking these may help with thirst.  In the hallway on my way back to my room I bumped into one of my Nephs.  Seeing the big of Gummy Bears she asked if I intended to eat them.  Of course.  She then informed me of a Patient that had consistently high phosphorus and they could figure out why, nothing seemed to help.  He mentioned he was eating Gummy Bears to help with thirst.  Ooops!

Dr told me Lifesaver Mints were a far better choice.  And to ALWAYS take my glasses and READ the Ingredients!

[kristina]

The best "Thirst Buster Help" for me so far has been to cook everything from scratch and to cook all my vegetarian food without any salt and without any spices.
That appears a little strict, a little busy and definitely very boring, but on the other hand it certainly helps me not to be thirsty.
Best wishes and good luck from Kristina.

[Charlie B53]

Many do not realize how addicting the taste of salt can be.  When starting to cut out the salt they claim nothing 'tastes' right for quite some time.

Personally, I find the natural taste of of most everything to be better without salt.  But I have to admit my chicken and noodles the other day I did break down and add onion salt.  I just didn't seem right without it.  That may be due to my sinuses acting up and altering my taste.

[kristina]

Many do not realize how addicting the taste of salt can be.  When starting to cut out the salt they claim nothing 'tastes' right for quite some time.

Personally, I find the natural taste of of most everything to be better without salt.  But I have to admit my chicken and noodles the other day I did break down and add onion salt.  I just didn't seem right without it.  That may be due to my sinuses acting up and altering my taste.

Hello Charlie, I am sure that now and again to do "things", you have always done, is your own special treat, especially since you are totally aware of it and keep it within limits.
Strangely enough, even so I honestly never use any salt whatsoever, I always come up within the normal range in my blood tests and because of that, I assume, that most vegetables contain some natural salt ?
Best wishes from Kristina.

[PrimeTimer]

It's interesting (and quite shocking) to read labels at the store. I always compare labels to find the lowest sodium content and I buy mostly fresh vegetables. About the only frozen ones I will buy are peas, carrots, stir-fry mix or cauliflower. From my own experience, it only takes about a week or so to adjust to not adding salt to anything. Salt from butter and in bread seems to be enough for us.

We eat twice a day and I cook my husband dinners strictly using renal diet recipes I find on the Fresenius and Davita sites. They taste pretty darn good. They don't use any added salt. About the only salt he gets is from the butter he uses (Land-O-Lakes Sweet Cream with canola and salt), white bread and croissants. The recipes I use call for using a variety of spices. My husband says they are so tasty that he doesn't miss the salt, he thinks it's incredible how these recipes are packed with so much flavor but not salt. The different spices I use include: onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, Italian seasoning, oregano leaves, minced onion, minced garlic, fresh onions, fresh garlic, bell peppers, kale and celery. Every morning I make him a 3-egg omelet using fresh onion, red, yellow and green bell peppers. He swears the bell peppers help control his thirst. Our guess is that because bell peppers are juicy this adds some fluid to his system without overloading him. By the way, another tid bit, sliced cucumbers with a little olive oil seems to act as a wonderful natural laxative for him. We figure it's because the cucumbers are able to be carried down to the gut/intestines (where the fluid is needed when you're constipated) and release their water there instead of being absorbed while in the stomach.

My husband has struggled with high blood pressure for many years but since starting dialysis 4 years ago and stopping salt and sticking to the renal diet, his neph says his blood pressure is that of a 16 year old. He doesn't "crash" at dialysis but it sometimes gets a bit low towards the end but they don't have to stop his treatment or give him fluid. His energy level is up. His labs look great. We hope for him to be able to discontinue the BP meds.

Anyways, always read labels, even on frozen veggies. We never eat canned veggies anymore. Even read up on fresh veggies before going out to buy any because some do naturally have sodium however, a lot less than anything that comes in a can.

[kickingandscreaming]

Most foods contain sodium.  There's no way to escape it, but you can certainly restrict it.   I don't like saltiness.  Never have.  But I also don't like the taste of "flat" foods that have absolutely no salt in them.  A tiny amount in a pot of soup does the trick and doesn't mess with my fluids or BP. 

[kristina]

It's interesting (and quite shocking) to read labels at the store. I always compare labels to find the lowest sodium content and I buy mostly fresh vegetables. About the only frozen ones I will buy are peas, carrots, stir-fry mix or cauliflower. From my own experience, it only takes about a week or so to adjust to not adding salt to anything. Salt from butter and in bread seems to be enough for us.

We eat twice a day and I cook my husband dinners strictly using renal diet recipes I find on the Fresenius and Davita sites. They taste pretty darn good. They don't use any added salt. About the only salt he gets is from the butter he uses (Land-O-Lakes Sweet Cream with canola and salt), white bread and croissants. The recipes I use call for using a variety of spices. My husband says they are so tasty that he doesn't miss the salt, he thinks it's incredible how these recipes are packed with so much flavor but not salt. The different spices I use include: onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, Italian seasoning, oregano leaves, minced onion, minced garlic, fresh onions, fresh garlic, bell peppers, kale and celery. Every morning I make him a 3-egg omelet using fresh onion, red, yellow and green bell peppers. He swears the bell peppers help control his thirst. Our guess is that because bell peppers are juicy this adds some fluid to his system without overloading him. By the way, another tid bit, sliced cucumbers with a little olive oil seems to act as a wonderful natural laxative for him. We figure it's because the cucumbers are able to be carried down to the gut/intestines (where the fluid is needed when you're constipated) and release their water there instead of being absorbed while in the stomach.

My husband has struggled with high blood pressure for many years but since starting dialysis 4 years ago and stopping salt and sticking to the renal diet, his neph says his blood pressure is that of a 16 year old. He doesn't "crash" at dialysis but it sometimes gets a bit low towards the end but they don't have to stop his treatment or give him fluid. His energy level is up. His labs look great. We hope for him to be able to discontinue the BP meds.

Anyways, always read labels, even on frozen veggies. We never eat canned veggies anymore. Even read up on fresh veggies before going out to buy any because some do naturally have sodium however, a lot less than anything that comes in a can.

Many thanks PrimeTimer for this useful information!!!
Kind regards from Kristina,

[GA_DAWG]

I was one who picked up the salt shaker before even tasting most foods. When I was first put on dialysis, I was told the normal dietary restrictions while in the hospital. One of those was to cut out salt. Once at the clinic, our dietician said a small amount of salt was needed, but it had to be very limited. I found that after having completely eliminating added salt for six months, a small amount was all I needed to make food taste good again,  ot the amount I had used previously.

[lulu836]

Always I refused to consider water as a thirst quencher.  Always is over now and I am a fan of water.  Ice cold, bottled and mineral free.  Also I love to crunch ice.  I, of course, have an ice maker with crushed ice through the door but no that's just too easy. LOL So I have become a fan of ice from Sonic.  Their ice is in little pellets that are just bite-size for $3 a bag.  Two ounces of Sonic ice pellets equals 1 ounce of fluid.  OTOH popsicles, single, double or triple count as 1 fluid ounce for each bar and don't last nearly as long.  Unfortunately for the other peeps in the house, I have taken over the top shelf in the fridge for my thirst quenchers.  When I discovered 7 oz cans of things like ginger ale and Sprite I did my happy dance.  When necessary I can make one of those 7 oz drinks last a whole day.

[GA_DAWG]

I was always one who gave the WC Fields answer to drinking water. Now it is pretty good, fish or not.

[lulu836]

[Charlie B53]

I've recently re-discovered Hubba-Bubba Bubble Gum.  Wonderful stuff!

It really keeps my mouth watering for hours.

Only one problem, my Wife doesn't like what happens hours later.

All that air in those spit bubbles I swallow want to come out.  And it ain't as a burp!

[kristina]

Whenever I feel a little thirsty, I let some cold water run over my wrists. It refreshes me instantly and makes the feeling of thirstiness (almost) disappear.

[Charlie B53]

I do that in hotter weather while out by the Barn/Garden.  After it runs for a little bit it is soo nice and cold.  It really does cool the body, then I allow myself that ONE mouthful.