So, what can i drink?

[kickingandscreaming]

I have been fighting a UTI with antibiotics.  My body has just stopped peeing.  So, even tho I do PD, I am now in the same camp as all you HDers---with very limited liquid intake.  I absolutely can't stand it.  Drinking has been very important to me.  AND I DON'T KNOW HOW NOT TO DO IT!!!!  I don't know how to know how little to drink.  I don't know how one stays alive with so little fluid intake.  I feel totally lost.

Can one of you HDers give me a primer on how to live without liquid.  Thank you.

I'm in a particularly bad place as my peeing has just stopped and I am riddled with arthritis (left knee, right knee and right hip).  So I can't walk anymore without help.  There is almost nothing I can do without pain.  And now I can't even drink.

[MooseMom]

Oh, K&S, I can see how very down you are; you are dealing with so much. 

I have no answers for you, but it seems to me that the very first thing that should be done is to establish just how much you CAN safely drink.  I know you do PD, but surely there is someone at your clinic, or someone in your neph's office, who can help you answer this question.

My mother and my aunt both spent years on dialysis with fluid restrictions.  They both would let ice melt in their mouths.  My mother used Biotene to keep her mouth "quenched".  My aunt would sip on a glass of 7-up or Sprite during the day.

Do your doctors know why this UTI has resulted in you stopping urinating?  Have they said anything at all that is helpful?

[GA_DAWG]

K&S, i don't know that it is the same for everyone, but they told me to limit fluids to about 1 to 1 1/2 quarts a day. If you assume a gallon of water to be about 8 lbs, that would be a gain of 2-3 lbs per day.

[lulu836]

It took me over 2 years to understand how to limit fluid.  The biggest clue I received was from my PC doc.  He said,"Take small sips.".  I protested loudly informing him that I could not possibly take the amount and size of the binders I had been prescribed without taking large and often "glugs" of fluid.  I was so wrong.  I got accustomed to taking small sips with meals and with all meds.  It works!  There are some days I go over but it does work.

I keep sweet tea, Sprite, water, grapes, grape juice, ginger ale, 7-UP etc. in the fridge all in 6 or 7 ounce bottles.  On my "weekends" I drink about 16oz.  On days between treatments about 8 oz.  Peppermint, Lifesavers. lemon drops help also.  The weirdest thing I do is buy sacks of ice from Sonic. Sonic has really crunchable ice.  2 oz. of ice equals 1 oz. of water.  Fruit flavored  popsicles are 1 oz. also.

[kickingandscreaming]

Thank you.  All advice is welcome.

[Charlie B53]

I miss chugging down a tall glass of ice water.

I still make a small glass but limit myself to only one mouthful, set the glass down and walk away.

I bought one of those counter top ice makers from Best Buy when we still had one, they're gone now.  Got it next to the kitchen sink.  The cubes are for me the perfect size, slightly less than a tablespoon melted.  When I need it I pop one in my mouth and walk on.  it's cold, melts enough to wet everything, I have to swallow a number of times before it is all gone.

Lifesavers, all are good, the 'mint' flavors have a little less sugar than the fruity ones.  ALL help stimulate the saliva glands and help soothe a dry scratchy mouth and throat.

Stay away from the 'Gummies'.  One of my Nephs told me of a patient that had terrible labs, until they figured out he ate massive amounts of gummies to control thirst.

That 'All things in Moderation' is real.  You do not necessarily have to totally deprive yourself of many things, simply learn to limit them.  We can taste, just not necessarily have a portion that more normal people can have.  We can still appreciate most everything, except starfruit.

[lulu836]

I miss chugging down a tall glass of ice water.

Lifesavers, all are good, the 'mint' flavors have a little less sugar than the fruity ones.  ALL help stimulate the saliva glands and help soothe a dry scratchy mouth and throat.

That 'All things in Moderation' is real.  You do not necessarily have to totally deprive yourself of many things, simply learn to limit them.  We can taste, just not necessarily have a portion that more normal people can have.  We can still appreciate most everything, except starfruit.

 

[Michael Murphy]

The worse part I used to enjoy a glass of 12 year old Scotch every now and then.  I never thought my drinking problem was goin to involve water rather then scotch, bummer.

[SweetyPie]

Keep ur ac up and wear short sleeves when ur cold u dont feel thirsty its weird but it works.