How? How do you get in all of the liquid into your little stomach?

I'm really trying hard.  I'm getting my 64 oz of water in everyday (it's flavored with crystal light...) and I'm doing fairly well on my diet.  I make sure to get in mostly protein and very little carbs.  I even walked almost two miles last night!

I'm am worried that I won't be able to drink the 64oz after surgery.  I know that you all do it, but how?  You only have so much stomach and so many hours of a day.  How can you get all of your protein and all of your water.  Do you just have liquid with you all day and constantly sip at it?

I'm so worried that I'll fail.  I want so badly to be a success story and help others.  I just know that with my large stomach it's hard to get all of the water and protein, how will I do it with a little stomach?

I Promise you'll be able to do it. I struggled only one day in the hospital getting in my fluids. But my dr also said that I can count my protein driinks as part of the fluid intake. So if u have say 3 8oz protein shakes then u only have 40 more ounces of water to get it.
Good luck to u!

That is a good question. It was a full-time job for me.  I would set a timer for every 3 minutes to remember to keep sipping.  I still got dehydrated, but once I got a bag of fluids at about 3 weeks I was able to keep up after that.

It is just something to work through.  Not everyone has as much trouble as I did getting the fluids in.

Now I drink about 100 ounces or more a day and can gulp a half a bottle of water and I've almost forgotten how hard those early weeks were.  *Almost.*

Try not to worry. 

~Becky

Thank you very much.  I do feel better. :)

In the immediate post-op period, it was by hundreds of little sips if not thousands. As my healing progressed, so did my ability to drink like I did pre-op.  One would never know that my stomach has been altered by the way I drink today.  In fact, I've forgotten just how miserable that post-op period was.  I know it was, but the details are fuzzy.  Time can be your friend:)

Hi Butercup,

Seriously, "Slow and steady wins the race" when it comes to drinking.  You have to sip sip sip all day long.  It's annoying but it becomes a habit.   You'll do great!!

Well, it takes a while to work up to it. At least 3 weeks and crystal light gives me gas so be prepared to have to find a new drink. Plain water sits like a brick, I drink G2, expensive but keeps me hydrated. I'm high maintenance.

Thanks everyone for your help. I really appreciate it.

I've heard from a lot of you the sugar free beverages are out after surgery. I used to drink water by the gallon and now it kind of gags me. I tried it with a squeeze of lemon for a while, but that got old fast. Hopefully my tastes will change after surgery and I'll learn to love water again.

For me the first week was like a job. You have to stay on top of it because as you begin to heal and get more energy it gets easier. I'm at almost 3 weeks post-op and I am getting all of my fluids each day. I obviously haven't been at the post-op thing long but the one or two times I didn't get enough fluids I noticed a considerable difference in my energy level and noticed I was getting dizzy. Just work at it, it'll all come along.

Try this experiment. You will need: A glass of water, a measuring tablespoon and a timer.

Dip out one tablespoon of water and drink it. Time yourself to wait one minute. Take another tablespoon. You have just consumed one ounce of fluid. Do this 64 times in the course of the day. It will take just over an hour out of your day.

Now you know what a "sip" is. It could be even smaller than that. You could do this same thing with a teaspoon at a time. 8 ounces times 6 teaspoons per ounce = 48 minutes. 48 x 8 = 6.4 hours. You'll have plenty of time to get in all your fluids, even a teaspoon at a time, in the course of a day. It will feel like you're drinking all the time, and you kind of will be. So get used to the idea now.

Yes, you can do this.