Pain, nausea, and discomfort with drinking

First, the good things! I am doing much, much better in terms of my relationship with food. I haven't tried to binge or eat anything I'm not supposed to. My obsession with food is -- well, more manageable. I can't recommend seeing a therapist enough. I only wish I'd begun seeing one at the beginning of this process. And thank god for the OH forum, particularly Kelly. I can't tell you how grateful I am for all your help and support.

Now the bad (or at least annoying) part. Since about week three I've had a lot of problems getting down beverages, including plain water. I feel like this intolerance is getting worse. Drinking always causes discomfort, and sometimes pain and nausea as well. I've thrown up water, tea, Crystal Lite. I get that "stuck" feeling and then vomit immediately. I actually dread drinking! When I'm thirsty I prefer to make a smoothie with Chobani yogurt and a little water, which is the only way water goes down easier. Aside from fluids, I've been able to tolerate everything except bread -- even sushi and chicken, which I know are difficult foods for many of us post-WLS. I'm wondering if this fluid intolerance might have something to do with dehydration? I'm dehydrated, which causes nausea, so I don't drink, which makes me more dehydrated, etc. I'm also wondering if (however outlandi**** may seem) this might have something to do with exercise. It wasn't until I started exercising that the issues with drinking began, and I almost always throw up after working out. 

I am getting about 2-3 cups of water a day, but nowhere near the recommended 6-8.

Any suggestions? 

Have you tried popcicles or snow cones? Sometimes that frozen flavor helps. Broth can also help with the fluids.

What temp beverages are you drinking? If they are all the same, try room temp or hot tea.

I haven't personally had issues with beverages, so I am not a lot of help.

Best of luck!

 I have tried popsicles! They definitely help with the thirst, but do they count towards my daily fluid intake?

As for temperature, I've tried hot, cold, and room temp. Cold gives me the most stomach trouble, hot the least, but I have thrown up hot tea. :-/

I think you may be dehydrated and should call your doc in the morning. But yes. Popsicles do colt towards your fluid intake. So if those stay down eat as many as you can....sugar free!

You are probably dehydrated. Try using a straw to change it up a bit.

 My NUT says that SF popsicles count towards your daily fluid intake. I bought some freeze pop trays for the freezer and made crystal light popsicles also. Peppermint tea is supposed to calm your stomach also.

Also wanted to ask how fast are you drinking. I used to love to gulp and find that if I still try gulping I get very nauseous. Someone mentioned the 2 oz. medicine cups every 15 minutes. Maybe see if you can try that for a few days.

I have had this pain when I am dehydrated! If you can get the fluids down, it only lasts about 3 days. After that the fluids will go down much easier.

Yes, popsicles count for fluids! Hang in there, you are doing it . . .

Here's my 2 cents. Using a straw is not good because it introduces air to the pouch -- at least for us newbies. If you've been post RNY for a while, then I take back my 2 cents.

Hattie

I have to drink liquids via a straw because of a swallowing issue I have.  I know it's not recommended because of gas issues, but my personal experience has been that it's been just fine (for me) and I'm only 2-weeks post-op.

Water gives me grief too! Crystal light doesn't help me much either. I have noticed when I am really getting dehydrated that I get nauseated too!  But I bite the bullet and  sip it slowly and he nausea goes away.  I can get other liquids down much easier such as warm broth and cold non fat milk.  I hate the extra calories of the milk but it does have protein. Can you do protein shakes?  Shakes count toward  your water intake totals.  Another thing that works is orange Metamucil in my water. I was able to down 8 ounces of water thickened with Metamucil in 10 minutes and it takes me an hour to drink that much plain water. I feel your pain!  Good luck!