Gastroparesis and Dehydration...

How many times as gastroparesis patients have we had to go either to the doctor's office or to the emergency room for an IV to combat a horrible bout of dehydration? I honestly could not tell you how many times this has happened to me. Over the years, it has gotten to the point where I would rather feel awful and be miserable and just tough it out on the couch then to go sit for hours while waiting for an IV to rehydrate me. It has always been a game of "what if" for me whenever I consider going to the ER. I am always double guessing myself.

• Maybe I'll start to feel better soon.
• Is it truly worth exposing myself to something else like the flu or a stomach bug?
• What if the ER doctor has a horrible bedside mannerism and thinks that the GP is "just in my head" or that I'm seeking medical attention or better yet, prescription drugs.
• How much is this ER visit going to cost?

The majority of the time, I will just stay home and sip on Gatorade. At times, I have been so weak that I could barely walk to the bathroom. I will experience blacking out episodes, increased pulse rates, nausea, passing out and let's not forget the dehydration headaches that last for DAYS. The whole experience is awful.

A company reached out to me (*see the disclaimer below*) and told me about their new product called Speedlyte. It is "A New Generation Oral Rehydration Solution". It was developed by a biotech company for people with severe dehydration issues. It is FDA approved and recognized by both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They sent some samples of their product. I was somewhat skeptical at first because I'm not a scientific person. I don't fully understand the science behind the Speedlyte solution. Speedlyte really does work. It is something that I am going to keep on hand and have readily available for whenever those rough, dehydrating days happen.

http://www.speedlyte.com/faq/

Currently it is only available in an orange flavor but more flavors are being developed. Personally, I was not a fan of the orange flavoring. The taste of Speedlyte kind of reminded me of a prescription colon prep or Miralax. It has a salty taste to it. Whenever I'm really dehydrated and miserable, I'm going to pretty much drink whatever. At times like that, suddenly I am not so picky. I just want to feel better. There are no artificial ingredients and it has 46% less sugar than the leading oral rehydrating solutions.

As always, discuss with your doctors what will work best for you before trying something new and different. Use your own discretion. After all, I'm not a doctor and we're all individuals who have different bodies and systems. What works for me, may not work for you. I have linked the company's website below with all of the information regarding Speedlyte. If you have any questions regarding their product, contact them and ask. Their customer service is great. You can contact them and they will send you some samples to try. Who doesn't like a sample?! I have also provided a couple of links where Speedlyte can be purchased.

https://www.amazon.com/Speedlyte-breakthrough-Rehydration-electrolytes-absorption/dp/B01CETMV92/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1492625968&sr=8-1&keywords=speedlyte

http://www.mdsupplies.com/medical-supplies-Einsof-Biohealth-Speedlyte-Rehydration-Solution-Encapsulated-Nano-Electrolytes-LJNXN5XRNA.html

Disclaimer: 

I am not a doctor. I am a gastroparesis patient. This is not a sponsored post. I was not paid for my opinions on this product. Please use at your own discretion.

salt cravings...

Salt or sugar, something we as humans crave. When it comes to food especially junk food, you either love those salty foods such as chips, popcorn or pretzels or you tend to have a sweet tooth and choose foods that are sugary and sweet such as cakes, candy or cookies. I use to be more of a sugary person. Gummy candies were my favorite. However things have changed and I crave salt like crazy. I simply can't get enough.

To put into perspective how bad my salt consumption and cravings have become, when I got married, I bought a big salt grinder. I'm currently on my second salt grinder. I may have a problem considering that my husband doesn't use any salt from those grinders.

Before my colectomy, I didn't crave salt. However post colectomy, I noticed that I was craving salt. After my ileostomy surgery, my cravings became very intense especially after my clean outs. The colon is responsible for removing any waste from our bodies made up from food, nutrients, salt and water. Since I have an ileostomy and my remaining eight inches of colon isn't connected to my small intestines, my GI tract doesn't function as it should. Since I have Gastroparesis, I have a hard time absorbing my nutrients. Throw in several clean outs a week and it just complicates things even more. Gastroparesis and ostomy patients can dehydrate quickly especially in heat. For me, output of more than 1000cc/ml per day will dehydrate me. On a day when I am cleaning out I may have anywhere between 3000 - 4000 cc/ml per day. It all just depends on how effective and well my clean out is going. On really "good" clean out day when I have a high output, I will become so dehydrated that I will begin to throw up. A few clean outs ago, almost every time I got up and moved, I threw up. The nausea was horrible. It was all from being too dehydrated. What is bad for me personally is once I get to that point, I can't rehydrate myself quick enough. I get horrible headaches from this. I hardly got off the couch the next day. This all could have been avoided if I would have not been so stubborn and just went to the ER and got an IV.

So the after effect of all of this is that I crave salt. The last time I talked to my doctor about this, they were fine with it. My blood pressure is perfectly fine. When you crave salt, it can mean many things such as dehydration, a lack in minerals in your body or under active adrenal glands. In my case, it is a combination of both needing hydration and minerals due to my GP diet and lifestyle.

After a clean out, a way I rehydrate and replenish myself is by drinking a lot of liquids as well as eating salty foods that go along with my GP diet. (I put salt on almost everything. I know, it's horrible.) To give an idea of how much liquid I drink (which is mostly water), the other night at dinner I drank 32 ounces of water over an hour or so. I felt huge and bloated but I need that amount of liquid with my meals in an attempt to keep everything moving in between clean outs as well as for my hydration. As I said, I drink a lot of liquids. Before my ileostomy surgery, I could not have tolerated this much liquid due to my GP. I still have a hard time but I have just learned how to pace myself and drink, drink, drink all in the name of my ostomy. (Smiling...)

There are all different types of products out there to help with hydration. Sports drinks help balance your electrolytes but they have higher sugar contents and I personally have to watch those. Smart water claims to have electrolytes in their water to help balance your electrolytes. Certain foods naturally contain water such as celery, cucumber and watermelon which aren't all necessarily GP friendly. It just depends on your GI tract and diet and what works best for you. When all else fails, there is always the ER where you can get an IV for hydration.