Re: how much should I make her drink?

[Guest guest]

Hi Anita,

I had a hard time drinking/eating after my surgery which was a concern for my

mum, I was in hospital for 9 days after my surgery and was re-admitted after 3

days at home due to dehydration. I prefered to drink things that were very

watery, I also drank a lot of smoothies and milk shakes too.

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[Guest guest]

Anita,

After not eating for a couple of days, my stomach must have shrunk

and after drinking 2 oz at a time, I was full. It's good for you to

remind her to drink often, but don't expect her to drink in great

quantities at a time. My doc said he'd like to see me taking in

about 64 oz but I don't think I got to that point until about 1 1/2

post-op. 1/2 of that amount is alot to expect at first. The real

test is here urine. Lighter yellow, don't worry, darker, she needs

more liquid.

Halley

> Hi Anita,

>

> I had a hard time drinking/eating after my surgery which was a

concern for my mum, I was in hospital for 9 days after my surgery

and was re-admitted after 3 days at home due to dehydration. I

prefered to drink things that were very watery, I also drank a lot

of smoothies and milk shakes too.

>

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page

>

>

[Guest guest]

The 5 pound drop is probably not a problem - I lost most of my weight

in the first few days. But not wanting to eat or drink (actually,

she's probably only supposed to drink) IS a problem. Her body needs

the nutrition to heal properly.

Sipping water all day long helped for me. I had shakes, Ensure, you

name it. Ensure is good because it's a meal replacement. The only

problem is that you should have about 3-4 a day, and most people don't

want to do that. Time to get creative with what you blend.

> Hello,

> My DD had surgery on Saturday and already has lost 5 pounds and she

isn't big to start with. I know its because she doesn't want to eat

and barely drink. Probably dehydrated too. I am taking her to the

Doctor today but in the mean time............

>

> How much should I force her to eat. Today I made her drink an Ensure

High Protein drink and a yogurt smoothie. Should I force her to drink

more? What about maybe some tea. This would be liquids but no

nutrition. I hate to be goof and sound like I know nothing but I

really want her well.

>

>

[Guest guest]

My OS emphasized the importance of drinking 2 litres of liquids per

day for the first 3-5 days. It was difficult to do, but important

for a healthy recovery.

Blended chicken noodle soup (the cambell's canned soup) was my

saviour. You're much more sensitive to taste and texture early post-

op, so if something's too rich, it should be watered down. There are

all kinds of soups she can try. I couldn't handle protein drinks at

first, or rich soups, until I mixed them with equal amounts of

water. I gradually reduced the amount of added water over the days.

I would stay away from anything tomato-y... it turned out to be way

too strong in my experience.

2 litres is a lot, it's very difficult, but it's doable. In my

opinion and from my experience, she should be squirting liquids in

her mouth all day long and making routine trips to the washroom. The

more I went to the washroom, the more motivated I became... perhaps

turn it into a challenging game and keep score of the litres

consumed.

Yann

> Hello,

> My DD had surgery on Saturday and already has lost 5 pounds and

she isn't big to start with. I know its because she doesn't want to

eat and barely drink. Probably dehydrated too. I am taking her to

the Doctor today but in the mean time............

>

> How much should I force her to eat. Today I made her drink an

Ensure High Protein drink and a yogurt smoothie. Should I force her

to drink more? What about maybe some tea. This would be liquids but

no nutrition. I hate to be goof and sound like I know nothing but I

really want her well.

>

>

[Guest guest]

the question isn't really how much liquid, although lots of water is

good, but how many calories/protein...she needs to take in as close to

2000 calories as possible and 30 mg of protein is minimum for the

healing process to go well. I was drinking at least 2 boost a day and

making vanilla shakes with the vanilla boost in them for extra

cals/protein...and drinking welch's fruit juices that had about 160

cals apiece in them...the body has to have that to heal and if she

doesn't keep her calories up she'll begin to get very weak...i wasn't

taking in enough and nearly passed out in the shower...i actually

might have because i had already sat down just in case b/c i felt so

lightheaded...my OS basically told me eating was an all day process

and that i really needed to be sipping on something fairly nutritious

and high in calories the majority of the time...it's hard at first,

especially if she's wired completely shut and has to use a syringe,

but it will eventually get easier and she'll be able to drink with a

straw or straight from the cup... --ashley

> Hello,

> My DD had surgery on Saturday and already has lost 5 pounds and she

isn't big to start with. I know its because she doesn't want to eat

and barely drink. Probably dehydrated too. I am taking her to the

Doctor today but in the mean time............

>

> How much should I force her to eat. Today I made her drink an Ensure

High Protein drink and a yogurt smoothie. Should I force her to drink

more? What about maybe some tea. This would be liquids but no

nutrition. I hate to be goof and sound like I know nothing but I

really want her well.

>

>