Dehydration is FRUSTRATING with an Ostomy | Let's Talk IBD

I've had UC 40+ years and an ileostomy 30 years. I've also lived in one of the hottest places in the world all that time--Las Vegas, Nevada since 1974. In my late 40's and early 50's I started having a big problem with getting dehydrated to the point that I would wind up in the hospital with a central line. Five years ago I started adding 2-4 tablets of loperamide to my daily routine and it made a huge difference. All the fluid in the world won't help if it just flies through you. You have to slow down your bowel(s). I know this doesn't work for everyone--I think Maggie mentioned once that it didn't work for her--but by all means discuss adding it to the other medicine you take daily with your doctor. In my case, it was a game changer.

Maggie, Thank you for the offer. I ordered my sample packet plus the smallest packet along with package to try because I do have those days where I get completely dehydrated. Don’t feel good and get a headache and I know it’s because my output is too high. I also got the Barbie butt surgery as they call it after you did in April 2020 after I watched your video of you having the surgery in 2019. I had a J pouch and then they discovered I had Crohn’s instead of all sort of UC and for 15 years that I had the J pouch I suffered greatly With abscesses and I was in the hospital at least a year if not more with some kind of surgery or having to have a drain put in ….. one day I came across your video/ channel and said I’m taking it all out. I remember seeing the surgery on YouTube because I wanted to see what it looked like and I cried, but then I went back to the J pouch surgery and looked at that again and said if I can do that, I can do this because I can’t take it anymore. At the time of my decision, I had two setons and an diverted ileostomy at this time, I thought this is not living considering the setons, one is in my rectum and one in my vagina wall and I was too young to live in a diaper and be confined in my home so my story changed because I came across your video and you being so open and honest sharing your surgery experience, getting rid of all the organs and the disease tissue and being down to an ileostomy only. So I really appreciate all your honesty and your authentic sharing of every detail of what you’ve been through because it gives me hope and I learned something almost every single time I watch. I’m hoping to start a channel someday soon and what you do is very inspiring. Thank you again Maggie and I hope these work for me on those days where my output is going crazy

Coming up to having my ileostomy for three years now, and i have found that fine line between being hydrated and being under or over. Its not just the amount but also the time of day you intake the liquid. I don't drink after 8pm unless i wake in the night.

My doctor recommended LMNT and it worked very well to keep me hydrated. Good product.

I have Crohn's but not an ostomy & I was hospitalized in March for dehydration. I had no idea that it could be so dangerous and that it could cause so many symptoms. I was in so much pain, and it was very different from a flare. Thank you for sharing this! 💙

Good education. Im in AZ, so 19:07 per my doc the dehydration issue is really key. Ordered my sample.

You're a great story teller and I appreciate your tips on ostomy life. ❤

Hi Maggie, I am getting ready to have gastric bypass surgery in November. I appreciate this video because I’ll have to be mindful of my hydration.

We also use LMNT I like the watermelon and my hubby likes the citrus. He has 1 kidney and golfs out in the Texas sun and I have type 2 diabetes and my meds make it almost like I have IBS. It makes you feel so much better

Thank you very much Maggie i have a ilostomy I’ll all the time with dehydration very grateful to you Maggie xx

I have( had) crohns disease( thankfully in remission w/o ibd medication) and have an ileostomy for 30? Yrs now. I still have problems with dehydration, take 2 lomotil tabs daily, which really seems,to help me. I dtink a certain O.R.S solution suggesteed by a g.i dietician and was not recommwnded not to drink hydtationsolutions like LMNT or drip drop etc. Thank you maggie for sharing this information. 😊❤.

Thanks a lot for the information Maggie. I have been following you for a little over five years. I tried to order LMNT but it seems like it does not deliver to the place I live at, South Korea. But I will keep it in mind and purchase them when I get some chance. Thank you😊

You look great Maggie.

Thank you for the info.

Dumb question, but I've always wondered. How does it work if there is a constipation type issue because you can't "push" to help it along like we can when going the bathroom the normal way? Is that just never an issue?

It is so hard to find good tasting drinks with high electrolytes. Excited to try this brand!!!

Normalyte is another good electrolyte brand! I have a colon, but I feel a lot better since I've been using electrolytes for about a year now. I workout and sweat a lot, and even though I drink lots of water, I was still feeling dehydrated. The electrolytes help a lot!

I have pots and and gastroparesis Dehydration is so irritating to deal with. I drink a lot of electrolytes. I love LM NT and liquid IV, but I also still go to an infusion center to get lactana ringers every 2 weeks.

This dehydration is hard to manage. No one told me about drinking (sipping and not gulping) more fluids. No mention of electrolytes loss, extra sodium and less sugar. Maggie, thank you for the tips and explaining how the 'new' streamlined digestive system works. And I like the terms 'salty friends', and what's this 'Barbie or Ken Butt' all about? 😂

It's hard for me too I have the same problem as you do