I used to drink TONS of ice Water pre-VSG as of Oct 25th, 2011. (about 4 weeks ago! WOW)

Before VSG I would drink 3 or 4 glasses of large 24 oz cups of ice water every night on top of whatever I drank during the day.

I CAN drink water post sleeve thanks be to god!!!

But I cannot drink much at a time.

If I try not to drink when eating or a half hour before or after, which I try to eat about every 3 hours, it really makes it hard to find time to drink much!

I groom dogs for a living so having a drink nearby while I work is hard - even a cup with a lid gets dog hair on the straw LOL .

I also get so into my work that I don't think to take a sip. By the time 2 hours goes by (about how long it takes to groom a dog for me) my drink is no longer cold even in an insulated mug and I don't care for warm water. I do keep bottles in my car and if I feel real thirsty I will drink a few sips but I can't make myself drink much more when it is warm. Thankfully we are getting to winter so my bottles of water in the car will be cooler pretty soon I hope!I keep them under the seat out of the sun. I'm in TX and it's been pretty warm here so water in the car is room temp at best and usually much warmer. ICK!

I sit here now with my second 16 oz glass of ice water for the evening trying to quench my thirst. I did not drink more than 12 oz of water before this today.

I am getting strong feelings of thirst thru out the day. My urine is much yellower than it ever was before the surgery.

I find unless I sit here at my PC and carefully and thoughtfully plan to drink a glass of water of the coarse of the next 30 mins, I don't really think to drink much at all.

But I do know how important it is!

I do not care for Crystal Light or other SF drink mixes that you put in a bottle of water. I cant bring myself to buy a cold water at a corner store when I have water in my car and I wont even be able to drink much before it gets warm since I cant drink very fast!! I don't like Gatorades or Vitamin Water (the low cal kind or the regular) and I have stopped even drinking coffee or tea since my surgery. I stopped coffee cause my cup got cold before I could drink even half and tea just doesnt taste good to me anymore.

I have thought of making a little cooler to take with me every day to keep a water or 2 cold all day but I always forget to pack it before I run out the door I also keep some waters frozen in the freezer to take in a cooler for this purpose but again forget to grab them and the cooler.....

I know - I just have to MAKE myself do it right???

How do I know if I am staying hydrated enough and do you have any tips or tricks for how to get more fluids in me??

I know what you mean about the warm water!! I used to take a bottle half filled with Water and freeze it overnight. Then the next morning I filled it the rest of the way with water and took that. I also bought a set of Rubbermaid 20oz bottles with a capped lid that I now use. I keep one with me all day. Fortunately I am at home so I just add more ice whenever it gets low. I really miss drinking with meals as that was when I drank most of my water everyday.

Like you say, you are just going to have to make yourself do it. Getting dehydrated is not good sleeved or not,

It sounds like you've tried nearly every option I can think of. You may have to resort to using a timer to remind you to drink. I do this with my Vitamins and meds. I set them as repeating events on my iPhone and when they go off, it tells me what I'm supposed to be taking now.

Good luck!!

I wish I could get an at home IV hook up and just take fluids while I sleep !! LOL

If you prefer it cold, you're just going to have to freeze some Water in the bottom of a bottle.

It will get easier to drink. Just try to take frequent sips even if you can't drink much at once.

I couldn't drink much water for 4 months, I am now into drinking water again. Now that it is easier to eat, it is easier to drink.

You can have popsicles too. I have the same problem. It's soooo hard, and I feel your pain. Other then that how are you feeling?

Mommyx3

The good news is it gets easier. Keep a glass with you and sip,sip and sip some more. I too was a big water drinker before surgery, it took a couple of months before I could drink like I used to. I like the idea of setting an alarm, anything to keep you hydrated. I was instructed that staying hydrated was the most important thing, more than protein, more than anything. I read horror stories about the issues caused by dehydration, you do not want that. I actually became obsessed with making sure I got enough liquids in because I did not want to have the issues with dehydration. The one thing that helped me was since I could not drink with my meals, I made it a priority to drink one 20oz glass of water 1 hour before and 1 hour after my meal. If I did this, I was assured that I would get plenty of water.