Ok, this may seem strange, but I have always been told in the past that you aren't really hydrated properly, unless your pee is clear.

Now, before banding that was fairly easy to maintain. But, since being banded, I have found that I have drink 80-100 ounces a day just to get my pee clear.

I know they say you should drink 64 ounces a day, but for me, I think this would be way low. I wonder if this is true for others.

Heck, I wonder if the pee clear theory is even true?

There must be some truth to it because my surgeon asks me about the color of my pee when I go for checkups. I told him it's medium yellow in the morning, but after my 2 - 3 bottles of water in the morning, it's very pale to completely clear in the afternoon. He said that was how he wanted me to be, and that I was good on my water. I get 64 oz. or pure water a day, and then drink tea, coffe, sometimes juice, etc. on top of that. I can now tell when I'm dehydrated. I get a mild head ache, my pee is dark, my skin looks rough, I get a terrible taste in my mouth and my rings fall off.

I get an average of 100 oz of liquid a day and have clear pee most of the time. I feel so much better when it get it all in...and if I don't...I tend to feel a little crappy and drawn out for a couple of days after.

I usually get in anywhere from 70-80oz of liquid and by the second pee of the day I am clear.:thumbup: - little wierd talking about pee on the internet.

I was very VERY dehydrated last week from my gall bladder issue (got sick from an attack and continued to be nauseous for a week) and my pee was dark orange. I was freaked out and called the doctor, I thought I was having liver failure! (I laugh NOW!) But he suggested I was probably dehydrated from the not eating/drinking... and so I made a concerted effort to drink lots of H2O... voila, back to nice light yellow pees in 2 days.

I think you definitely want nice almost clear pee...

I think as a banded person, you are not getting the Water from foods you normally would (if you were overeating) so it is harder to maintain proper hydration, plus the added factor of not drinking at meals.

I'm not banded yet, I have no experience, and no tricks to help... just saying that might be why it's so hard to keep your pee nice a clear.

Ok - I hate to be technical, but as a nurse - I must. Please bare with me :thumbsup:

First clear is not the term you want to be using - everyone should have 'clear' pee dehydrated or hydrated - cloudy would be the alternative which would signal a possible infection.

The terms you want to use are dilute (weak in color or next to no color) or concentrated / dark in color.

But to answer the question - the degree of concentration or lack there of absolutely has to do with whether you are getting enough Water in.

Other things that affect your 'bodies water balance' that would cause you to be more dehydrated:

excessive peeing (diuretic use), sweating - either from exercise or heat, increased alcohol or caffeine consumption (they act as diuretics), diarrhea, vomiting, increased sodium intake among other things - but these are the biggest,

I will now step off of my miniscule soap box and attempt not to trip over my feet. Have a blessed day!

Steve - you come up with the best thread titles.

I guess I have never thought of it as being dark and clear?

Man it sounds like we are evaluating beer. I think that should be a different thread.

Thanks for the clarification on dark, light, versus, clear or not. I have never had an infection, so it wouldn't even occur to me that light but not clear was possible.

Dang, another thing that I am not getting right. I doubt that I'm getting enought water. I get liquids, but don't focus on water.. next I started taking an Iron tablet, expected stools to be dark and hard. This is the norm with me and Iron. However, I swear my urine had a dang green tint to it about the 3rd day. I stopped for a couple of days and just started back up. If it happens again I will just stop. Who knew your pee and poop could be wrong?

Hey everyone, not banded yet but getting close. I was thinking about vitamins supplements. I take a B complex supplement and it turns my pee yellowish orange, I think that it means my body is not absorbing all of the supplement and the rest is coming out in my pee. That's ok though cause I do feel better when I take it. I figure I'll get what I need and the rest will go down the toilet. So for some people even if you drink enough water your pee may still have color if your taking certain supplements right?:thumbup:

Yes - certain supplements - the b-vitamins (especially if it's a b-complex) will turn your pee yellow to orange despite your hydration level.

I took a nutrition class a few semesters ago. The teacher is the head nutritionist for the football team the New Orleans Saints. So obviously, his specialty is sports nutrition. The humidity down here can suck gallons of sweat out of a person. At least it can feel like gallons, lol.

Ok, he stressed Water and hydration. He told us, many times, that if there is any color to our pee, we are dehydrated. He told us to drink water even when we are not thirsty. Thirst is a sign of dehydration.

Also, he was not a big proponent of sports drinks. Unless you worked outside in the heat or you were an athlete.

I learned a lot from him. Unfortunately for me, to drink enough water to get my urine void of color seems to tether me to a bathroom :tongue2:

No, urine shouldn't be clear---at least not the "color" of Water clear. It should be very pale yellow. Many push for clear (including many doctors--sorry, they're not always right), but there is such thing as too much of a good thing, and when the kidneys are really flooded with Fluid, then the risk of flushing out important electrolytes (which are ordinarily conserved with mind-boggling accuracy) really increases dramatically.

The color of urine is a great gauge of hydration, however, once you learn to "read" it. (Sorry, kcmagu--it really is; I'm an RN, too--and while other things affect hydration, urine concentration is a very good, if basic, indicator.) If it's too dark, drink. If it's genuinely clear, you can ease off a bit. Very pale straw yellow is "just right." Obviously, water-soluble Vitamins and some foods and meds can affect color--so you can't rely solely on this gauge. But on a hot day when you're wondering whether you're getting enough fluid, there are few better ways to judge.

Surgeons do ask about urine color, and press for clear (as in colorless) because most surgical patients drink far, far too little fluid, and there is little risk of them actually achieving clear urine. It'd be far better, especially when addressing a motivated patient, to really describe what is desirable.

Edited July 26, 200917 yr by WaistBand

Waist band - I believe you may have have missread my post. I agree with your statements except for the common miss-statement regarding 'clear' urine.

Clear does not mean dilute. It's the difference between color and clarity (as we are expected to assess as nurses) here are sample ranges:

clear ---- clear w/ sediment -- more sediment -- cloudy

dilute -- yellow -- drk yellow -- amber -- drk amber --etc

Clear means free from sediment -

dilute (or weak / lack of color) means very / if not over hydrated

Many times people mistakingly use the word clear when meaning dilute or weak urine.

You should never have the goal of urine being void of color or dilute - you should hope your urine, however, is clear

Edited July 26, 200917 yr by kcmagu