I am interested in things for severe dehydration... preferably without a lot of sugar....
fiance needs it, but is diabetic... so he drinks gatorade, but its not the best solution...

any ideas???

tia
kc

How about some Propel? I believe it is sugar free, and is lightly flavored. My doctor suggested Gatorade when DS was a baby, 9 mo. old, and wouldn't drink Pedialite. He also suggested any liquid he would drink, even Sprite or 7up diluted with a touch of water to get rid of the fizz. DS loved the Gatorade in a bottle!

I believe you can mix Gatorade & pedialyte. Not sure of the taste.
I have a recipe for a hydrayting drink you can make at home. It tastes salty, but is medicaly proven.
If you need it send me a PM.

I hope I don't sound nosy but does your fiance have anything like Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis? I know you have to keep yourself hydrated with these conditions.

Well, I don't have a better answer than the others but if he has a condition which causes this, go to HealingWell.com and click on Community. They have a board there where you can post your question. They have the boards arranged according to the type of disease or problem. There is one for diabetes for sure. Even if he doesn't have Crohn's, ask the question on that board. It stays almost as busy as this place does! Someone will get back to you very soon! HTH
-Ginger
GingerinAL@aol.com

My two youngest children are insulin-dependent diabetics. The risk of dehydration in diabetics is extremely high, especially during illness or when blood sugar readings are too high. Dehydration can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, an extremely dangerous condition requiring hospitalization and IV fluids. Have to keep hydrated and keep those kidneys flushed out!
Gatorade or Poweraide have too many carbohydrates (sugars) for diabetics. We found a solution that works in our situation. My son (the 6 year old with diabetes) plays coaches pitch baseball and swims on a swim team. Needs the carbs/sugars to prevent him from going too low (but not TOO much sugar) and needs to stay hydrated when working out. We re-use the sports drinks containers with the 'sports bottle' top, but mix the powerade half and half with either Crystal Light or sugar-free Koolaid. It keeps him happy, and the kids on his team do not realize he is 'different'. Powerade used to make a "light" version, but I looked all over for it this summer without finding it. It had half of the carbs/sugars as regular and tasted pretty good. You may try searching in your area. If you find some, let me know!
Good luck to you!

I actually USE pedialyte to hydrate! I know it tastes awful, but after ending up in the hospital on IVs with my last pregnancy, they told me to use this regularly since it seems to be a common problem for me in my pregnancies.

I have been putting some of that calorie reduced stuff (Crystal Light I believe) with it to get it bearable - really like the iced tea. Only thing is I suspect as with most diet-oriented stuff, they load it up with sugars and/or asparatame, which would not be all that good for a diabetic.

Actually, Crystal Light has no sugar. Asparatame is not harmful to diabetics.

Thanks for the replies everyone... he was just diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.... on top of being type 1 diabetic for about 13 years.....

I appreciate all the input, we will check out the other board... and I guess we will try pedialyte...

thanks
kc

Since he has ulcerative colitis, you could go to the chrohns and colitis foundations webite and ask Dr. May the question. He usually answers in a day or two. Or, do a search while you are there.
http://www.ccfa.org/medcentral/specialist/

I went to webmd.com, and got some info on diarhea (last week), and their suggestions included a home made brew of one quart water, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt and 4 tbsp. sugar.

I have type 2 diabetes, and cut down the sugar to 1 tbsp, and checked my sugar levels, and it was okay for me.

webmd suggested drinking a quart every hour, and small bites of salty crackers, until the episode was over, then abstaining from alcohol, fruit, spicy foods, dairy prods and maybe sugarfree gum for 36-48 hours.

Hope this helps!

Cindy

Well, if there is anything I can do, please let me know. I was diagnosed with Crohn's a few years ago. Evidently Crohn's and UC are very similar. In fact, many with UC later have their diagnoses changed to Crohn's. You just would not believe the number of people who have this! I have a former co-worker who has UC and a cousin with it. My husband's grandmother and a friend of his both have Crohn's. There are even a few "stars" who have it. But I just can't imagine trying to cope with UC and diabetes on top of that!

Please email me if there is anything I can do. Even for support. I know it is hard on families too! And if you can either get him to go to a support group or find one online, it really helps. I have been doing the online thing and it has done wonders for me! Just to be able to have others who know what I am going through really makes me feel better. Plus since you really don't know who you are talking to, you can discuss the embarassing stuff without blushing!

Again, please let me know if there is anything I can do!
-Ginger
GingerinAL@aol.com

PS You know, there are some really great people on this site! I have seen how often you all come out to help others. You all are great! Smilies to everyone!

personally I would never use aspartame. There are alot of problems with aspartame. Just google it and you'll find out more information. Maybe something with splenda would be ok ?

Isn't slpenda another brand name for aspertame ljust ike nutra-sweet?

Nope, it isdifferent than the other stuff. Splenda is actually made from sugar (sucralose) but has no effect like sugar in the body. Somehow, the body does not recognize it as a carbohydrate. It takes better to me than all the other things. My grandmother, who is a diabetic, uses it in everything.
HTH -Ginger