Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

[Aprile]

I am going in the hospital next week for surgery. This will be number 1 of a few planned. I spend a lot of time in the hospital unfortunatly so this will be fairly common and something I need to work around.

I am curious, do you think the IV solution they give you in the hospital will effect my Ketosis? My health is first and foremost so this is something I will just have to suck up. I will be able to stay somewhat on plan other than the fluids they give me while I am in there.

Do you think when I get home I should jump back to induction for a few days and then continue back on my current rung? Or should I do induction a few days and then re work back up the ladder to my current rung?

Has anyone else faced this? If so what have you done?

Thank you.

[sham]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

Soory I cant help with the question,but all the best with surgery!

[mizski]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

I had two surgeries since starting Atkins. The first was much more involved and it did throw my system out of whack for a couple of weeks; the second minor followup one, only about a week or so.

Immediately after the surgeries, my eating was very light with a lot of broth-type soups and bland meals. I did not go back on Induction when I felt up to eating regular meals but rather continued on my OWL rung.

Body weight and fluid levels (retention) were really wonky after both surgeries. I did get on the scale because I couldn't stop my feet. It was mainly a curiosity thing and I didn't get upset that my weight was not going down and sometimes, going up. I'm sure the meds during recovery didn't help either. I did not get any exercise either as simply getting up and walking or moving around was about all the effort I could do.

Bottom line was that when I did start to feel better my weight started coming off. When I average out the numbers, it did seem as though I still lost weight during my recovery even though the scale did not reflect it at the time.

My suggestion is to focus on your health issues and getting better. I personally believe that continuing on in OWL when you are up to it helps the body in its healing too. Best of luck with your surgeries and don't worry about the scale...your body will start losing when it is ready to again.

[Aprile]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

Great thank you very much. I atleast now know what to expect.

[Elizellen]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

These have been threads on how/what foods to prepare in advance when anticipating a hospital stay and convalescencebut at the moment I cannot find them.

However, if you can get some Atkins friendly dishes prepared and in the freezer in advance it will help you when you are not feeling up to cooking much.

Often you might feel you can not face solid foods, but you can puréé cooked meats/veg and add cream/butter/water to them to make a soup containing all the nutrients you need and therefore be able to drink your Atkins meals.

[not2late]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

It depends on what kind of IV fluid they give you and how much. According to this medical website, there are 5 grams of dextrose/100 cc D5W or 50 grams of dextrose in 1 liter.

http://www.ped.med.utah.edu/cai/howto/IntravenousFluidOrders.PDF

D50W has 50 grams dextrose/100 cc and it is sticky and thick like syrup (when I worked in the hospital a bag of it spilled on the floor....and it was a sticky, gooey mess!)

If they give you "normal saline", there isn't any dextrose in that.

So it really depends what they will give you and how much of it they give you.

[Maggiemuggs]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

If they have you on clear fluids, that means no food, even pureed ones. There are reasons for this medically, so you will have to follow the Dr.'s orders. As a former nurse following surgery and certain procedures, this was so we could measure output and input to make sure the bowels/urinary systems were working properly following these procedures.

[msanjelpie]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

I eat 'normal' while in the hospital... and then when I get home I go straight back to the diet as if I never left... no need to redo induction etc...

[Aprile]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

Just thought I would post a follow up answer to my own question.

I had my surgery this morning. I was put on IV fluids and then given a small cup of apple juice following my surgery. After I got home I checked the keto sticks out of curiosity. They turned purple. So I am going to say that no IV fluids will not knock you out of Ketosis.

I am on a light diet today and tomorrow will be able to return to normal atkins eating.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

You know that the strips don't register something you ate that quickly ... the food has to be digested ...

Did the IV fluids have glucose?

Out of curiosity, did you have to have the apple juice? When I had a procedure, I asked for water, and they gave me that ... even though they offered some sort of juice.

Glad the surgery went well ... that's the most important thing.

[Aprile]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

It was a couple hours after I had the fluids that I checked. Yes, I am aware it has to travel through the system before it registers and some foods or fluids travel faster or more slowly through the system.

I was only offered apple juice. My blood pressure was low so not sure if that is why, but I was not given a choice in recovery. I was offered water after I was out of recovery.

I am not sure if the fluids had glucose. I was told it was similar to a gatorade solution. So I am guess electrolyte solution sodium and potassium maybe? Saline?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

>>I was told it was similar to a gatorade solution.>>

Gatorade is sugar!

My point was ... the sticks don't really tell you if a food you ate knocks you out of ketosis.

You did what you had to do ... and that's that!

[Aprile]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

Very true! Thank you.

I was just hoping to stay on a forward track instead of having to go back to induction levels for a couple days. Looks like I don't have too which is awsome. Not that induction was bad but I like my berries and beans lol.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

Even if the sticks had been negative, you wouldn't have had to go back to Induction.

Remember, they're not reliable.

[Aprile]

Re: Silly Question: IV fluids and Atkins

See I was not aware of that. I figured I would handle it like a cheat. If I had too much carbs or what not and it knocked me out. I need to go back to basics to get back on track.

For lack of better explanation, my thinking was if the IV fluids or apple juice had more carbs than my CCL it would have knocked me out of Ketosis thus not turning the sticks a color since I had no fats that might skew the results.

Guess I didn't think it through as well as I thought I had lol. I blame the drugs