This might be a dumb question, but ...

[akaheather]

What about the role of water?

When I go to get my infusions they always have a hard time finding my veins. I know that I don't drink enough water (like, serioulsy, maybe 2-3 glasses per week) , but now I'm starting to wonder just how poor of a choice that has been.

No water + heat +stenosis = ????? (yikes!)

On that note, I'm going to go get a glass of pure H20 right now. Heck, maybe I'll use it to chase a couple of aspirin!

P.S. I would also like to take this moment to thank the very poor economy for causing me to skip my $2.00 soda and/or tea at least 2-3 times a week.

P.S.S. How bad do you think Kool-aid would be?

[NHE]

What about the role of water?

When I go to get my infusions they always have a hard time finding my veins. I know that I don't drink enough water (like, serioulsy, maybe 2-3 glasses per week) , but now I'm starting to wonder just how poor of a choice that has been.

No water + heat +stenosis = ????? (yikes!)

On that note, I'm going to go get a glass of pure H20 right now. Heck, maybe I'll use it to chase a couple of aspirin!

P.S. I would also like to take this moment to thank the very poor economy for causing me to skip my $2.00 soda and/or tea at least 2-3 times a week.

Green tea would be good. There are lots of benefits to consuming green tea which have been discussed on the forum. Many of these can be found by searching for either the terms 'green tea' or 'EGCG' the latter of which is one of the antioxidants found in green tea.

By the way, I drink about 4 cups a day of stuff, usually two caffeinated in the early part of the day and the rest decaffeinated. I should note that even the caffeinated varieties of green tea contain about one third of the caffeine found in black tea and I've never found it to give me the caffeine jitters.

P.S.S. How bad do you think Kool-aid would be?

Personally, if given a choice and not dying of thirst, I would not drink the stuff. Plain, unsweetened fruit juices would be so much better. But that's just my opinion for what it's worth.

NHE

[Sharon]

akaheather -
I know nothing about having your transfusions, but I do know that if I am going to have a blood draw early in the morning, I drink at least two 8 oz. of water before the draw otherwise the nurses have a hard time trying to get the blood to withdraw. Especially in the morning, your body needs to be nourished with fluids - even though the body is resting at night, it is still using the residual fluid. By morning it has all been used up and you need to rehydrate. Drinking water prior to a blood draw will increase the volume of blood flow. I have also found this helpful prior to me going to get the enhanced MRI - the nurses are able to find and "keep" a good vein.

[akaheather]

Thank you for the responses. After posting I began to wonder if maybe having dehydrated veins might actually be helping me. If one did indeed have a stenosis, maybe you wouldn't want to increase your blood flow/volume. Of course, I'm NOT trying to suggest some sort of "dehydration therapy", I am just wondering out loud.

Secondly, I've heard some mention of blood pressure in this thread, but because of my limited circulatory knowledge, I'm confused. If you did indeed have a stenosis, would /could this cause your blood pressure to be high or low?

Thirdly, would you WANT to try alter your blood pressure? It seems like increased pressure would lead to increased back up. What the heck would decreased pressure do?

Lastly, please feel free to set me straight if I am way off here. I'm WAY better at math than biology/anatomy.

FYI - My blood pressure in usually 120/60. I don't really think I could get much lower. Unfortunately, I'm pretty quick tempered so I probably raise it more often than I should.