@contentandwell Please keep in touch with us and let us know how you are doing. I admire all the water you are drinking, good for you! Teresa

@contentandwell - Please keep us informed about your creatinine. I'm embarrassed for asking this but you had a liver transplant but not a kidney too, right? I will pray they will be able to put a stop to the creatinine rising. As for the water, not that this is helpful, I have you beat. With the study I'm in I'm supposed to drink 64 oz. a day but the medicine makes me thirsty, and I've gotten used to drinking, so I drink about a gallon of water a day (128 ounces - 16 cups). I take water to bed and drink 18 ounces throughout the night before I even start my day. My problem is that I get tired of water sometimes so I drink pop and lemonade and that is not good when you are attempting to lose weight.

@lcamino A gallon of water is pretty amazing - Teresa

I have been a real big water drinker since my kidney transplant. I can still remember when I was being tapered off the IV fluids in the days after my transplant. And I still can remember being told that I was going to be disconnected - and it was "my job" to keep my new kidney hydrated. I feared that new responsibility! This was compounded for me because prior to my transplant surgery, while experiencing both edema and ascites, and dialysis, I had to limit my fluid intake. But I had lots of support and encouragement, plus the fact that my hospital discharge depended on it.

My husband bought me a Mayo Clinic water bottle when I was released from the hospital. And I take it everywhere, even today. It is my favorite: no leak, handy carry loop, fits in my car cup holder. It is extra special because it is blue with the 'Mayo' logo - and best of all - I have customized it with a green Donate Life wrist band. Besides water, it contains so many memories 🙂

I've recently been told to drink 3L daily (96 0z.) I keep a measured pitcher in refrigerator so I can monitor my intake. With this conscious effort to consistently drink that amount, it, I do believe that my appetite for snacking is diminishing.

Try a little crystal lite type flavoring in your water for a varied taste. Also try a lemon or lime slice - makes it look special and adds a little taste. Remember that it is okay to treat yourself to a soda or lemonade, too. I've also learned to drink diluted unsweet ice tea. But my favorite still remains water.
Rosemary

@hopeful33250 - It helps that the medicine makes me thirsty but the side effects have lessened and I still drink a lot because it has become a habit. When I first started the study med I was drinking 1 1 /2 gallons so now my gallon is thirst and habit. Keep in mind that I used to drink 3-4 glasses of liquid a day so if I can learn to do this anyone can. Mind you, I would not go to my extreme unless really necessary because your sleep is very interrupted, road trips become long (lots of stops), can't get through a movie at a theatre without running to the bathroom etc. so it does impact your daily life to drink that much.

Rosemary, I'm drinking out of my purple Mayo water bottle right now. It is my favorite too and helps me measure my water intake. I have to drink at least 2L a day to prevent further kidney stones.

Lynn, JK, Rosemary, Teresa - it's great to have "drinking" buddies.

@lcamino, when I go the pool I always bring one of my water bottles. I always make myself drink the whole bottle before I get out of the pool and then i refill it, so between those two I am well on my way to drink enough.
I have a cool bottle that my future son-in-law gave me. It has a citrus juicer on the bottom so you squeeze a lime or lemon into it and then the water. I find that goes down much easier and negligible calories. I also drink unsweetened iced tea. There are some really nice tasting herbals now so they have no calories and also no caffeine.
My husband mentioned to our son how much I am drinking and it turns out that my son has a HUGE water jug that he fills multiple times a day, he probably drinks as much as you do. He is very, very active so I am sure his body disperses a lot.
JK

@lcamino, Lynn, no, just liver got a transplant. My dear surgeon is the "Surgical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program" at MGH too, but hopefully I will not need him for that.
JK

@rosemarya Rosemary, I really do not generally care for the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners but I can tolerate it in certain things like tonic water which I had been drinking regularly -- 8 to 10 ounces a day, and I like artificially sweetened hard candy. My PCP is dead-set against artificial sweeteners, and I did read somewhere that they can be tough on your liver! He said he would rather see me have a little bit of sugar than artificially sweetened things. I really do like some of those candies though, particularly the cinnamon ones.
JK

@lcamino, the strange thing for me is that no matter how long it may have been from when I drank the bulk of the water I get up at night a lot. I tried getting as much water in early on thinking that would help but it didn't. My body holds on the water and gets me up just about once an hour.
JK