Ileostomates.. How much water do you drink in a day?

Ken, I found this info online:
"There are no hard and fast rules about how much you should drink. Everyone will have different needs from one day to the next. A normal healthy person is recommended to drink around 6-8 glasses of fluid per day, but some people will need more and others less. Use your urine color as the best guide."
https://meplus.convatec.com/articles/living-with-an-ostomy-hydration/
Do you drink more, less or the same as you did before your ostomy?

Hi all,

I have a permanent ileostomy (4 1/2 years). I think it's whatever works for you.

For me I use an app that links to my Samsung watch that tracks my steps and sleep and I input my liquid intake. I am very active - physically strenuous job plus I work out and or run everyday with a 30,000 step daily goal.

With that said I drink an average of 14 glasses a day. As for the rest of that I drink when I drink. No set times or amounts.

I combat all my liquid intake with loperamide and chia seeds. I get zero nutritional help from the chia but they do act like little sponges. They absorb at least 5 times their weight in liquid that I then excreted easily.

Hopefully that helps. Fell free to ask me anything about this or any other issues you have ostomy related. How long have you had your ostomy?

I've had my ileostomy for 21 years and before that I had a j-pouch for 15 years.

I don't measure my water intake, or avoid drinking water with meals. I find that the foods I eat have far more impact on my consistency than water. Foods that have soluble fiber tend to slow things down and make the consistency thicker.

There aren't any hard and fast rules, different things work for different people.

The goal we discussed after my ileostomy surgery was around 70 oz per day - preferably at least half being with electrolyes. (Given I am also limiting the amount I drink at meals to help with consistency of the output + not drinking for about 2 hours before bedtime to cut down on overnight bathroom trips, I would find it difficult to drink a lot more.)

The other thing I hear from all (including stoma, urology for kidney stones, and PCP) is that the best indicator of whether you are drinking the right amount is the color of your urine. It generally should be a light yellow. Darker means you are not drinking enough and clear suggests you are overdoing it.

Of course the corrolary is that whenever you go out it is a good idea to know where the nearest bathrooms are!