Hydration.

[BobD]

OK peeps you know how I go on about staying well hydrated. Well guess what. There is an old saying "the Cobler is the worse shod man in town. "

Having got up at 3 30 am for a five hour drive up country to a family funeral including M5, M4 and the magic roundabout AKA M25 suitably fortified with a flask of coffee there I am standing in the Crem .holding onto the bar in front thinking why do I feel so woozy? Loud ching as the penny dropped. Not enough plain water. As soon as we got to the wake I down two large glasses of water and within minutes felt back to normal. With my post prostectomy bladder issues it is always tempting to limit water intake on a journey like that but trust me it isn't worth it. DRINK damn it DRINK.

Sam drove the return leg and is now fortifying herself with a large glass of wine.lol

Ten and a half hours on the road for a two hour service but that's what you do for family.

[Frances123]

Oh Bob what are you like, but I think we have all done similar things. I know I am just as guilty. Im glad you are ok now.

Yes, a long day but as you say we do these things for family.

Hope Sam is enjoying her wine 🍷xxx

[CaroleF]

Silly boy! (but glad you're home safe and sound and that you realised what the problem was) Hope you can both take things a bit easy tomorrow.

[Sam72-]

Aww bob hope your ok after the day and condolences on the loss of a family member. I agree with you on the water as I have been drinking a lot more since my ablation 😁👍🏼 I have found 3 cups of boiled water a day is doing me fantastic. Your sam sounds great . You do make me chuckle with your posts bob 😂 love the way you tell it . Stay hydrated now my friend 😊❤️

[JJC999]

Don't be hard on yourself bob, events such as these push us off course and we react differently. I personally have witnessed mainly a collapse and faint in churches and crems. Not sticking to your routine ( not being able to ) and emotions really test the ticker and that bloody vagus nerve!!

[Chris147]

Bob take care its the same situation having to get up at night to use the bathroom. I have bought a drinking flask so now can manage to record how much I am drinking. Take care

[secondtry]

Water yes - they say when you get older you don't get the same thirsty feelings so it easy to forget to drink. I'm not that good but apart from regular tea and small glasses of water, I make sure I have a pint of very weak warmish (easier to drink) squash in the mornings. I regard it as relevant in a small way to avoiding strokes whether you are on anti-coags or not.

Also on your 5 hour trip, I hope you stopped off to stretch your legs a couple of times. I got a blood clot in my leg when I was a fit pre-AF young man at 45yo on a 5 hr car journey back South from Yorkshire, thinking stops are just for wimps! You live and learn or as my daughter's friend says "every day's a school day". Enjoy yours.

[Pam296]

Sorry for your loss, Bob. I have tried to take your advice about hydration since joining the group but it is really hard when you are travelling. I noticed a distinct lack of facilities on a recent trip from Andover to Henlow! And as for travelling to Birmingham on the train for Patients Day, the trains are generally too packed to navigate a trip to the loo 🤐

[momist]

As my long journeys usually involve towing a (very) small caravan, they take even longer than most. I always travel with a bottle of water next to me, and at least a six pack of them in the boot.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to momist]

We fit Platypus drinking systems in the race cars but a bit OTT in my BMW.

[jeanjeannie50]

Honestly Bob, tut tut tut.

Well at least you're honest and came clean to give us all a reminder on how important drinking plenty of fluids is. I think another thing that probably doesn't help is that when we are going to travel a long distance, we think we mustn't drink too much or we'll be having to stop for the toilets all the time!

Lesson learnt and a good reminder for everyone.

Thank you

Jean

[Thomas45]

Because I don't have an appetite I've been known to go without food and drink until mid afternoon, when like you, Bob, I felt woozy. I now force myself to eat when I get up (Oatiflakes with Rice milk this morning ) and I attempt to drink 4 x 500ml bottles of water a day (although some of it is in the form of tea, both caffeinated and decaff - decaff because of the prostate problems during the night ).

[Dodie117]

A number of studies show the best rehydration liquid is milk.

50% better than milk

When I was a child on a farm in Ireland my parents always took a bottle of mixed water and milk out in the fields on warm days. We were always encouraged to drink this when thirsty. Strange now to see this being scientifically proven.