Enema question (not what you are thinking)

I have been really sick the past week or so in and out of the hospital with severe vomiting, debydration, and pain in my upper abdomen. The doctors is going system by system to find what is causing my symptoms. So far he has only found a slightly inflamed liver and elevated liver enzymes. He does not believe that can be the only think causing my symptoms so he is still searching. Sorry if this is long winded, just trying to give background information so the situation is not misinterpreted.

Okay, on to my question. I have never used an enema before today. My doctor wanted me to because I have not gone to the bathroom in over 4 days (possibly just not eating enough to produce much waste). My do for wants to check my gastrointestinal system via endoscopy and colonoscopy which is why the enema is needed. It is 8 hours later and I have noticed my fingers are puffy and my weight "shot up" from yesterday. I know the weight has to be water because there is no way someone can gain weight with how little I have been able to keep down. There is not much sodium in what I have been able to eat. Is it possible the enema is what is causing the water retention tonight? If so, will just increasing water intake help flush it out? (It helped with the water weight gain from IV fluid earlier this week).

Thank you for any input. Sorry for such a long post, it just would not make much sense without some background info.

For those who would like it: tl;dr - can enemas cause water retention?

Replies

jeansnpearls84

There are many different kinds of enemas. What kind did you use?

elphie754

The doctor gave me directions on how to make my own. I have a lot of allergies so he was afraid I could reaction to a commercial product. It was pretty basic. 4 cups water, 4 teaspoons salt and 1/8 tsp of baking soda.

beautifulwarrior18

No, its not from the enema. Water retention is a sign of an issue with your heart. I'd call your doctor asap.

bellevie86

The doctor gave me directions on how to make my own. I have a lot of allergies so he was afraid I could reaction to a commercial product. It was pretty basic. 4 cups water, 4 teaspoons salt and 1/8 tsp of baking soda.

Well, 4 teaspoons of salt is a lot. 1500 mg is not quite a teaspoon. So yes, it could be from the enema, cause that puts you at about 6000mg.

elphie754

There is nothing wrong with my heart. I just got out of the hospital. Cardiac was already ruled out as a cause. The sodium in IV fluids causes me to retain water so I am wondering if the sodium in the enema could as well (especially since fluids can be absorbed by the colon). I just have never had to use one before so was not sure if this is somewhat normal or not.

bellevie86

There is nothing wrong with my heart. I just got out of the hospital. Cardiac was already ruled out as a cause. The sodium in IV fluids causes me to retain water so I am wondering if the sodium in the enema could as well (especially since fluids can be absorbed by the colon). I just have never had to use one before so was not sure if this is somewhat normal or not.

With all the salt in your enema, it puts you at about 2.5 times the recommended amount. So yes, could be the culprit. Could also be a symptom of your other problems.

sarah44254

Hunnibabee answered really well. You mentioned you do not have a lot of sodium in your usual diet, so 6000mg (roughly) is a HUGE increase and can definitely cause retention.

Drinking more water can help reduce the retention. It might also help encourage a bowel movement so you can be ready for the examinations.

I hope you can find a cause of your issues and start getting better quickly.

1princesswarrior

I'd call your doctor and let him/her know the enema is not working and now your fingers are swelling. And probably keep drinking water unless you can't even pee, then it's an emergency.

elphie754

Thank you. I was leaning towards the sodium culprit but I feel better if other people think that as well. When I was in the hospital I was receiving IV fluids around the clock. Each bag has 3000mg of sodium in it and I was getting 2-3 bags a day. That caused be to look and feel like a balloon. It came off fairly quick though. This is frustrating because I believe under the water weight, I am losing fat. Unfortunately right now I can't be sure since my weight is all over the place with the water. Not very encouraging to not be able to see progress

. After tonight I gave my scale to my friend and told her she can not give it back until April 15th because it is just too depressing for me to see such wild changes.

My so for does not believe that the retention is a symptom since it started to occur after IV fluids and went down when the fluids were stopped.

elphie754

I'd call your doctor and let him/her know the enema is not working and now your fingers are swelling. And probably keep drinking water unless you can't even pee, then it's an emergency.

Umm... It did work. I am not sure why you got the impression that it didn't.

Thank you everyone for the advice and kind words. It has been a long two weeks. The doctors have been great though and have actually been listening to me when I say something is wrong.

neandermagnon

Now is not the time to be worrying about how much you weigh on the scale. You're right it can't possibly be fat that you gained. Just focus on getting well and don't worry how much you weigh. If you're worried about the water retention from a medical point of view, then speak to your doctor about it, because no-one here is qualified to know what's going on with that.

Seriously, worrying about whether or not you're losing fat under the water weight gain when you're having treatment for serious GI issues..... really, focus on getting well. Then when you're better go back to focusing on losing fat. And yes, you will have lost some fat as a result of this illness, but also some water/glycogen, so you can expect a water weight gain after you return to eating normally again... don't freak out about it, it's just normal physiology and doesn't mean you haven't lost fat in the process. Please though, think about your priorities....

elphie754

Just because I am sick does not mean I should, or will, ease up on my weight loss focus. If I allow my self to slide with the excuse I am sick, when I am healthy again I likely will not resume. I am still tracking everything I eat (ironically to make sure I am getting nutrients even if I bring them back up). I can't exercise right now which has me feeling down so I need to focus on the positives. I enjoyed seeing the number drop as excess water was shed, now its back. I feel like I am playing water retention yo-yo.

But like I said, I gave my scale to my friend to hold hostage since it was just driving me batty.

I know people say work on getting better first but I choose to still stick to it on a modified level (attempting add in extra calories to help my body heal, allowing for more calories if a meal did not stay down). I do not see why weight loss has to be put on hold for an illness. My doctor said it was fine to continue to count calories/aim for weight loss, but that I should aim for no more than 1 lb a week while sick.

neandermagnon

well your reply kind of proves my point really....

elphie754

I am sorry if I am coming off as dismissive to the just focus on healing ideas. I agree healing is most important. I just know myself. If I give my self an excuse to slack now, then I will keep slacking for weeks.

If I am coming off in an unpleasant manner I am truly sorry. I really do appreciate everyone's advice. I am just on heavy painkillers right now so I may not be coming across the way I want to.

SKME2013

Elphie, I am not sure anybody is here qualified to answer your quesions or should. If I was in your position, than I would consult my doctor as anything here is pure speculation.

Re your dieting while getting better is something only you can decide, again with the help of your doctor.

I wish you the best and a speedy recovery!
Stef.

elphie754

I appreciate that input. I would not take medical advice or nutrition advice while ill from an online site, so no worries there.

My question was more generalized: if enemas can cause water retention. It was just so long winded (that you medication) lol.

neandermagnon

tracking to stay in good habits I can understand.... but my concern is not so much about that, but about the fact that you're worried about whether you're losing fat under the water retention while you're sick. This is a separate issue to whether you're continuing with certain things just to stay in good habits. You're worrying about whether it's happening or not, and your fingers have swollen up and you're commenting on whether you've lost fat in spite of the increase in scale weight... really, worrying about things like this when you're sick isn't good for mental health. You will see big fluctuations in scale weight when you're sick and it doesn't mean anything. If you can''t keep food down, there's no way you're gaining fat and you will be losing it, so that question/worry should really be off your radar. And even if, for some reason, you did gain fat in spite of being ill, then illness is a temporary situation, you'd lose it again when you get well and go back to your previous routine. It's the excessive worry about whether you're still losing fat that I'm concerned about.

I'm of the school of thought that losing fat should improve both your physical and mental health, and if it's not, then you're doing something wrong. Many people get overly hung up, even obsessed, with scale weight and fearing weight gain to the point that they worry about normal weight fluctuations. This is a common way that dieting can make mental health worse. You have to eat 3500 calories over and above your TDEE to gain just 1lb of fat, so none of these water weight fluctations are worth worrying about. And if you're worrying about that even when you're sick.... well maybe it's time to learn to worry less, focus on getting better (yes keep doing things like tracking to stay in healthy habits if that's what works for you) and reconsider some of your attitudes towards the number on the scale. Fat gain happens slowly, you can monitor the trend over time with your weight to be sure it's moving in the right direction... if it's not you can change your eating/exercise plan accordingly.

elphie754

I really do not believe I am that worried about it. Sure, I think about what the number on the scale could be once the water weight comes off, but that is the extent of that. There is nothing wrong with thinking about what the scale will say when the water is gone. I even commented that I know I will see fluctuations especially if I receive more IV fluids tomorrow.

I even said I know there is no way that it is fat and that it is just not possible.

I am not sure why you feel the need to attempt to lecture me about something that is not that big of an issue. I am not obsessed and have been doing this the healthy way for a while now. Sick or not sick I really do not see why continuing on my plan seems like a bad idea to you. I am not sure what any of this has to do with mental health.

I am following my plan and my doctor is on board. He thinks it is fine to continue to lose weight but to scale it back to 1lb instead of 2. Then once I am better I can go back to 2.

Any way, I just need to ask this one question because I have never had to deal with enemas before (and after tomorrow hopefully never again).

elphie754

After continuing to search I was able to find some information about enemas and water absorption. Your colon can absorb water from an enema. Depending on the type of solution (hypertonic, isotonic, hypotonic) water will move in and out of the colon which can cause sodium/water retention, depletion of electrolytes in blood or barely nothing at all.

Guess it is time to start upping my water again to flush it out.

Just thought I would share since it was being discussed.

Thank you everyone for your input.

Charlottesometimes23

After continuing to search I was able to find some information about enemas and water absorption. Your colon can absorb water from an enema. Depending on the type of solution (hypertonic, isotonic, hypotonic) water will move in and out of the colon which can cause sodium/water retention, depletion of electrolytes in blood or barely nothing at all.

Guess it is time to start upping my water again to flush it out.

Just thought I would share since it was being discussed.

Thank you everyone for your input.

From what you've described, the enema was a hypertonic solution (more salt than body fluids) so water will be drawn out of the colon into the lumen (space) which would give you diarrhoea. A hypertonic enema should not cause water retention, it should cause the opposite.