Impossible rules

Some wonderful people in the other forum have shared their  experiences, and they all apply rules that are nowhere near as strict as mine. I still don't quite know how to comply, and which rules are the most important ones to stick with, which are ok to modify.

I am thinking ahead to a time where I'll be allowed food again, but the rules are literally impossible to follow because there aren't 36 hours in every day.

Here is what I was told to do and eat:

* 5 times 30g of protein shakes per day, no water 30 minutes before or 90 minutes afterwards. That takes care of over 11 hours (which doesn't even allow a lot of time to get that protein down.
*3 meals per day, same drinking rules. That takes care of about 6 hours (allowing 30 minutes to eat)

So just for 3 meals (NO snacks) and NO time to drink water, 17 hours are gone.

 I also tried it the maths with no water for 30 minutes before/60 minutes afterwards, and it still doesn't work.

It simply can NOT be done!!!!! Which rules should I relax to be able to manage?

I agree with you. Sounds like the guidelines I have are the same as the ones you have, with the exception of the number of protein shakes per day...5? Wow...I don't see how you could do it and have time for meals.

Here is what I do. I drink water/crystal light throughout the day. Even just before I have my protein shake (I don't wait 30 minutes after drinking to have a protein shake).  I do try and wait 30 minutes after drinking my protein shake before I have a meal. According to Vicki (Nurse), waiting 30 minutes after your protein shake is to allow it to go through your pouch. Depending on how good of a fill you have, it might take 30 minutes just to get it down the hatch. They don't want you to overstuff your pouch and throw-up...(also depends on how thick your protein shake is)

I usually only last  30-45 minutes after a meal before I start drinking water/etc as I am usually have a dry throat and need to drink.  I did talk to the Nurse about this, and she said that was fine. They lay out these extreme restrictions, and hope you will do the best you can do. She was very understanding and said I was very normal, and not to worry. She said the purpose of trying to wait on fluids after a meal, is to keep your pouch full as long as possible, and not to have water come back up on you.

I only had to do 3 protein shakes while on liquids, and once I started getting all foods (9 weeks after surgery), I was able to cut it down to 2 protein shakes a day. I had the lap band on April 16th, 2008.  Are you having lap band? Have you had surgery yet? Just surprised that you have to have 5 protein shakes a day.

Realistically, dont worry too much about waiting 30 minutes after drinking water to having your protein shakes. Do wait the 30 minutes after protein, before your meal, and try and wait as long as you can after a meal (30-45 mins) before you start drinking again.

Good luck...

BJ

Thanks for your responses, BJ!
I realize I simply can not do the impossible, so I'll just do my best to get close to it.
As to your questions re my surgery: as it shows right under my profile photo, I'm due for an RNY on July 22 (getting very close!). I am on day 7 of the 10 day pre-op liquids. Had a hard time with it yesterday, but everytime I wanted to pick up the phone to order a family sized pizza just for me, I came to this website and looked at the before and after photos....... those are sooooooo inspirational.

I am getting a medial bypass, so I'll only have 60" of commen channel left, about one 1/4 of normal size, so I totally understand that I will need WAY more protein than people with a lap band...... you guys don't have ANY malabsorption issues. Taking 12 times the normal dose of multi vitamins is a little scary, but I'm sure they know what they're talking about.

I'll keep you posted in the WA forum.

I never understood the rule of no drinking for 30-60 minutes after a protein shake.  A shake is liquid and acts the same way tha****er does in the pouch.  It might drain through the Stoma slightly slower than plain water... but essentially it empties almost immediately.  So I don't follow the 30-60 minutes of no drinking after a protein shake - kinda.   I say "kinda" because after I drink a protein shake I don't actually feel like drinking right away so I usually end up waiting for 30 minutes or so anyway. 

A whey isolate protein supplement will actually be absorbed and utilized in the body within 40 minutes after drinking it.  Meaning it goes directly to your digestive system, absorbed through intestinal walls and starts feeding muscle and doing it's tasks almost immediately.  By the time you start drinking again if you were to wait 60 minutes, the shake isn't in your pouch any longer --- it's already in your muscle cells and organs being used.  Seems like a waste to wait when water is just as important as protein at this stage of the game.

The purpose of not drinking water after eating is to manually do the job of our now-missing pylorus valve.  The Pylorus regulates the release of food from the stomach through to the small intestine.  We no longer have that with the new pouch, so we have to work hard to keep that food in the pouch for as long as possible.  Our pouch doesn't produce much gastric acid anymore, but about 40% of the digestive enzymes our food needs for digestion is contained in our saliva.  So chewing the food well (to create a mush and mix with as much saliva as possible) starts the digestive process.  Then letting the food sit in the pouch for 30-60 minutes with that saliva continues the digestion.  As soon as we add water, that food is pushed through to the intestines to start the absorption process.  Obviously the better digested the food is when it hits the initestine, the better the chance the body has of absorbing nutrients from the food we eat. 

So yes -- definitely wait the 30-60 minutes after a MEAL to start drinking.  Definitely follow that rule religiously for the rest of your life.  It's very important.

However, with the protein shake thing.  Use your own judgement on that one and definitely consult the nutritionist about how important she thinks this one is.  Who knows, maybe she has some brilliant explanation for why it's important. 

Good luck with your sugery.  Your big day will be here before you know it!
Pam

Pam, thank you so much for that wonderfully comprehensive answer.

You make SO much sense! I'm starting to figure out the "afterwards" part...... I feel just like you about that..... I am using less water in the protein shakes, but that still doesn't make them "thick". I have asked both the nutritionist and the medical assistant, but the answers were a little sketchy, I'm still not entirely educated (nor convinced). She says we are supposed to not drink after a protein shake so that we give it more time to be absorbed, rather than being "pushed through" by water.

She actually could not tell me just exactly what the point is to the no drinking BEFORE meals, so I don't know who to believe on that one at all.
Guess my reasearch still isn't all done  :-)
Again..... thanks for your help.

Oh and I read in your profile that you're getting into photography - let me know if I can help you with that...... I know a thing or two about that subject  :-)

So the "before" meals thing has a couple points of view.  The one that makes the most sense to me is that food tends to stay put in the pouch if it's "dry".   I can kind of see this being true because if I eat solid food for breakfast before I drink anything at all -- my pouch feels very full and pretty grouchy on just a tiny bit of food.  It could be that my pouch just doesn't like food first thing in the morning... or it could be the dry-pouch theory.  Who knows. 

I personally try to stop drinking at least 5 minutes before I eat.  Seems to be working so far.  But it does take some time and research and experimentation to get all this stuff straight.  Eventually it will become second nature.

As for photography.  Oh my!  I was just at Best Buy tonight and had a $899 piece of glass in my hands ready to buy.  They were going to match the price at Ritz until I screwed up and mentioned that Ritz didn't have it in stock.   Stupid me.  It's the Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens.  So tempting.  I am actually shooting my cousin's wedding tomorrow and this wold have been a total impulse buy just so I'd have it for tomorrow.  Not a smart move to use a new piece of equipment for a wedding that I hadn't had a chance to play with beforehand.  So it's probably good that I didn't buy it.  But I'll be making that purchase on Amazon very soon. 

I've got a Flikr account if you want to check out some of my shots: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pwsammy/

I had a bit of complications with my food and water tolerance, so mine may be different, but I drink when I eat, I just drink less than I used to.  I was told by my dr that it was ok, b/c I wasn't getting in enough fluids.  Also I CANNOT eat without drinking.  I get dehydrated to quickly.  I agree with the people above that said to talk with your nutritionist. 

Good Luck!!

Thank you for your input, Heather, it sure is good to hear a lot of different people's stories!

The program I am in hands out a wonderful 3 ring notebook full of information for it's patients. It's my WLS guidebook. When I have questions I check there first before e-mailing the dieticians. I looked this up and found..... 

Avoid fluids 30 mins. before and 30 mins. after a meal. The reasons given are: 
   * Drinking with meals may liquely foods, allowing them to go through too fast, leaving you hungry sooner.
   * Drinking too soon before or after a meal will not allow sufficient protein and/or will fill you up too quickly.

I hope this helps.

Thank your for checking that for me.