Is this drinking too fast?

I had RNY on Tuesday, so today is day 3 post op.  I haven't had any problems getting fluids in.  Is drinking an 8 oz shake in an hour too fast?

There really is no such thing as drinking too fast. If you truly drink too fast, the liquid will back up into your esophagus, and you will know it because it feels very weird and disconcerting!

MANY people have absolutely no trouble drinking post-op.  I know a number of people (in addition to myself) who could drink 8 ounces in less than half an hour even just a week after surgery.  Nothing to worry about.

Lora

What Lora said.  

Exactly.

Nope. You can do it as fast as you feel comfortable

Thanks for asking this question! I am a guzzler when I drink and I know I wont be able to do that after surgery. I have been try to break the habit and get myself into a "sipping" rhythm but its hard to understand how fast or not fast you can go.

Your body will let you know how fast after surgery. Some people find it uncomfortable to swallow large mouthfuls, but others have no problem.

If you are having trouble trying to change from guzzling to sipping, I have a couple of suggestions:

1)  Forget the "sipping" (which is a vague term anyway... there is a lot of variation in how much water people take in at one time and call it "sipping"), and just focus on taking a normal sized drink and pausing between swallows. A normal sized drink is usually considered to be the amount of water that will fill your mouth before you need to swallow. For most people that is a little less than an ounce.

2) Use a shot glass to get used to what one swallow feels like (or a bathroom sized Dixie cup, but that would be 3 swallows)

Eventually, most people are able to "guzzle" again, BTW, depending on how you define guzzle.  If I am really thirsty (like after mowing the lawn), I can easily "chug" 4 ounces of cold water, pause for about a minute, and then finish off the other 3-4 ounces from the glass.

Lora

How refreshing to read :) I am less worried about my water drinking habits now.

That makes two of us!:)