Straws VS. Sports Bottle Tops

I started using a straw at about 3 weeks...helps me get my fluids in. As Grim said if it bothers you stop. It won't damage you...it is just everyone is different in what they tolerate...

I drink with a straw all day, every day.  I haven't had a single problem.  I've walked into my surgeon's office drinking a tea from Starbucks through a straw.  He didn't say a single thing or bat an eye.  If it doesn't bother you, you should be fine and it won't cause any anatomical issues.

Some doctors give warnings about straws because some people have issues with swallowing too much air.  It's one of those things that you'll have to test for yourself.  I didn't try using a straw for six months, and I never had any problems.

This is an excellent example of why we really need to think things through, and not take every single bingle word of our doctor's teams as gospel.  Are straws bad?  Maybe so, but not for everyone all the time.  And what about a "sports bottle" straw?

Well, a sports bottle straw really isn't a straw.  Here's why.  Straws introduce air.  Every time we let loose on the suction of a straw in a glass or a can, the liquid in it goes down significantly.  But in a sports bottle, it does not - at least not to the same degree.  So there is less air, and in some cases, almost no air at all.  It is a different thing. I avoided straws of any sort until my sleeve was completely healed, but now that it is, I have been experimenting with my sports bottle, which I love for drinking in the middle of the night.  So far, so good.  My sleeve has not exploded, and I have not experienced pain, remorse, or guilt.  

I think it depends on the design of the sports bottle.  I have several including a CamelBak where it's definitely a straw... flip-top mouthpiece with a bite piece and a straw that goes down into the bottle.  In fact, that bottle has a larger diameter straw than a normal straw, so it would have a larger column of air and cause worse problems if swallowing air was an issue.

My surgeon had them give me straws day 1 in the hospital, and just told me if it caused discomfort to not use it, but she had some patients who swallowed less air with the straw than without.  I've never had an issue.

It's that bite piece that makes the difference. When you stop biting on it, it seals back up and prevents the water from draining back out of the straw. It will eventually stop working, but it makes a big difference over a regular straw. 

Interesting, I don't think mine works right anymore.  :)

Are you saying it bit the dust?

I had a straw in the hospital fergawdsakes.  It's a RNY issue, not sleeve.  Some people just don't stop enough to differentiate between the two....even in the medical field.