STRAWS?

I know for the first 6 months after sugery,you do not drink from a straw.I have posted this on the main,mens and Pa. broads.The reason why I thought it is something that we do and do not think about it. The doctor at the support meeting said last night that continue us of drinking from a straw  will strech the pouch over time.I know that some of you are alot farert out than I.Have any of you heard about this .From some of the post that I have seem.It seems like evcery doctor has different instructions regarding the use of straws..................bob

I don't believe the pouch can be stretched with liquids, just like a funnel can't be stretched with liquids.  FWIW I've been drinking from a straw for a long time now, I am a 13+ months out.

Hey Bob! My dr. told me no straws following surgery - too much air along with the liquid makes an uncomfortable combination, although I can't really recall if he said it would actually s-t-r-e-t-c-h the pouch.  I tend to agree with the other poster - liquid goes right on through an empty pouch, so I would thinking that stretching wouldn't be a problem.  The combo of air and liquid on a brand new pouch could stretch and pop the suture line, so that would be a no-no. The straw was one of those habits I ditched with surgery and I can't really say that I miss it!  The only time I really ever drank from a straw was in a restaurant (never trust the cleanliness of a glass in those places!) and since I no longer drink with meals, straws aren't an issue anymore. Just my two cents!  Hugs! Kristi

I always use a straw because I have very sensitive teeth, especially with cold drinks, and, so far, no problems. Carrie

I think it had something to do with getting too much air from the straw into our pouch right after surgery but I never use a straw because it also causes horrid lines around your upper lips, i.e. like smokers.

It's just like all of us who have had the surgery......you ask ten different surgeons about how to do something and you're gonna get 9 different replies:-)  I do not use a straw, I'm 14 months out.  I get gassy the one time that I forgot and drank from one in a resturant.........and it hurts like blazes so I just don't do it at all.   Why take the chance that it might stretch your stomach?  My surgeon did tell me that as well.  The bottom line though is you have to decide if it's worth the risk.......good luck:-) Carol J

Hi Bob,

I will be out 3 years in August.  The only way I can get in all my liquids for the day is by using a straw.  That way i constantly sip all day and night long.  If i had an open glass of liquid, i dont think i could get down one glass.  Its more of a conveince thing for me.

Gina

 

I'm almost 2 years out and I use a straw.  I got into the habit about a year out to take in a mouthful with a straw and blow all the air out through my nose (being careful not to blow the liquid out, too! ) then swallow the liquid.  It helps me and I, like another poster, have sensitive teeth, so it helps me with the straw. Michelle

Hi, Bob.  I didn't use any straws for quite a while after surgery, per instructions.  But I have been using them (mainly when eating out) and don't notice any ill effects or problems related to WLS because of using them.  To be honest, I never really consulted with my doc's office - just started to use them, didn't see a problem, and continued from there.  I only do it when eating out for health reasons - you never know whether the glasses are as clean as they should be! Carlita

I had to go look in my post-op binder to see what my surgeon said about drinking with a straw.  I found it in the stage one section.  For the first 8 weeks, do not drink from a straw as it will cause air to be trapped in the pouch and can cause excess gas.  (I'm guessing immediately post-op, we wouldn't want to put more pressure than necessary on the healing pouch/anastomosis - makes sense). I also did a bunch of internet searching on the subject.  I couldn not find any medical journals that specifically mentioned the effects of drinking with a straw or excessive air in the pouch.  I did find many other private sites (Dr. offices, bariatric hospitals, bariatric centers, personal sites) that simply stated: Either: - Do not drink from a staw for "x" weeks after surgery.  Those that listed reasons stated: while your pouch is healing, to avoid excess pressure on your healing pouch, to avoid excessive pain & gas, excessive belching, excessive flatulence, vomiting. - Or it was listed as a lifelong "rule" of not drinking with a straw. Those that listed reasons stated: to avoid excess gas, belching, flatulence, vomiting I saw on some sites that drinking through a straw may overfill the pouch, as you are not so mu*****ontrol of how much you are gulping into the pouch.  I imagine that would cause discomfort - maybe vomiting - but I also imagine that through practice, you could re-train yourself on how to drink through a straw without this happening. That's all I could find!! In my own mind, I wonder about the whole thing.  Here we go..... the inner workings of my mind!!  LOL ... If I have air trapped in my pouch, and the air is putting pressure on the walls of my pouch and my anastomosis, is that pressure enough to cause dilation of the anastomosis or stretching of the pouch?  We pretty much know that liquids do not because liquids just run right out of the pouch - and if you truly put too much liquid in your pouch, it would come up.  This is not always the case with trapped air.  So that's something I will always wonder in my own mind.  It is interesting to me that I cannot find any medical journals on the topic, especially since the medical community is abuzz about procedures to reduce the size of dilated anastomosis's in gastric bypass patients.  Don't they wonder what is causing it too?  Have I drank through a straw?  99.9% of the time I do not.  There have been a handful of times that I did and I was truly uncomfortable afterwards just because of the air rolling around in my gutts.  Will I drink through a straw again - probably - but 99.9% of the time, probably not.  It hasn't bothered me one bit not drinking from a straw.  It did at first - but I'm use to it now.  I just automatically pull the straws out of whatever drink I'm served and drink from the glass/cup.  No biggie. It will be interesting to see if anyone is able to post some kind of medical research in response to this tread.  Maybe someone else can find something.