Question:
I am confused about post op water intake.
Somehow I got confused about liquid intake. I know not to drink before I eat or after for about an hour. I know that I am suppose to sip water and not use straws but sometimes I catch myself gulping a couple of times. I wait a little bit before I take some more but my question is....will too much liquids stretch my pouch. I know it goes thru it pretty quickly, it just doesn't just sit there. It just seems like between the shakes and other water intake I made myself have a brain fart. I am starting my third week post op. Is this just a time period to let my stomach heal? Is that why I have to sip? — snowlover (posted on July 7, 2008)
July 7, 2008
That is exactly why...you are healing and your pouch is about the side of a
medium egg. I do not think you will stretch it by drinking...that would be
quite painful and you could not do that to yourself without being aware of
it. Like you said it goes right on through you. I am 3 months out and no
longer have to take tiny sips....but I am still quite careful. You will
find that you can take larger sips but still in all...listen to your
pouch...it will guide you along the way. If you get overly full you will
know and not do it again.
— Gena L.
July 7, 2008
Lisa,
Some folks can chug their water like before once they are healed and others
simply can't. It takes a good three weeks to heal so you should be
conscious of what you are doing. If you drink too fast, you will get a
tight ache or slight painful discomfort in your chest as the esophagus is
unable to pass more water down into the stomach. It is easy to throw this
water up if you want or to just wait and it will eventually pass to the
stomach. You'll know. Your body will tell you. Laura
— waterlover
July 7, 2008
Good Afternoon Lisa....can I just say that I'm SO proud of your decision to
have wls....like the people who've posted their answers...I have to agree
with them....take tiny steps with water and food....did the surgeon give
you a booklet on
how and when to eat...how much.....it sure helped me with the
journey....ask him or the hospital if you don't have one k?
Again...I'm so glad for you hon....I've already lost 75 lbs in 8
months....it's truly worth the journey!! I'm praying for ya...your
friend...Linda
— LindaA
July 7, 2008
Thank you very much for "setting me straight". I did tons of
research before I had this and thought I knew the in's and out's of this
process....but now that I have it, this just threw me for a moment. I do
have an informational binder from my Dr and I have been following it. I
just got confused but progress is going great so far. I chugged water big
time before the surgery and it took practice to break that habit. Like I
said every once in a while I catch my self not sipping---I get hic cups.
Thanks again you guys and thank you so much for your support. Thank you.
— snowlover
July 7, 2008
The reason why you should sip is because is you gulp too fast you may take
in too much and throw it up. When your pouch is too full, whatever doesn't
fit comes back out. Sipping too fast does not stretch your pouch. You're
right, liquids go straight through.
— bariatricdivalatina
July 7, 2008
You are doing fine if it doesn't hurt at all or make you ill. Water alone
won't stretch your pouch, but a huge gulp can pull new surgery lines for a
moment, causing a great deal of pain! Even though it goes down faster than
food, the initial shock of a huge gulp left me in tears several
times...Even still if I gulp too fast I will feel nauseas and a little pain
for just a moment. I think it's a shock of cold water and too much air
hitting suddenly...And I'm 4 1/2 years out...Did that today after I
realized I had not had a drink in a few hours...It made me quite queasy for
a few seconds...I sometimes still forget and old habits just die hard.
— .Anita R.
July 7, 2008
Even if your surgeon gives you guidelines or a booklet or informational
pamphlets or a "bible," as some call them, you still have to know
that the same things don't work for everyone. I had been told that I would
never be able to take more than one pill at a time - even my small pills -
but I am just over nine weeks out and I take five pills every morning, all
in one swallow with water. I have no problems. Just be careful - listen to
your body. Your surgeon's guidelines are just that - guidelines. Use your
best judgment. :-)
— lauren_marie
July 7, 2008
Good morning Lisa, you mentioned not using a straw, well I was told the
same thing and I didn't for quite a while but that's all I use now I found
it helps me not to take the big gulps. I had RNY almost 2 yrs ago.
Happy Weight Loss
— noreale
July 7, 2008
Take a gulp or 6 of water and you will discover why you need to sip. They
say straws add air to your pouch, but I always found comfort in straws, so
it didn't bother me. You can't drink too much water for us, so keep
drinking, and keep sipping. You can take a swallow or two along the way,
but just go slow, because when you swallow water or anything, it fills up
pretty fast in the pouch. Take care. Patricia P.
— Patricia P
July 8, 2008
Your pouch is in a healing stage and can only take so much without getting
irritated. Think of your pouch as a funnel, wide at the top and
narrow on the bottom. When you take in too much too quickly, you may get
that gurgle feeling while air and liquid try to fight for attention to pass
through the narrow end. I too was a heavy "gulper" before WLS
and it remains a hard habit to break even 8 wks post Lap RNY... especially
after walking and exercising in this southern heat. I have not experienced
water coming back up but I have had the sudden feeling of it hitting my
pouch like a rock and feeling bloated and full for a bit of time. The
space between food and liquids is about 30 minutes. This mistake I have
encountered. I use to have 3-4 glasses of beverage at a meal. Can't any
more, but sometimes you just forget what even a mouthful will do. Water
goes around the solid causing the solid to "float" and rise up.
Liquid can always beat a solid through the pouch. By week 5-6 I was able to
drink 60+oz a day. Thank God for that cause I love to drink when it's hot.
Congratulations on your new lifestyle. Keep getting educated! Another
great website is found at http://www.beforeandafterhelp.com/
— texast
July 8, 2008
Thanks again to all of you beautiful people. To you guys that did it and
to us who are going thru it now and those who are going to do it-----WE ARE
AN AWESOME BUNCH!!
— snowlover
July 14, 2008
I am about three months out and have found it I don't use a straw I can't
get my liquids in just trying to drink regular I have always been someone
that belched a lot when drinking but with the straw I can control where it
hits my throat and the flow. I don't recommend this for everyone, before I
started using a straw I would take one drink of liquid and I would end up
in pain until I could belch it all out. (And I was only getting about 16
to 20 ounces in a day). Bad I know, but now I am getting around 60 ounces a
day in. It works differently for everyone, my doctor told me it is ok as
long as I am not trying to suck the whole thing down in one drink.
— Melanie C.
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