Question:
If we are already malabsorbtive, doesn't all the water make it worse?

i am 4 months post op (RNY distal) and worry about malabsorbtion of my meds & vits. doesn't all the water we are supposed to drink make this condition worse? i feel like i am flushing out all my meds if i drink 70-90 oz of water per day.    — [Anonymous] (posted on February 20, 2002)

February 19, 2002
This is another reason why you should wait one hour after eating and taking meds to begin drinking again.
   — Julie S.

February 20, 2002
The meds & vites should dissolve in your pouch and the water would only help carry them to a point in the intestine where they can be absorbed. I can see what you're seeing in your mind and it's not like a firehouse causing all the intestinal contents to loop-de-loop & spit out the end in an hour. It's all much slower than that. You're not punching down that water at one time, the meds/vites are spaced out, water is spaced. Organs have jobs to do, absorb this, convert that, use this, discard that...... The colon still separates the water from the solids, so to speak, so there is still some time, even in us distals, for everything to work. But timed release meds don't work so well for us, nor do oil-gel type pills.
   — vitalady

February 20, 2002
hello vitalady! thanks so much for your answer. i am the original poster, and wasn't able to get an answer from my doctor on this. she's a good doctor, but by no means an expert in WLS. so thanks for taking the time to answer my question. it all makes sense!
   — [Anonymous]