Question:
"Flushing" your pouch after overeating

Obviously you don't want to overeat on purpose, however...If you do eat more than you should or eat something that you shouldn't have, wouldn't drinking lots of water help it to pass through and also lessen the amount absorbed?    — Kimberly H. (posted on December 2, 2002)

December 2, 2002
I'll admit I've never tried this, because of two concerns. First, I don't believe drinking liquid while you eat helps you malabsorb anything (if it did, it'd be next month's National Enquirer "Diet Of The Month"). It helps wash it out of the pouch so that some people might be tempted to each too much, which is why our docs nag us not to do it, but actual absorption starts happening as soon as you put some foods in your mouth (such simple carbs and sugars), and goes on big time in various spots in our intestines (everything). There are some WLS veterans who will tell you they drink and eat together, but I haven't seen anyone tout it as a way to lose weight, and they don't look any skinnier or malnourished to me than people who don't drink with their meals.<P>Second, what if you drink water and it expands the food that's stuck in your stomach, but doesn't wash it out? Then you'd really feel bad. I supposed it would depend on whether you had bread or rice or something like that stuck -- MAYBE -- compared to something else, but it's something to think about before you force anything else into an already uncomfortable little pouch. :) Be careful!
   — Suzy C.

December 2, 2002
My surgeon said this would cause a "cork effect", i.e., everything would come up and out! Whenever I have eaten too much I just sit until it goes away. If I still feel discomfort after 1 hour I sip only a tiny bit of water to see if that will help it sit better.
   — Jen D.

December 2, 2002
hi there :) accidentally overeating is painful. ive done it 2 or 3 times now which isnt too too bad since surgery was feb 8. its very uncomfortable so i think adding liquid to an already full pouch would make it feel so much worse. i dont reccomend vomitting as a means of allowing overeating but in those 3 instances that is the only thing that aleviated the pain. best of luck to you. p.s sometimes all it takes is just 1 bite too many. best of luck to you! just listen to your body and your pouch and you should be ok. :)
   — carrie M.

December 2, 2002
NO! DRINKING WATER DOES NOT HELP IT PASS THROUGH! It only makes matters much worse. The water fills you up even more and then.... well you hurt unbeliveable and/or puke. As for me, when I over eat I use to hurt for 30-120 minutes. Now, no way. I'll just puke and get it over with. I don't over eat often, thankfully, but sometimes I push it. Other times the "full" comes on so fast that I've ate a couple bites to many. Then the pain, and the foam starts coming up my throat. No, water does'nt flush it out. It only fills you more and then you are in trouble. By the way, I DO drink with meals. Sometimes alot. Mostly only alittle.
   — Danmark

December 3, 2002
You would think that flushing would work, but the others are right, it doesn't. To avoid overeating, eat very slowly and pay attention to the full feeling. As soon as you feel it-stop-sometimes one bite too much and OW! My nutritionist suggested papaya enzyme tablets when that occurs, which help you get thru an episode. Chew three of them. I only had to do this once, but it reduced the episode from a previous 2 hours to 1/2 and hour. Found them at GNC.
   — Cindy R.

July 25, 2009
I am with Daniel on this one. I have over indulged and had to retract my statement. Some times it is not how much I ate, but what I ate. Cucumber, Corn, Caulifour, rice are the worse culprits. There have been days that I thought, it is a veggie, are you kidding me. But no amount of fluids washes it down. However, sometimes I have puked so hard that I needed to drink more fluids to give my pouch something to heave to get up a piece that was not chewed and would not go through the system. Those have been unpleasant episodes.
   — Katherine A.