Just curious

I just watched the 8 Golden Rules for the first time. I am (as of today) 20 days post op and as I progress through my diet one instruction that my NUT was adamant about was not drinking 30 min before a meal and an hour after. One of the golden rules he talks about that not being the case anymore. Right now I am so scared to damage anything I follow every bit of the prescribed "recovery" diet to a T. So can I have sips of Water with my meals later on when I get braver?

@@Soonergal91 The key is to not drink "with" your food. You want to chew, swallow and give the food a minute to pass through the stoma before taking that sip of beverage to avoid "stacking" the food above the band.

There are several reasons for this. If you think of your banded stomach like an hour glass, things move from the top through the narrow opening at the middle to the bottom seamlessly. If you exert pressure on the contents at the top they are forced more rapidly through the narrow opening in the center to empty quickly into the bottom. In the case of the band, the too rapid movement past the band does not allow the nerve stimulation of food passing to signal satiety to the brain. So our Dr.'s try to get us into the habit of not eating and drinking at the same time early on.

Stacking of food and or drink above the band can also create a pressure above the band that can cause a back up and stretch the area above the band to accommodate the extra. This can cause several issues including a dilated pouch and or esophagus which you want to avoid at all cost.

This is why they tell you to take your time between bites, chew and eat slowly so that food passes the band before the next bite. When you have food above the band and take a sip of liquid often the liquid will move around the food particles to the bottom and can even cause the food particles to be pushed back up and out as they can't move fast enough through the stoma. (not fun)

Once you master the band eating techniques you will be able to have some beverage with your meals.

Ok thank you!