Finally had my surgery on 5/25, back home and doing good so far. Had one nice chuckle while I was being poked and prodded during my 3 day hospital stay. Had my surgery at OSU (Go BUCKS!). Due to heart problems and a couple of the meds I was on, my stay was in the heart step down unit, instead of the bariatric wing. My surgeon came to see me each day, along with a cardiology team, and nutritionists. This is where it gave me a chuckle...

After seeing a few different "straw topics" get posted in the past few weeks, I had asked my surgeon about it during my pre op. He said that he has no problem with his patients using a straw, and that excess air would not stretch out the sleeve. As I was taking my meds on Fri (using a straw to sip water), my surgeon and the cardiologist came in. A couple of minutes latter the nutritionist and bariatric counselor came in. She saw me sipping Water to take my meds and immediately told me I could not be using a straw. From there it was a rehash of every post I had read on here, between the 4 of them.

FYI, my surgeon and cardiologist won out.

Straw question for the straw members ?

Do you prefer a straw with the flexible accordion joint.......or the long thick pipe style straws that come with bucket sized drinks ?

Have you ever tried to work with a little coffee-stirrer sized straw. Did you find it a fun challenge or get frustrated by the effort required vs the tiny reward ?

Do you prefer the straw to fit your vessel or is oversized always better ?

Do you ever chew on your straws ?

These are the things I wonder over this morning's coffee.

no chewing. oversized is always better. bigger straw = more flavor and it's hard to suck on a skinny little straw which is just frustrating. what's your preference, @@Dub ?

Love it minty and Dub have spluttered coffee all over my desk reading this!

Personally, I think that spitters are quitters.

Personally, I never spit.

Straw question for the straw members ?

no chewing. oversized is always better. bigger straw = more flavor and it's hard to suck on a skinny little straw which is just frustrating. what's your preference, @@Dub ?

Oh. I don't think he would want to have a preference to big or little, fat or skinny straws. He may have an opinion on whether one chews on them or sucks them though....

Thank you for these images. I will never be able to enjoy a 7-Eleven sugar free Slurpee again.

Edited June 1, 201610 yr by 4MRB4PHOTO

Thank you for these images. I will never be able to enjoy a 7-Eleven sugar free Slurpee again.

do you drink it with a straw? Or use the little spoony thing on the end?

Thank you for these images. I will never be able to enjoy a 7-Eleven sugar free Slurpee again.

do you drink it with a straw? Or use the little spoony thing on the end?

Ok, I laughed way too hard at the thought of the little spoony thing on the end.

Thank you for these images. I will never be able to enjoy a 7-Eleven sugar free Slurpee again.

do you drink it with a straw? Or use the little spoony thing on the end?

Ok, I laughed way too hard at the thought of the little spoony thing on the end.

It's just that they have SO MANY uses those little spoony things....

I was told there is a lot of Protein...so why spit

@@CHM with your scientific background can you answer my question if suckers (ex: BLOW pop) are as "dangerous" as using a straw?

It has never made sense to me, and I don't think it make sense to any moderately educated person.

#teamStraw

@@Kindle *grumbles about the popcorn eating* AS soon as I can eat it again... I will do so with extreme moderation - I PROMISE!!!

@@PayItForward You do not get wrinkles from sucking... on straws. You get wrinkles from cigarettes because the smoke that is constantly around your face when you smoke makes your skin age faster. It has nothing to do with the act of sucking on anything.

or I'd look like a prune by now...

I'm pretty sure Mythbusters proved that it takes a LOT of carbonation and excess liquid (and maybe even some Pop Rocks) to blow up a stomach. #alsoteamstraw #frustratedwithoutone

@@Kindle *grumbles about the popcorn eating* AS soon as I can eat it again... I will do so with extreme moderation - I PROMISE!!!

No, you won't. Stay away. Far far away.

@@CHM with your scientific background can you answer my question if suckers (ex: BLOW pop) are as "dangerous" as using a straw?

IF this is a genuine question - as opposed to yet another excuse to suggest...ahem...adult activities - then yes, suckers are as 'dangerous' as straws.

Sucking on anything (yes, yes...) will cause the production of excess saliva, which will in turn cause you to swallow. And as previously discussed, swallowing anything in any way will introduce air into your stomach. Hence a sucker is no different from a straw is no different from a bite of chicken is no different from a sip from a glass of Water. Swallowing = air. Period.

Next!

@@Kindle *grumbles about the popcorn eating* AS soon as I can eat it again... I will do so with extreme moderation - I PROMISE!!!

My sleeve is a bottomless pit when it comes to popcorn so I usually stick with those mini 100 calories bags. But I recently discovered Orville Redenbachers Garlic Butter and Sea Salt popcorn (insert drool) and they are regular sized bags. Since I could easily eat the whole thing, I start out by dumping 1/2 of it in the dog food bowl (he likes popcorn, too) so I'm not tempted to polish the entire bag off by myself.