Straw?

[3boysmama 26]

How important is it to not drink from a straw after RNY? The thought of drinking tons of Water without a straw is stressing me out. I drink from a straw all day long. :/

[maggieO 33]

I worry about this too mainly because i have very sensitive teeth. I know drinking without a staw for me means room temperature drinks wondering if the no straw life is a permanent change i have to make.

[Berry78 4,259]

Straws are one of those surgeon specific things. The idea is you will swallow air while using one... which isn't good for the pouch.

Personally I believe there are two ways of using a straw.

One just brings the liquid to the mouth, but it sits in the mouth, touches the teeth, and can get rid of the air.

The other just sucks it pretty much right down the throat, bypassing the teeth, etc.

Ultimately, just like everything else, depends on how you use it!

[Navigating the Wilderness 824]

Drinking from a straw and swallowing will increase the amount of gas you have in your pouch, which will both limit the amount of food or Water you can have in your pouch at any given time, or may simply cause you to throw up if you over-do it. Having said that, I, like @Berry78 said, have found that if you just pull the liquid into your mouth, then open your mouth and release the air, it works fine. I will caution though that I have a sleeve and I rarely use straws.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Navigating the Wilderness

[BigTink2LilTink 723]

1 hour ago, Navigating the Wilderness said:

Drinking from a straw and swallowing will increase the amount of gas you have in your pouch, which will both limit the amount of food or Water you can have in your pouch at any given time, or may simply cause you to throw up if you over-do it. Having said that, I, like @Berry78 said, have found that if you just pull the liquid into your mouth, then open your mouth and release the air, it works fine. I will caution though that I have a sleeve and I rarely use straws.

I'm now a good ways out from surgery and I can tolerate straws now. I would say like above early one you want to avoid them so that you don't get too much pressure from air in there leaving very little room for actual food/water when you already have very limited spacing in there to begin with. Over time it does get easier. When I go to get my yearly checkup my surgeon has an X-ray machine to check my pouch and make sure its still intact and not leaking. He forces me to drink a dye via a straw to make sure my stomach is okay. So if he's giving me straws to drink from, then he's not all that anal about me using a straw when I feel the need to use one.

The only straw I use is the one on my 96oz water bottle that I use to take in Water only. I don't use straws for juices and I won't for a soda at all. The pain from the carbonation along with some air you are forcing in via a straw leaves a very uncomfortable feeling.

[maggieO 33]

Thanks for the insight

[HeatherS. 230]

Whateveryone said. if you're like me and don't swallow air when drinking through a straw, you can probably use it without worry.

It also helps if you have no problems releasing air at will (belching). If you tend towards trapped air, I'd avoid the straw.