So, one of the most annoying things about being a WLS patient is the 30 minute rule for fluids. No drinking anything 30 minutes before eating nor 30 minutes after finishing eating. Most of the time, I have a timer to help me keep track of this.

I was just wondering if anyone knew the issue if you forget the timer and forget what time you finished eating.

1 hour ago, Ellf said:

30 minute rule for fluids

@Ellf

hmmmmm

if you are not sure if you waited long enough - wait a little longer☺️

worse that could happen is that you waited too long.!!!

drinking to your health - good luck

kathy

You should WANT to follow the 30 minute rule. Try to extend the time you feel full and satiated as long as possible. I personally wait much longer than 30 minutes. I almost never put any substantial amount of liquid in my stomach if I can feel it still has food in it. I have no reason to want to wash my food down my digestive system

I don't worry too much about the timing of when I drank something before eating. Some people do what's called water loading before meals to aid in satiety. You can google that if you'd like.

One of the elements that help you loose weight after a gastric bypass along with malabsorption is the restricted amount of food that you can eat at one sitting. Once you've eaten the predetermined amount of food and it's sitting in your pouch, it will have to start making it's way through the small opening (stoma) created by your surgeon from your pouch into your intestine. The stoma size is created with purpose. If too large, there will be little or no restriction. If too small, it will have to be expanded to allow food to pass.

If you eat too fast or too much at one sitting, you will cause the food to clog the stoma. Anytime you have a clog in your stomach whether it's a pouch or a sleeve, your body will naturally regurgitate and force the clog out the way it came in. Drinking during or after a meal will either cause the food to pass right through defeating the purpose of the stoma and small pouch or it will cause that blocking sensation that will trigger your body's regurgitation response.

I found out the hard way that contrary to my previous way of eating, drinking something to "wash down the food" will no longer work. It is a whole new lifestyle that you have to get used to. You will be consuming meals different than anyone else at the table. The timing of when you can take your first drink after eating will become more of a natural thing rather than a strictly regimented clock watching procedure as time goes by. Sometimes it's 30 minutes and sometimes it's over an hour for me. Just watch the signs and stay hydrated.

I find this to probably be the most challenging thing for me. Probably because I always have a drink at my desk at work, but also have my breakfast and 2 snacks at work so sometimes I drink something and then it's snack time and I don't even think about it. I do make sure I get a drink when I go out to eat though because I made the GRAVE error of getting old bay wings and then starting friggin' choking on the spice in the back of my throat and desperately needed a sip, but hadn't gotten even a water. So. Yeah. It's good to have on hand in event of choking. LOL. I also eat A LOT of hot sauce and sometimes a small sip is absolutely required because of the sheer burning in your mouth. I need to start the timer thing for real, though, for work occasions.

Windows has a built-in timer

I haven't timed it, but I think I'm waiting enough time between eating.

Is this a bypass thing, because I have not heard this when it comes to the sleeve?

I had the sleeve and was told to always wait 30 min between eating and drinking

I don’t wait before eating because my appetite is fine even if I drink right before eating. As soon as I’m done eating I start the 30 minutes on my iPhone timer and never drink before that. Go ahead and try to drink right after eating you’ll feel like crap!

Even at 3.5 months out from my sleeve I don’t drink within that 30 minute window because jt hurts.
I always have bottles water right next to me at work and have taken a swig of water without thinking about it too soon after eating and the pain is incredible.