I’d like to find out how others drink around mealtime. I’m told that I can drink up until I start eating & not to drink again until 30 minutes after my last bite. I know this advice varies from doctor to doctor, with some even saying nothing an hour before or after.

Has anyone that does it the way I was told ever had trouble with it, such as stomach stretching or food washing away to quickly?

Thanks & happy Saturday to you all!

It's mostly about washing food through allowing you to eat more. There is a lot of the same rules with RNY.

Food and drink volume restrictions are about stretching. So stick with your Doc's rules on volume.

While the times when to stop and when to start vary with Docs, as you indicate, they work to achieve the same thing. Some Doc's overcompensate, some give the minimum reasonable. Doc's also learn what to say based on what past patients have done. OH, also remember that Doc's don't do the same surgery in the exact same ways, so there is variation. So rules may be different between Docs for very good reasons. Just a thought to ponder.

So, for 6 months give your Doc the benefit of the doubt. After all, you trusted him to move your insides about.

As you get MUCH further out, as a natural course of things, you will test what happens if you shorten or lengthen the times. You may even... horror of horrors... test drinking with meals. But, knowing WHY and WHAT the Doc is working to achieve with your rules, stick to them in some way that honors the intent.

yea it varies somewhat. Until I got onto solid food, I was told not to drink 30 mins before and 30 mins after. Once I was eating solid food, they said I could drink up until the time I ate, but then to wait an HOUR after. They may have changed it for us once the consistency of the food changed (to solid) because I would imagine pureed food goes through you pretty quickly, so it might be all/mostly gone after 30 minutes. Meanwhile a piece of meat can sit there for awhile. They may have had us extend the time afterward just so it could sit there a good long while... (at least, this is why I figured they gave our group these particular rules)

anyway, yes - it varies between surgeons. But the one I most commonly hear is 30 mins before/30 mins after.

I was told I could drink right up until eating from the very start, then at least 30 minutes after (but ideally 60). I've been doing that and have had no issues.

I stop 30 minutes before eating and start 45 minutes after finishing eating. My program says 30 and 30, but I find myself feeling contentedly full after a meal and rarely feel the need for a drink until about 45 minutes after the meal. I suspect some of that may be from my meals being lower in sodium these days than they previously were. Not a bad side effect!

Sleeve here ... I can drink right up until eating. But 2.5 years out I cannot drink any significant amount on a full stomach. For as long as there is food in my stomach drinking any volume causes me to be very uncomfortable, and depending if I push it, it can make me nauseous.

I can’t drink for at least 30 minutes and if I try, I just throw up. Tonight I ate some pork roast too fast and I’m paying for it. My fist instinct is to drink but I know I will just throw it all up. So now I have to wait....

What is the rationale for not drinking water before eating? Isn't water digested quickly on an empty stomach?

Also does this mean you can't even have a small sip or two with meals? Is that permanent?

You can physically drink. It can be very uncomfortable if you’re full. I need to sip small amounts when I eat to rinse my mouth out and it’s never been an issue. I mean, follow your plan of course but if you really weren’t allowed to drink anything at all things like vegetable soup would be off limits altogether.

6 hours ago, lunadreams said:

What is the rationale for not drinking Water before eating? Isn't water digested quickly on an empty stomach?

Also does this mean you can't even have a small sip or two with meals? Is that permanent?

we were given the green light to drink water before eating once we moved to solid food, but we were told not drinking AFTER eating was for life. Not sure what the rationale was for not drinking BEFORE eating in those early weeks.