Hi all, had the GB just five days ago and despite a few moments of ‘what the hell have I done’ etc, so far it’s going fine and recovery seems on track.

I’ve been working hard on my liquid diet but as a former gulper / big water (or soda) drinker I am finding the little sips such a bore lol!

When did everyone start being able to drink more? I’d love to able just to more comfortably get more in. I’m obviously understanding of my need for patience but i would love to learn your experience!

My dietician said I could sip as frequently as I wanted as long as I didn’t feel any discomfort. Hydration she said is most critical during the first 2 weeks. I took small but regular sips every minute or so at 5 days out (well then I had a bowel obstruction and was back in the hospital but that was unrelated).

Depending upon what your surgeon advised (yes or no to straws) you may find a straw helpful. I found I could control my sips more easily with a straw. Warm/hot drinks are easier to sip - don’t want to burn your mouth. Plus warm/hot drinks are often more soothing & yes you can warm your shakes. Your body will certainly tell your sips are too big or you’re taking them too frequently though it is harder to tell while you’re healing - all those cut nerves. More reason to be careful - don’t want to strain your healing tummy.

Thanks both - when you did feel you could drink more normally? Without sipping as much?

For me I still can’t take more than two big swallows (my restriction kicks in & I gurgle more) but others find they can eventually drink much like they did before. Personally, I find drinking regularly means I never feel so thirsty I need to gulp down several mouthfuls which is better for you.

I found that part really hard too. My ability to drink bigger volumes just came back gradually over time. At 14 months post sleeve I can swallow about 5 big glugs of liquid at a time, which is super satisfying after months of sipping.

On 01/28/2023 at 14:40, bypass24jan2023 said:

Hi all, had the GB just five days ago and despite a few moments of ‘what the hell have I done’ etc, so far it’s going fine and recovery seems on track.



I’ve been working hard on my liquid diet but as a former gulper / big Water (or soda) drinker I am finding the little sips such a bore lol!



When did everyone start being able to drink more? I’d love to able just to more comfortably get more in. I’m obviously understanding of my need for patience but i would love to learn your experience!

Me too and I have been so dehydrated and mouth been so dry with these baby sips ??? I got sleeves on 1/26/23 and been struggling every since smh

I bought popsicle molds that I can make and suck on those to help get my hydration in, because I do get bored from the baby sips. I froze the Bai water into little Popsicles and I have one of those every so often with water from the water bottle.

On 1/28/2023 at 11:40 AM, bypass24jan2023 said:

Hi all, had the GB just five days ago and despite a few moments of ‘what the hell have I done’ etc, so far it’s going fine and recovery seems on track.

I’ve been working hard on my liquid diet but as a former gulper / big Water (or soda) drinker I am finding the little sips such a bore lol!

When did everyone start being able to drink more? I’d love to able just to more comfortably get more in. I’m obviously understanding of my need for patience but i would love to learn your experience!

I was about a month post-op before I could drink water normally, but it got consistently better during that time. I started out with little tiny 1 oz cups my nurses gave me at the hospital and I just poured out 4-5 of those at a time and kept drinking them/re-filling all day. I did that for almost 2 weeks post-op. I found I got a lot of water in that way since the little cups didn't seem like too much and were easy to drink down. I think most people are able to drink "like normal" eventually after the swelling in our innards goes down, so you should get there in a few weeks or so.