I am 15 days post op and I am having the HARDEST time trying not to drink while I eat (especially if I'm eating anything starchy). I make myself do it, but then about 30 minutes after I eat I can drink a gallon! Why is it again that we shouldn't drink and eat?? This so far has been the hardest thing for me.

i know what you mean missy. That is the hardest thing for me to do also. Does anyone know how long they require you to stop drinking alohcol before surgury? i was banded Aug. 22 but my hubby will be banded Oct.6 and he drinks alot of beer!

I hear what you are saying. I am 4 months post op and still have trouble with it. When my husband and I go out, they always bring me a glass of Water which I usually take a sip of if something gets stuck or just to clean my mouth out when finished eating. I still can't walk away without taking a sip after the meal just to clean the food out of my mouth. I only take a few sips but I feel very fearful if I don't have the glass of water at the table just in case I get choked or something gets stuck.

I don't know the secret. Let me know if you find the secret to not drinking at all while eating.

My doctor said if you drink when you eat the food slips through the band faster and doesn't keep you full as long so it defeats the purpose of having the band.

DanaM: My doctor doesn't allow beer at all after surgery. What does you doctor feel about beer after surgery?

Yeah, it's hard for me, too. It's no fun to go out to eat anymore. One of the reasons I love going out is for the iced tea, especially at Red Robin...it's great there! That with a bowl of chicken tortilla soup. Yummy! I mean, it's like I have to do either one or the other. Eat or drink iced tea. Boohoo!

Our dr. said no more drinking after surgury but I am wondering do you have to stop drinking it before surgury like with smoking you have to stop like 2 weeks before they will do the surgury!

You are not supposed to drink with meals because it just basically washes your food right down. If that happens you are able to eat more and more often, so there would be no purpose in even having the band. My doctor says that drinking before during and after meals is the one sure way to defeat the band.

I used to have a hard time with drinking after meals until I bought sugar free mints and as soon as I am done eating I pop a mint in my mouth and it gets rid of the food taste, making it much easier to not feel like I need to take a drink. It works wonders!

going to be the dissenting voice here. i don't get no drinking w/food, yeah i understand the reasoning many drs give (physically) for "not" drinking w/meals but for the life of me, i can't get my head around the fact if you DO drink w/you meals - maintain a certain calorie intake & exercise....how is drinking w/your meal hurting you??

this is calories in - calories out.

that said - not drinking w/meals was also not a mandate of my Dr. nor was not having alcohol - including beer. every dr is different / every dr has different guidelines - but i'm never going to be sold on the fact you can't drink w/your meals and not be successful.

both my husband and myself were banded and he too is a beer drinker. he doesn't have but 1 or 2 a wk - but having a glass of wine here or there does not hinder the workings of the band.

Dont worry once u have enough restriction eating and drinking wont only be a no no... The pain will remind u that it is.

Does anyone know how long they require you to stop drinking alohcol before surgury? i was banded Aug. 22 but my hubby will be banded Oct.6 and he drinks alot of beer!

A lot of rules are different between doctors, but one that seems pretty consistent is NO carbonated beverages after banding. It's the carbonation that causes the problem. There's the empty calorie thing too, but the carbonation is the big issue. Same goes for soft drinks. He said a small glass of wine now and then is okay, but that has to do with the liquid calories, and not any effect on the band.

I thought not drinking during meals was going to be a big problem for me, but staying full longer is a huge motivator. Eating out and not drinking is going to be a little harder. My doctor said a few tiny sips during meals is okay, so I think that will do me. I've only gone out to eat once since I've had surgery (I'm still on mushies), and I ordered Soup. It was a little spicy, so I did have one small sip of Water at the end, but being it was soup anyway, I don't think it made much difference.

Edited September 17, 200817 yr by kiz

I do a few tiny tiny sips of H2O w/ my meal, but when I'm at home I eat a couple of bites of applesauce to moisten my mouth and feel "finished". I do understand the poster who has to choose between eating and having great iced tea. I LOVE the iced tea at McAlister's Deli, so I go ahead and order it in a "to go" cup and take it with me. I enjoy later when allowed.

It is important once you are restriction. Before you have fills, it doesn't matter. It DOES help flush food through. You don't want to do that because it prevents the long satiety that most of us got the band to achieve. Food being present in the upper pouch signals hormone production etc which says "I AM FULL" You want that...it's the miracle of the band. It is not just calories in and out; if it were, why bother with the band? We can eat less and are not "starving", once we hit the "sweet spot" because of that satiety.

So don't worry about it until you start getting fills, and then remember if you don't follow the rule,you might just have well decided to "diet" without getting the band, because it is incapable of truly providing satiety if that top tummy is empty.

I agree with Brandy. There is no way in the world that I can eat and drink. If I forget and do, the pain is nearly instantaneous and seconds later everything I ate comes back up.

This is an area I apparently had to learn the hard way. I have made a resolution that I AM NOT going to drink with my meals - it's not worth the pain.

It is important once you are restriction. Before you have fills, it doesn't matter. It DOES help flush food through. You don't want to do that because it prevents the long satiety that most of us got the band to achieve. Food being present in the upper pouch signals hormone production etc which says "I AM FULL" You want that...it's the miracle of the band. It is not just calories in and out; if it were, why bother with the band? We can eat less and are not "starving", once we hit the "sweet spot" because of that satiety.

So don't worry about it until you start getting fills, and then remember if you don't follow the rule,you might just have well decided to "diet" without getting the band, because it is incapable of truly providing satiety if that top tummy is empty.

ya know - i have to respectfully disagree. ones rule of not drinking w/meals is just that "ones' - not all drs follow that rule of thumb.

this isn't the first thread on the subject & certainly not the last - but getting the band isn't reliant strictly on reaching "satiety" alone. many have lost weight over the years - for some getting the band is a help in not regaining.

so when i say it's calories in vs calories out, it's because i could diet - i just didn't want that to come back when i "would" go back to normal living / eating - and that would include a drink w/a meal.

but by all means follow your drs instructions.

Luluc I could diet too and did. repeatedly. Lost more than my body weight. And I didn't mean to insult you, either, but in fact to say that if you can drink and eat, you are achieving loss etc WITHOUT using the band. It's like owning a hammer...you seem to be building your house without ever picking it up. Good for you! But for many of us, that super full feeling isn't promoted by liquids. Many stomachs don't recognize liquid as "food"...no matter if it's nutrient rich. And if liquid pushes my "real" food through my stomach faster, then it won't help me. I have the band and no restriction and I might just as well have not gone through the process at all, for how "full" I DONT feel. Many of us are that way. If you can feel full on 1/2 cup of food and drink with your meal, then I applaud your willpower! That's all! for most of us it doesn't work that way. They don't understand satiety and hunger yet so it's possble that full pouch does something for many but not all of us. It's possible that just having the band triggers something in you that it doesn't in me. Who knows? If it works for you, good. I can just say the band BETTER work the way I said, for me, Or I just wasted a bunch of money and time.