I don't drink everythime I eat but sometimes I just can't help it..I do try to wait 1 hour though..But I also notice when I do drink when I eat or shortly after It makes me fuller,longer..I thought the whole idea of waiting to drink was not to flush the food through faster! Some days when I haven't had enough caloies for the day I don't care if it does flush the food through..Yes, I am still losing the weight..Surgery was dec 19th and have lost about 35 pounds. 5-8 of them was while on vacation for 9 days, when I ate pretty much what I wanted, but we did ALOT of walking..I get my second fill on monday..If they will give it to me, I upchucked 4 times after chicken got stuck..So I'm not sure they will fill me..Hope so!

You can also stretch out your pouch if you drink while eating. If you have food blocking the stoma prior to "trickling on through" and then drink, it can sit up above the blocked hole (just like you can clog a kitchen drain)

too much food/fluid means a stretched pouch.

I don't drink while I'm eating because it occasionally hurts to do so. It is easier just to wait. My surgeon fortunately though says 15 minutes before, during, and then 15 minutes after eating.

i got told not to eat too.. 30 mins before & 45 mins after.. im not going to risk any stretching with a bit of fluids.. just not worth it.. i have seen others write on here they drink & eat at the same time

Honestly, yeah I do. I'm only about a month and a half out and I'm having a really hard time trying to learn not to do it. Sometimes when I'm chewing and chewing and chewing I just HAVE to take a small drink because my mouth is drying out and the food isn't mushing up.

You can also stretch out your pouch if you drink while eating. If you have food blocking the stoma prior to "trickling on through" and then drink, it can sit up above the blocked hole (just like you can clog a kitchen drain)

too much food/fluid means a stretched pouch.

I don't drink while I'm eating because it occasionally hurts to do so. It is easier just to wait. My surgeon fortunately though says 15 minutes before, during, and then 15 minutes after eating.

does it hurt or you just following directions?

i've yet to read clinical data prooving that drinking a sip here/there stretches your "pouch" while eating. and does 15mins really protect the pouch from stretching??

too many guidelines to make this a hardline. i sip while eating; no stretching 16 months out.

I know it is really hard to do, but drinking while eating can cause your small pouch to stretch and you really don't want to do that.

While eating, don't keep any fluids near you. Out of sight out of mind.

It HURTS when I drink while I eat, with some foods. Obviously not with Soups LOL but with many solids.

And I think that overfilling the pouch can stretch it (the stomach is stretchy material)...so whether it's too much food, or a combo of food and liquid, it is just logical to me that it would stretch if overfilled. Some things, i guess, don't really need tons of research! :sneaky:

I do agree though that every doc is different. However if your surgeon tells you not to drink while eating, it's best that you don't. I personally have done things that "others" got away with (like cheating on the preop diet) and paid a bad price for it. We're all adults; we need to do what's right for us. I was just thinking of what my parents always told me "Just because so-and-so does it doesn't mean YOU get to. If so-and-so was going to jump off of a cliff, would you want to?" I guess lap band is the same; you can almost ALWAYS find someone who broke whatever rule and got away with it. We all have to decide what's right for us, and that decision shouldn't be based solely on a concensus posted on a Chat board.

I know it is really hard to do, but drinking while eating can cause your small pouch to stretch and you really don't want to do that.

While eating, don't keep any fluids near you. Out of sight out of mind.

LOL I wish I could do the whole out of sight out of mind thing. I'll actually go get a bottle of Water. I ate out for the first time since surgery on Saturday and my best friend slapped my hand every time I reached for my glass. Unfortunately, she can't follow me around and beat me up every time I try to take a drink.

It HURTS when I drink while I eat, with some foods. Obviously not with soups LOL but with many solids.

And I think that overfilling the pouch can stretch it (the stomach is stretchy material)...so whether it's too much food, or a combo of food and liquid, it is just logical to me that it would stretch if overfilled. Some things, i guess, don't really need tons of research! :sneaky:

just curious - i certainly take this board as support & fun; it's not part of my medical team - nor would i include it in such.

if you say a pouch can stretch - can't it rebound/shrink by going to liquids for a period of time - say the 5 day pouch test.?.

just being devils advocate here.

i have consistently struggled w/the no drinking rule if my caloric intake & exercise keep me in check. i can't get IN enough fluids most days......so my surgeon says drink away; i do have my band checked monthly - it's still the same as it was in the beginning.

LOL I wish I could do the whole out of sight out of mind thing. I'll actually go get a bottle of Water. I ate out for the first time since surgery on Saturday and my best friend slapped my hand every time I reached for my glass. Unfortunately, she can't follow me around and beat me up every time I try to take a drink.

It's a matter reprogramming new behavior for old behavior. I use to always frink with food, but there is no way I will do that now. I had surgery to have the band and I don't want to jeapordize all that I have gone through to get the band.

When I go out to eat with co-workers, I do not allow in Fluid to be served to me. When they ask if I want water or if they try to bring me water and I have them take it back.

I have no doubt that you can work through this, because you have come way to far to possibly take a chance with your Band Health. :sneaky:

Take care.

just curious - i certainly take this board as support & fun; it's not part of my medical team - nor would i include it in such.

if you say a pouch can stretch - can't it rebound/shrink by going to liquids for a period of time - say the 5 day pouch test.?.

just being devils advocate here.

i have consistently struggled w/the no drinking rule if my caloric intake & exercise keep me in check. i can't get IN enough fluids most days......so my surgeon says drink away; i do have my band checked monthly - it's still the same as it was in the beginning.

Hi Lulu, I thought I read some posts on here that the pouch can shrink back after having liquids for several days, but I have not seen evidenced based scientific data to support or refute this belief.

I wish a doctor would jump on this thread and let us know how a stomach can shrink or if it even can. I always forget to ask my doctor about this when I am going in for my monthly check up.

My doctor's rule is no drinking 1/2 hour prior to eating and waiting until 45 mins after eating (although his partner said in a support group meeting that waiting 1/2 hour is okay). I usually wait 45 mins to an hour. Maybe it's psychological, but it seems to help me stay full longer when I wait.

On the other hand, when we go out to eat..probably a couple of times a week, I drink my Water or tea up until dinner is served and sometimes sip a little during the meal. I've ordered wine on a few occasions too. It doesn't seem to cause me any pain, but I'm only taking small sips while eating.

In our support group meetings drinking while eating often comes up. The doctor said that it you have to drink, make it no more than a medicine cup full.

I too am really confused by this "to drink or not to drink issue". To me, it is not natural to not drink while you eat. While I have managed to refrain from drinking while eating, it's still the hardest part so far for me. And to top it all off, without drinking while I am eating, it's really hard for me to get all of my Water in for the day. I'm so busy some days, that I can't keep a bottle of water in my hand.

I wish all doctors could get together and put this issue to rest one way or the other for all of us!!

Just got back from vacation, was so hard when eating out not to have something, I normal would hurry and drink before my meal came, but for some reason I got stuck an awful lot..

My nut said the only reason not to drink was that the food would get flushed through not that it would stretch it..I dunno! Anyway, I have only had one fill having another on monday, it's a learning process! I sometimes forget that I have been banded...I have to tell myself to S-L-O-W down..I wonder how long it has taken others to actually remember to do all of the right things...I do want to do all the right things but I honestly forget sometimes,lol!

Hi Lulu, I thought I read some posts on here that the pouch can shrink back after having liquids for several days, but I have not seen evidenced based scientific data to support or refute this belief.

I wish a doctor would jump on this thread and let us know how a stomach can shrink or if it even can. I always forget to ask my doctor about this when I am going in for my monthly check up.

that has been my biggest pet peeve as far as "rules" here go, because the times before/after when one can start & stop are beyond random. can it stretch / can it rebound???

why does one have to wait an hr & another 15mins.

if it's uncomfortable - i get that; but i'm not restricted to the point i can't have a meal & a few sips of water/wine/tea with my meals....nor do i want to be.

so the pouch stretches some- isn't it still calories in - calories out?? that's been my motto here; the band has controlled my volume of food.... i still can't wrap my head around the fact that a few sips of drink during a meal will mess w/it.....thankfully my surgeon doesn't either.

that has been my biggest pet peeve as far as "rules" here go, because the times before/after when one can start & stop are beyond random. can it stretch / can it rebound???

why does one have to wait an hr & another 15mins.

if it's uncomfortable - i get that; but i'm not restricted to the point i can't have a meal & a few sips of water/wine/tea with my meals....nor do i want to be.

so the pouch stretches some- isn't it still calories in - calories out?? that's been my motto here; the band has controlled my volume of food.... i still can't wrap my head around the fact that a few sips of drink during a meal will mess w/it.....thankfully my surgeon doesn't either.

I feel the same way you do. Although, my surgeon says to avoid it where possible just because it pushes the food through quicker and makes you less full. She never said anything about the pouch stretching either.