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!

My doctor also said drinking while eating pushes the food through quicker. He's never said that the pouch would stretch.

Not me, my dr said not to drink for at least 1 hr after eating and I've stuck to that.

I'm having a terrible time with this problem. I've always had a little problem with swallowing food and it's probably because the meds I take make my mouth very dry. It's something I'm working on right now. We can't all be perfect at once. I'm still on the soft foods, though. Hope I didn't stretch anything.

I just read about stretching our pouches. Since I haven't had a fill yet, I guess it's really not a problem yet. Gives me a month to practice not drinking with my food.

I've never had a problem with liquids pushing the food through the pouch. If I dare drink while eating, everything will come back up, even if I take a tiny sip, I'll throw up. So I don't do it anymore.

Edited February 21, 200917 yr by blaze21

There are plenty of rules out there that doctors disagree on regularly such as pre-op or post-op diet plans, chewing gum, drinking pop, caloric intake, etc.

However, not drinking during eating is one of the primary and most basic banding rules that doesn't really vary across doctors other than the amount of time before or after.

If almost every doctor agrees that this is correct, then why should we ignore the most basic rule because we prefer to sip while eating. I think it is even worse to do this in the early months after surgery because that is where we are "relearning" our eating behaviors and learning new habits.

It is a lot different bending the rules once you are getting close to goal, but if you start the journey bending rules . . . how do you know that you are going to get the success you want.

After all, at least I can say in my case, I would never have become obese if I was making the best choices in dietary intake before banding. I might have a preference now to drink while eating, or eating slider foods . . . but that isn't what helped me to lose all my weight. Following what my doctor told me is what finally took the weight off.

All I am saying is that we should all think carefully about what we do with our bands, how we follow the rules, and how it might affect our success after surgery. After all, there was a reason why we had surgery in the first place, right???

Edited February 20, 200917 yr by HeatherO

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.

If I am on the verge of getting stuck and I drink anything, it is instant pain and pb city for me with tight restriction. It seems like any Fluid just puts extra pressure with everything tight.

I have also never seen anything indicating that drinking stretches the pouch either.

The reason I was given not to drink while eating is because it flushes the food through faster over time and so instead of being hungry again in 4 hours, maybe you are hungry again in 2 or 3. It may not be instantaneous, but if it is increasing your daily intake over the course of the day, it might not be helping you to lose weight.

All I am saying is that we should all think carefully about what we do with our bands, how we follow the rules, and how it might affect our success after surgery. After all, there was a reason why we had surgery in the first place, right???

these "rules" are not in place as a standard amongst the lapband surgical community - therefore they are guidelines.

follow your dr's suggestions .... lest not think that some can't be successful doing different than those with opposite "guidelines".

The reason I was given not to drink while eating is because it flushes the food through faster over time and so instead of being hungry again in 4 hours, maybe you are hungry again in 2 or 3. It may not be instantaneous, but if it is increasing your daily intake over the course of the day, it might not be helping you to lose weight.

this may / may not be an issue for some.

i struggle to get calories & Fluid in based off my activity.

can't say i'm more hungry after a wkout because i drank so much Water before or i'm just hungry. again it's still calories in / calories out......

the question is more stretching of the pouch - not sure that having a sip w/a meal can proove that. as i mentioned if it's a discomfort - understand. if it's not???? what harm?

OK, I drink when I eat. I drink all the time. However, I only sip, and slosh it around my mouth with the food, and usually only with meats or dryer food. I don't ever need it with my yogurt, cottage cheese, or other soft foods. I figure this is a good start. If I swallow after a glob of meat goes down, it hurts. If I use the liquid to separate the particles in my mouth before I swallow, it is very helpful. Especially earlier in the day. For Breakfast and lunch I am still on soft solids. I can get anything down by dinner time with very little trouble.

I know what my doc says, and he is right. I get fuller faster if I drink when I eat, and am hungrier faster as well. As far as stretching out the stomach, yes you can stretch it and yes it will go back down, but not as much as they let on- it is more mental then physical. (I asked about the stomach stretching myth a long time ago the first time I dieted in high school). If you overeat for a period of time, then your stomach gets used to that extended feeling and you will get hungrier faster and more intensely. However you can retrain your brain (and stomach) by eating less for a while after that. We are trying to eat less though, so continually eating until you are stuffed is bad- no matter what.

I'm not sure If my band has been stretched since I had this surgery. I am sure that when I eat too much and when I drink directly afterwards..It usually result in throwing up. So, I suggest don't do it. I hate throwing up. So, I choose NOT to do it.

I was told it would push the food through and you would get hungry faster. The dr. also that people who drink while eating are also more likely to gain weight back or not lose weight. If I drink when I eat, it just comes right up. I have only tried it a few times (when I go out to eat) and it has made me miserable. I did the band to get healthy more than losing weight. I no longer have diabetes or high blood pressure and don't want them back. So, I am following the rules.

I don't usually drink while I eat... only very rarely, in social situations. Most recently, last week when my mother-in-law was in town from Chicago. We ate at a restaurant, and without thinking, I was drinking with my meal. No big deal. Usually I don't... this time I did.

I've never heard about "stretching your pouch" with drinking. Only that it pushes the food through quicker.

:hurray: Not drinking while eating has been by far the most difficult thing for me since being banded 5 weeks ago. I find that my mouth gets extremely dry, almost pasty dry, if I don't take a small sip once in a while during the meal. That pasty dryness is most uncomfortable and then the whole meal becomes unsatisfying to me. I haven't noticed any difference in terms of getting hungry quicker if I do take a few sips than if I don't. I haven't had a fill yet, so maybe that makes the difference. I don't plan on being filled very tight so maybe I can continue to take a sip here and there while eating without any bad effects. So far I just don't find that not doing so is realistic for me. Also, if I do sip here and there I can easily wait the 30 minutes after the meal to resume drinking fluids.

I am pretty good about waiting but there are times that I get stuck and have no choice but to drink. My husband also banded does not get it through his head that he needs to wait. I notice that he ends up eating alot more than I do. I do have to sometimes remind myself to drink because I ened up getting used to not drinking anything after I eat.