Does anyone use straws for drinking or is using straws a no no for life?

My surgeon said it was a no-no for life. I think his reasoning was that he extra air can cause stretching of the pouch. I haven't used one since surgery. I'm curious to see what others think about this as well. :thumbup:

I asked my surgeon before surgery, since I use them all the time and was not looking forward to stopping. He said he didn't see any reason why not to. If the extra air bothers me, then stop but otherwise, don't worry about it. 7 months later, no issues.

I wasn't told either way, but I've used straws since having surgery and haven't had any issues.

I was told not to use them for life because of the air. I find that if I drink through a straw I get uncomfortable quickly.

I test the waters sometimes and use them anyway.

I very rarely use straws, but when I have, I don't have any problems.

I quit for about 3 months post op, but now use them again. I have really sensitive teeth (gum disease) and it hurt to drink without them. They don't seem to bother me.

Straws are not a problem for me either. As a matter of fact I had not even thought about the staw thing until just now. I think you will be able to figure out quick if it is going to affect you or not. Good luck.

No problem here. LB nurses (who are patients also) use em too.

But I am a person that questions things when they don't quite add up and pushes until I get a reasonable answer.

Couple of my favorite 'rules' are: You will erode your band if you drink coffee and don't drink soda 'cause your pouch will blow up like a balloon.

No problem here. LB nurses (who are patients also) use em too.

But I am a person that questions things when they don't quite add up and pushes until I get a reasonable answer.

Couple of my favorite 'rules' are: You will erode your band if you drink coffee and don't drink soda 'cause your pouch will blow up like a balloon.

I wanted to ask you about the coffee thing - that is just pertaining to caffienated coffee right? From what I heard that decaf coffe is fine is this true? I have gotten addicted to the starbucks frapps because they come in light and sugar free so sometimes i drink them in place of a meal because I have heard that decaf is ok but I would really like to know if you have heard differently - thanks :thumbup:

I wanted to ask you about the coffee thing - that is just pertaining to decaffeinated coffee right? From what I heard that decaf coffee is fine is this true? I have gotten addicted to the starbucks frapps because they come in light and sugar free so sometimes i drink them in place of a meal because I have heard that decaf is ok but I would really like to know if you have heard differently - thanks :thumbup:

My surgeon never told me stop drinking coffee. He asked how much I drank. I had just heard it on the boards (people's doctors telling them it causes band erosion)

so I had a conversation with him about it with regards to any JMA articles and he said as long as he has been instructing LB surgeries and doing WLS he could not cite a credible study that showed a link between coffee band erosion, slippage or damage. He surmised that each surgeon has his/her own personal 'take' on caffeine and that as 'surgical' patients some docs want us to follow a more pure lifestyle --- caffeine is a drug..and a lot of WLS have co-morbities (HB, heart trouble etc.)

So each person has to decide on their own.

My surgeon never told me stop drinking coffee. He asked how much I drank. I had just heard it on the boards (people's doctors telling them it causes band erosion)

so I had a conversation with him about it with regards to any JMA articles and he said as long as he has been instructing LB surgeries and doing WLS he could not cite a credible study that showed a link between coffee band erosion, slippage or damage. He surmised that each surgeon has his/her own personal 'take' on caffeine and that as 'surgical' patients some docs want us to follow a more pure lifestyle --- caffeine is a drug..and a lot of WLS have co-morbities (HB, heart trouble etc.)

So each person has to decide on their own.

thank you so much for your answer hon appriciate it!

My surgeon said it was a no-no for life. I think his reasoning was that he extra air can cause stretching of the pouch. I haven't used one since surgery. I'm curious to see what others think about this as well.

My instructions were not to use them for 6 weeks. After that, it was fine.

My surgeon said to wait until five weeks after surgery before using a straw.

Funny you say no-no for life....

I have to use them for the rest of my life.

If your doc doesn't want you to use them...don't.

But I can't live without them.

Does anyone use straws for drinking or is using straws a no no for life?

I called the doc about a week after surgery bc I hadnt heard that we couldnt use straws. He said that I could give it a shot. He said for some people it gives them a "too much air" feeling, but that it wouldnt hurt anything...just might be uncomfy.

I dont drink from straws though...so I can't tell you how it makes me feel.