how do you manage the no-liquids before/after food

[Avonlea]

I'm curious how you all manage the no-liquids with food, or more specifically, no liquids 30 min before or after food. It's easy for me not to have liquids when I eat. But I'm finding it hard to manage the 30 minute restriction before/after eating (though I am doing it). Do you eat on a schedule? Time your drinking through the day?

I guess what I'm finding is that the sip sip sip I'm doing is making it hard to follow through on the no-liquids before/after rule.

Also, I'll ask my doctor, but in his handout, at one point it says 30 minutes before/after and in another place it says 10 minutes before/after. What did your doctors recommend?

[msbatt]

I drink before, during, and after meals. Always have.

Since you have a VSG, you should eventually be able to do this, too. Right now, your sleeve is so small you can't hold enough food if you're drinking, too. BUT---drinking immediately after a meal is okay, as long as it doesn't make you uncomfortable.

[Deleted]

I drink before and after, and sometimes rarely with.. early out, I'd stop maybe 15mins before.. but realized it usually made no real difference to my available space, so I stopped making it a hard and fast rule, I just don't think about it.

I couldn't drink after- room issue, and still generally wait 30 just out of habit now.. but I find no difference in satiety either way. With liquids mixed with food, the major issue is space.. speed of gastric emptying is not increased by a really significant amount (thank you pylorus).. so that is not a concern and much of this rule is a hold-over from RNY teaching I do believe.

I also take my multivites after food, so I do have a few sips as long as I don't feel full, to wash them down..

[Avonlea]

Oh, that's all very reassuring. I'm seeing my doctor on Tuesday for a follow-up and I'll ask about it. I was trying to figure out why that advice existed -- it didn't make much sense with the pylorus intact that it was a washing out/emptying sort of thing.

I've been taking my multivitamin (only one right now, still ramping up) after dinner, and I wash it down with a little water. I've been waiting the 30 minutes, but I'd prefer to just take it with food. I think I'll switch to that.

[Deleted]

in my first few months I had so much restriction that I chose to get more of my protein in liquids - I didn't have room for all the liquids AND much food.

so it was never really an issue.

I would say 15 mins before at most and maybe 30 after eating food, if you can.

but it's clearly flexible.

long term some people find it really helps to get out of the habit of drinking with meals so it's worth trying.

[Avonlea]

Is the issue of drinking with meals an issue of stretching the stomach? Or satiation?

[Deleted]

I believe many plans pin it on satiation, as though we had a stoma to work with. Some clearly tell you there will likely be no room so avoid it for 15-30 before & after.

As far as stretching, I am in the "it is very difficult to stretch your sleeve by overeating (overfilling with anything)".. Yes, from all I've seen of folks years out- there is some dilation/relaxing as you heal over the course of a year or so, but most seem to max out at about 4-6oz dense protein.. this is not to say all meals will be 4-6 oz in total as some foods pass faster than others- but just say chicken breast alone, that's where it seems to stay for many.

I believe (and as was explained to me) a sleeve that has removed the vast majority of the fundus, leaving only the muscular lesser curvature, and doesn't leave a pocket of fundus on the pyloric end will maintain a small to small-normal size meal restriction level. If you overeat to the point of putting the stretch on your stomach a. it doesn't feel good, and b. you will likely puke.

[sniffles]

At nearly 2 years out, I find it extremely uncomfortable to drink with or just after my meals. I have no problem drinking up to the point I begin to eat. Once I begin to eat, I just can't drink anything. The food I eat takes up all the space in my sleeve - ESPECIALLY if it is dense proteing. If I drink water with or just after eating, the liquid literally just sits on top of the food that I just ate. It feels like the food and the liquid are having an all out battle for space in my stomach. It's not a pleasant feeling. It usually takes anywhere from 20-30 mins after eating before I feel comfortable drinking. In between meals, I make a conscious effort to get my liquids in so that I don't become dehydrated. I believe the better hydrated you are, the more easily the weight comes off.

[roseselene]

I drink before during and after, however I can't fit in all that much while I'm eating. I'm just the kind of person that needs ot sip on water while I'm eating. So far it hasn't seemed to effect me.
Amy

[Joanne]

This is a rule for RNY'ers, who have a pouch. As a VSG'er, you have a fully functioning stomach.

The rule for those with a pouch is because the liquids will tend to wash the food out of their pouch more quickly, and make them hungry faster. With your sleeve, you still have your pyloric valve that maintains the passage of food from your stomach into your intestines, so you dont have to worry about this.

All that being said, with the smaller stomach volume I found that I need to curb my drinking with meals, or I simply cant fit in enough food. If I drink before my meal, it's fine, but if I drink with or right after my meal, I'm too full. This can be easily visualized by picturing water going through a funnel. Picture your stomach as the funnel. If you drink when it's empty, the liquid goes right through. Now picture some food in the funnel. The water poured in it then would just sit on top of the food, making you even more full.

I always drink some with my meals, just not as much as I used to.

[Carolyn H.]

I drink up until I eat or stop a few minutes before, generally. I typically still wait 30 minutes or longer after I eat as purely a matter of comfort. It depends what I eat.

I can usually drink 30 minutes after eating say cottage cheese for breakfast, but I need to wait an hour after having dense protein like my little cheeseburgers (no bun) that I make. I have a lot of restriction, though, still. I can eat about 2oz (by volume) of dense protein at a time - maybe a little more.

If I'm out and have a lovely glass of wine that I haven't finished before my meal comes, I may sip (and I mean sip), as I go. Generally, though I don't drink and eat at the same time.

[jillybean720]

I am coming up on 3 years post-op, yet I still find it tough to drink much with or after meals simply because it makes me feel overly full. However, I don't avoid it simply because it's some silly "rule." I do drink before meals, and if I don't eat muh, then I'll also drink during and after - no big deal.

[Avonlea]

I tried drinking a little before and a tiny sip during today, and that was fine. I am glad for that, it makes eating much nicer.

[loulou7]

I can drink right up until I begin to eat, but I can't drink while I'm eating, and afterward I can't drink for about 30 minutes to an hour - it just makes me feel nauseated and icky. Regardless of what I've eaten.

My original theory was that if I ate bread/crackers/pasta the extra liquid was absorbed into the food and made the food swell up in my stomach to the point of painfulness, but the same thing happens if I just eat protein and veggies. So....I've learned the hard way to wait a while after eating to try to drink.....

Also, my mother always said you have to wait an hour after lunch before you can go swimming, so keep that in mind too!!

[pattipop]

I stop drinking 15 minutes before eating and after I eat I rinse my mouth with water so I get a "wet" feeling, then I wait an additional hour before drinking my water.

[muffinsmom]

You're very early out right now, and you're right, it's a little hard to learn. At nearly 18 mos. out, I still separate drinking and eating, but it's pretty much just part of my day now. I wait 30 minutes after my last drink, and then eat. Then I usually wait about 90 minutes before taking up my drinking again. (I can glug pretty well these days, so no issues with getting my water in.) I do this because, for me, I'm a burper from the start of a meal to the finish, and beyond. If there's liquid in there, it tends to make my burps foamy and uncomfortable. (The burping isn't nearly as belch-y as it was in the beginning, but it's still there.) I just basically watch the clock as I eat and drink, and it's pretty easy.