How Long Did It Take?

[katyb 36]

How long did it take for you to drink a medicine cup of liquids in your first few days post op? What about the days and weeks after that?

They want me to be drinking 5 medicine cups each hour, but im struggling to just get 3.

[LadyIvy 159]

I was able to drink one in about 2-3 minutes, but I had to wait 10 to do another one. Even that got easier after a week and a half or so. It almost feels like the swelling goes down in your tummy and fluids just start to slide through.

[katyb 36]

I may just be babying it too much. It's taking me more like 20 minutes.

[Wheetsin 714]

If you're talking about a 1 oz medicine cup, it probably took me about a half an hour. If you're talking about a 3 oz medicine cup, it took about 1.5 hours.

Water caused a lot of discomfort and an intermittent pain for the first several days. I went very slow with it. But I could easily do ice chips.

I can now take about three small drags on a straw, at a time. I'm guessing that's 1.5 - 2 oz.

[WillowsKnot 71]

I may just be babying it too much. It's taking me more like 20 minutes.

It all depends on how swollen you are. It took me a long time as well. If you are drinking and you start to get shoulder pain, etc., then you are drinking too fast. I am in week 3 and it still takes me an hour to drink one 11 oz. Protein drink! I can't drink it any faster or I feel too full and it will come back up on me. I think it should be remembered that not everyone's sleeve is the same size either. There is some room for physician preference in the actual size of your sleeve. There is a range, just like pouch size for bypass. So you may have a smaller sleeve than someone else. Believe it or not, they did not monitor that when I was in the hospital, they would just ask me how much I got down. Also, warm liquids went down better. If you are struggling with Water, make sure it is room temperature and ask for some chicken broth. That went down better for me than water did. Also ask for a sugar free popsicle. I don't know why these go down well when they are frozen and cold, but they did for me. When I am feeling dehydrated and I just can't seem to get water down, I head for the SF popsicles every time. They really help. Hope this helps you out. Hang in there, it does get better...slowly.

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

I was suppose to drink 1 oz every 15 minutes. I didn't stress on this, I just sipped as much as I could in a short period of time. It worked for me.

[jazzie 2]

I can drink a mug of hot tea in 10 mins I am 2 weeks out

[Pookeyism 1,143]

Do what you know you can, and give it a few days. Don't push it to the point of doing too much...maybe a timer would help?

[Swimmer 199]

Hot liquids were much easier for me at that point. It was eat for me to drink once the swelling went down a week it so out I couldn't tell the difference from pre surgery, but my surgeon doesn't use a bougie so maybe that matters.

[Wheetsin 714]

They want me to be drinking 5 medicine cups each hour, but im struggling to just get 3.

Hehe, I should have added that my program WANTS me to be doing a lot of things that I'm just not doing. I can't. So soon post-op (as you), I just lumped everything as a recommendation. I've only once been able to hit their Protein counts, yesterday, because I ate sashimi for every meal/snack. I can finally meet Fluid intake goals, after more than 5 weeks. I still haven't found a way to truly work in a real exercise program, other than walking at lunch, and still get family time (working on that one tho). I've pooped 4x since surgery on 3/27. TMI - but "they want" me pooping at least every 3 days -- some things we just can't control, you know?

Whatever you're struggling with now, will get better and easier. Do the best you can, and see "what they want" as goals.

[katyb 36]

Yes, I am using the 1 oz cups. The 5 cups per hour is the goal so I can go home! I had an issue with Jello earlier and almost threw it up, so I'm just being extremely careful. I feel like I'm not getting enough though.