Liquids question

tigk29 · September 2, 2004

I read some where on here that liquids do not stretch out your pouch. First of all is this true and if so why do we need to sip our liquids then? Is it because if we take big gulps it will make us feel sick?

Also I was curious when we sip our liquids how soon after we take one sip can we take another? I know it may sound like a stupid question but I was curious! Sometimes I am very thirsty and sip more often then normal so I didnt know if that was okay.

donali · September 2, 2004

Anything that gets put into the pouch faster than it goes out will back up into your esophogus, including liquids.

If you're newly out of surgery, sipping helps ensure that you are not filling your pouch faster than it is emptying, and therefore not putting any stress on the new sutures.

As you become more healed, you will probably be able to drink Water in the more normal way, although many people who have reached their "sweet" spot or who are pretty tight cannot guzzle liquids like they could pre-band, or even in their early days.

If you are not uncomfortable with the speed that your liquids are being taken in, then you are fine.

You will know if you are drinking too fast or too much at a time - that feeling/sensation is unmistakable. I have even had Water come back up if I was tighter than I expected and took a couple of big swallows of ice water.

tigk29 · September 2, 2004

So is it true that liquids don't stretch out your pouch?

donali · September 2, 2004

I cannot say for sure if it is true or not, but my personal experience is that liquids tend to be harder to contain than food, meaning if there is too much pressure in the pouch, liquids are thin enough to be pushed back up into the esophogus.

The pouch is stomach muscle, which is designed to stretch. There is a difference between the normal stretching all pouches will do when you eat food, and pouch packing, which will, over time ("they" say), permanenty stretch the pouch. That is still debatable in some circles.

Some people here have claimed to be told that they have "stretched" their pouch. I don't know if that is really a small slippage, or if the tissue of the stomach really has been stretched and remains at a greater capacity. For normal stomachs I have read that they "shrink" over periods of lesser consumption.

Who knows for sure what is really true? If you are not experiencing discomfort, my best guess is that you are not in any danger of doing any kind of damage.

I am not a medical professional, just some stranger on the internet, but that is my opinion.

tigk29 · September 2, 2004

Well thank you stranger on the internet!! It makes sense to me though. I was always wondering why some people say "you'll stretch your pouch" when I was always told as you eat less you stomach shrinks. So if I accidentally stretched the stomach why wouldn't it go back? It is such gray area!

I was banded on Aug 23rd so I am still in my liquids phase. I was nervous about starting those, but as the days go by I get more comfortable with it. I am suppose to start stage 2 next week so my nerves will start back up again I'm sure because I am afraid I will eat too fast, too much and not chew enough if need be.

A question about your un-banding: Do you see a difference with your appetite after your band was removed? Did you pick up any habits from when you were banded and they have now carried over?

donali · September 2, 2004

Do you see a difference with your appetite after your band was removed? Did you pick up any habits from when you were banded and they have now carried over?

My appetite feelings remain the same - pre-, post-, and un-banded. What is different is how long I remain satisfied. Being banded, I remained satisfied longer on a smaller amount of food. However, even when I was banded, when I was hungry I felt like I could eat a ton. Of course, when I started eating, I was only able to eat a little bit. Or a "normal" amount - which looked like a little bit to my eyes! lol

So, my appetite is the same, but now when I eat I don't have the band to stop me when I've had a "normal" amount - I have to rely on my mind now to do that. I have to rely on my mind now to eat slowly and chew well, so that my stomach has a chance to register that "full" or "satisfied" feeling before I have overeaten. It's hard. One trick is to never let yourself get too hungry - if you wait until you're starving, you're going to wolf your food, and you'll have consumed too much before your stomach has a chance to send the signal, and then you're going to walk around groaning, holding your stomach, thinking - geez, I didn't feel like this when I stopped eating!! Good thing I didn't eat even more... lol

As far as habits that I picked up that are carrying over - I think meal planning is the biggest one - preparing foods for Breakfast and lunch at work ahead of time, pre-packaged, pre-portioned. It sounds corny, but it's really true that we eat more if we have more put on our plate. We just eat until it's gone. So if we put less and eat until it's gone, unless it was drastically less than we needed, chances are that's all we'll eat.

Also I am much more structred about getting in my Water, which I wasn't before.

And I try to remember to eat more slowly, put my fork down between bites, chew a little better. All really geared towards dragging out the whole eating experience so the stomach has time to send that "satisfied" signal.