Drinking - why and why not?

[ccjll 177]

Hello All... I'm looking for some answers and/or wisdom.

so drinking fluids (and I'm talking about Water and non sugary drinks - fluids in general (not beer, wine, coke, diet coke - not talking about the "bad" things to drink here-that's another post )) - so drinking fluids with the lapband is still a very questionable topic to me and here is why...

• I understand that the "rules" are to not drink 1/2 hour before a meal and to wait until 1 hour after the meal to drink fluids and I want to know why?
  • I thought it was b/c the food would come up if you drank with solids. I'm drinking with my solids and this isn't happening to me, in fact I find that drinking makes me feel a lot better because it doesn't feel like food is staying at the back of my throat... but
  • I started to think about it and maybe you aren't supposed to drink because it washes the solids thru the band hence defeating the objective of the band to SLOWLY trickle the food into your stomach and for the upper stomach to get filled to send signals to your brain that you are full?
  • I know that I have read varying degrees of this and some believe you should drink and most believe that you should not drink with your meals...
• Anyone want to shed some clarity around this - I would be so grateful b/c I don't like to eat without drinking - in fact I will have to completely change my mindset and my habits.
• I will also say that I am not at the green zone yet either - I'm just shy of 3 months banded, two fills and third scheduled for Feb 6th. I am definitely tighter than I was before 2nd fill and I have found that each day since I've gotten the 2nd fill I'm tighter and more limited in what I can eat - but this drinking while eating subject has me puzzled.

In summary - I can most definitely drink while I'm eating and it helps to not have that tight clump in my chest and probably allows me to eat more... so is this why you don't want to drink while eating - it defeats the purpose?

[HealthyNewMe 1,935]

I was told the reason was the second reason you mentioned...... To not have the food slip too easily through the band before getting the full signal. A very hard habit for me to break. I'm definitely "a work in progress!"

[catfish87 3,471]

• I know that I have read varying degrees of this and some believe you should drink and most believe that you should not drink with your meals...
• - in fact I will have to completely change my mindset and my habits.
• I will also say that I am not at the green zone yet either - I'm just shy of 3 months banded,

why?

probably allows me to eat more... so is this why you don't want to drink while eating - it defeats the purpose?

I summarized my response by what you wrote....

1. Opinions vary most definately. (you should follow YOUR surgeons recommendation)

2. You'll have to completely change your mindset and habits, at least to be 100% successful.

3. You're newly banded and probably not at "adequate restriction"....for the longterm.

4. When you're not at adequate restriction....somewhat of a loose band, it probably does just wash the food through.

5. After you get to a tighter restriction, you'll KNOW why you don't eat solids and then drink immediately. Promise!

Edited January 16, 2014 by catfish87

[ccjll 177]

Talk about an "ah-ha" moment. Makes complete sense as to why I can eat so much - this is REALLY going to help me - so thank U!!!

Note to others with similar experience - it's not that you shouldn't drink w meals but if u do it defeats the purpose of the band - I SO wish someone explained it to me this way this past few months. I even told my Doc that I was drinking while eating w no problem - he didn't say, "STOP" - I guess there comes a point when I'm better adjusted that drinking WILL cause the food to come back up - but for now it's causing the food to drop below the belt leading to over eating.

Point TAKEN!

[terrydumont46 1,954]

Once again this is a very personalized part of being banded. i cannot drink during a meal. i don't drink while fixing my meal. i wait until my pouch is empty of food. why??? fluids make me pb. it's quite simple with me. and this works as a benefit for me as well because if i have a stuck issue a little bit of Water will help me either pass the food object or bring it back up so i am not in misery for awhile. now if you can sip a bit of Water while eating my hat goes off for you. but if you are not having a problem i see no reason to go against what most doctors recommend. no liquids. keeping solid food in your pouch does send a signal to quit eating. also when that solid food goes into your stomach whether it is sewn or whole will continue that signal.

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

my dr and nutritionist advised me to stop before i eat and wait 20 to 30 min after...my ole man, when we eat, drinks after dangone nearly every bite he takes. i asked why..he said to wash it down and make room for more (true)....i say do what your dr advises and what works for YOU.

[ccjll 177]

<p>my dr and nutritionist advised me to stop before i eat and wait 20 to 30 min after...my ole man, when we eat, drinks after dangone nearly every bite he takes. i asked why..he said to wash it down and make room for more (true)....i say do what your dr advises and what works for YOU.</p>

Carolinagirl - do u know WHY ur doc & nutritionist gave u this advise? I'm looking for the WHY u should stop drinking before u eat and wait 20-30 minutes after??

[jennybean 175]

This is a loaded subject on here LOL. But my doctor says the reason you do not drink while you eat is because it washes the food down without slowing it enough to trigger the nerves it needs to trigger.

However, he says that any food bites you take should take approx 45 seconds to pass through the band. Once your bite is through the band (approx 45 seconds), you can have a sip if you wish and it will not affect the workings of the band.

There is some stuff on line about this from a man named Dr. Obrien. The reason things have changed (for some doctors - not all) is because they are still learning how the band really works. Who knows, with time they may change their minds again.

The best person to listen to is your doctor because he is the one you have to answer to if things go wrong with the band or you have problems. You should ask him straight up about the drinking issue and see what he says.

Edited January 16, 2014 by jennybean

[kimk1999 450]

My doc states no drinking 30 mins prior or 1 hour after. When I said that I've been having a hard time getting my Water requirement with those rules (and no gulping either) they said I could start drinking 30 mins after.

I was told this keeps the food above the band longer triggering the full response and it stays in the stomach longer so you're not as hungry so soon. I don't have a fill yet and can go about 3-4 hours with this philosophy before getting hungry. Also, small amounts even without a fill still make me feel full.

Again that's my doctors orders that I follow and works for me.

[NaNa 878]

Hello All... I'm looking for some answers and/or wisdom.

so drinking fluids (and I'm talking about Water and non sugary drinks - fluids in general (not beer, wine, coke, diet coke - not talking about the "bad" things to drink here-that's another post )) - so drinking fluids with the lapband is still a very questionable topic to me and here is why...

• I understand that the "rules" are to not drink 1/2 hour before a meal and to wait until 1 hour after the meal to drink fluids and I want to know why?
  • I thought it was b/c the food would come up if you drank with solids. I'm drinking with my solids and this isn't happening to me, in fact I find that drinking makes me feel a lot better because it doesn't feel like food is staying at the back of my throat... but
  • I started to think about it and maybe you aren't supposed to drink because it washes the solids thru the band hence defeating the objective of the band to SLOWLY trickle the food into your stomach and for the upper stomach to get filled to send signals to your brain that you are full?
  • I know that I have read varying degrees of this and some believe you should drink and most believe that you should not drink with your meals...
• Anyone want to shed some clarity around this - I would be so grateful b/c I don't like to eat without drinking - in fact I will have to completely change my mindset and my habits.
• I will also say that I am not at the green zone yet either - I'm just shy of 3 months banded, two fills and third scheduled for Feb 6th. I am definitely tighter than I was before 2nd fill and I have found that each day since I've gotten the 2nd fill I'm tighter and more limited in what I can eat - but this drinking while eating subject has me puzzled.

In summary - I can most definitely drink while I'm eating and it helps to not have that tight clump in my chest and probably allows me to eat more... so is this why you don't want to drink while eating - it defeats the purpose?

Haha...I got flamed big time for posting about this...and created many enemies and hate mail.....

Actually O'Brien the creator of the "Green Zone" suggest that Lap banders do not have to wait 30 minutes or longer to drink after eating, he has done much research and studies and observation on this regarding the Pros and Cons....our food slowly empties from the esophagus into upper the (upper stomach made by the lap band which is near the lower esophagus) and there is no benefit to wait a long period of time after eating.

Now he suggest that we can take a sip of liquids between bites of food since we lap banders do not technically have a pouch like Bypass people do (this IS the rule for both Sleeve and Bypass people to wait 30 minutes or longer to drink after eating) since their food empties different than us lap banders.

The old rule for many was 30/30 meaning drink up to 30 minutes prior to a meal and 30 minutes after we eat to keep from washing the food down too quickly which was supposed to keep us full longer, if that was the case, we would not be hungry before we reach the green zone.

Dr. O'Brien has a video detailing that it is OK to drink between bites while eating.

Here is Dr' O'Brien explaining how when you are in the green zone, it is the esophagus squeezes that gives up that feeling of satiety and fullness...NOT the stomach, our food slowly empties from the esophagus creating that "full feeling"

For ME, I have tested both, I still get satisfied for hours even if I take a sip of liquid or wine between meals...the MAIN thing for me is to have my lap band adjusted in the green zone, this way I don't worry about pushing food through, I stay satiated for hours even if I drink with my meals.....

Here is more interesting info on this topic:

http://coloradobariatric.com/2012/01/how-to-eat-appropriately-for-weight-loss-after-lap-band-surgery/

Adequate fill levels in the band researchers in Australia developed the Green Zone Chart:

Dr. Paul Burton, a bariatric surgeon in Australia has done studies on the pressure provided by the band while patients were in the green zone. It was found that each bite of food should completely cross the band before another bite is swallowed. Food passes the band through esophageal peristalsis (contractions or waves of the muscles in the esophagus which force food to move). The goal is that a small, single bite of food is chewed until it is mush. Then through peristalsis it will move across the band, taking multiple squeezes (usually 2-6), in green zone adjusted patients. In patients who are underfilled or overfilled it will take less or more waves to push the food past the band. It was found that the squeezes of the esophagus are what cause the sensation of no longer being hungry and that each squeeze adds to the satiation signal.

Edited January 16, 2014 by NaNa

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

<p>my dr and nutritionist advised me to stop before i eat and wait 20 to 30 min after...my ole man, when we eat, drinks after dangone nearly every bite he takes. i asked why..he said to wash it down and make room for more (true)....i say do what your dr advises and what works for YOU.</p>

Carolinagirl - do u know WHY ur doc & nutritionist gave u this advise? I'm looking for the WHY u should stop drinking before u eat and wait 20-30 minutes after??

i asked my dr that on my last visit because people ask this all the time and get so many diff answers (some argue their point and so on)....they told me as i stated what my ole man said, it (pushes) the food quicker.....i recall when i use to drink when eating, it did help it (it seemed) to go down faster.... i think you should ask your doctor why and get the answer that relates to you.

as you will get many variances and the one that matters is your doctor

in regards to you.

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

I have tried to drink with my meals , but I got stuck and it was not good and stuck means feeling like your choking and then the food will keep coming back up and I am going to get real right now , when that happens I also know it is going to be slime tie and I am in the bathroom for about 5-10 min with mucus sliming and a long string of it that doesn't stop for that tie then I have to brush my teeth and rinse it is not good and what is the use if I want to eat and be satisified just to have y food come up , for a while my son asked if I was becoming anorexic I told him know that I was just having stuck episodes that my band didn't care for even if it was just a few bites so I have learned in 16 months of being banded that there are some foods I can not eat and I WILL NOT drink while I eat I will wait that 30 min. so I can be healthy and not have to run to the sink or toilet to just have any episodes I may take a really small sip just to make sure I can drink after I eat after that 30 min.

[B-52 7,113]

Regardless of what I have been told..I cannot drink while eating...and this is solely from personal experience...

If I have food sitting there, slowly passing through a narrow opening....introducing fluids will only add to the volume in my pouch...and having no where to go...it comes right back up...not to mention the associated pain, probably from stretching the pouch....

Now imagine carbonated drinks!!!!...can you say explosion??? I can see a band slip happening there....

I drink carbonated drinks...Pellagrino, beer, etc....but ALWAYS on a empty stomach, never within hours of eating anything...before or after...

I can drink right up to when I begin to eat...as far as after, I usually wait at least 10-15 minutes, then test it with a little sip...I can tell immediately if there is food still there or not...I have had to wait as long as 45 minutes....

Again I use the funnel example...food is sitting there waiting to pass through that narrow passage...then you pour Water into the funnel...where is is going to go?

Personally, I never bought into the "Wash it down" theory...never fixed a clogged kitchen sink by adding Water either....

But all this is just me....and what I have learned for myself...everyone will have different experiences I'm sure...and I can live with that...

[terrydumont46 1,954]

lets just be careful here. drinking while eating is a individualized situation. what works for one person will not work for another no matter what doctor wrote what. even if my own doctor said it would be okay i couldn't do it. and if someone told me to do it i would try and try and try and would be pbing constantly. so let's make this extremely clear. it is a very personalized thing. when you get to more of the green zone you may find you won't be able to take those sips of Water. your band and you will know what to do. the reason we want you to follow your doctors orders is that your doctor needs to know what you are doing all the time. God forbid something should happened. your doctor needs to know what you are up to. taking sips of Water is the same as what type of foods i can eat verses what kind you eat. i would never persume you could eat rice. i can but i would never tell you to. is my meaning coming through. if you are not having problems and you are just taking sips and letting 20 min's go by before taking a real drink of Fluid you are doing okay. but if you are eating a larger amount of food with each meal you might be pushing the food through to your stomach to fast. believe me when i say hunger is something banders are always fighting and we want to do whatever it takes to keep hunger away.

[Lady VS 1,147]

Carolinagirl - do u know WHY ur doc & nutritionist gave u this advise? I'm looking for the WHY u should stop drinking before u eat and wait 20-30 minutes after??

I too was told this but I never listened. I saw my pa every month for two and a half yrs and they had no problems because my band and body were fine. I have always drank with my meals and have not had problems and still do. Everybody's body is different. I do not pb nor slime unless I choose to eat more than I'm supposed to and I rarely do that. When I do pb or slime, it's because I've taken too big a bite of meat not because I drank with my meals. But do as your doc instructs you to do.

Edited January 17, 2014 by Lady VS