Food and liquids together

[denisa 5]

Hi

I am 4 wks post op.

I almost cannot have Proteins.< /p>

chicken even pureed gets stuck in my stomach.

I have lactose intolerance since my surgery.

I dont like fish.

So i am on egg based Protein Shakes.< /p>

I found that having some small sips of tea or warm Water helps get the food down.

Is it dangerous?

Why are we not supposed to eat and drink at the same time?

Thx

D

[SweetPotato 142]

It makes the food move too quickly through your sleeve and you won't experience fullness/satiety long enough.

[denisa 5]

Ah ok.

But if i dont drink the food is stuck and i feel it in my throat for hours.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Actually, according to my NUT, with the sleeve there shouldn't be a problem with sipping liquid with food since we still have our pyloric valve. I wouldn't drink a large glass of Water, but sipping should be fine. You might also want to try a bit of gravy with dryer foods/meats. Also, make sure you are taking small bites and chewing really well.

The not drinking restriction is for bypass patients who do not have a pyloric valve.

[4MRB4PHOTO 3,900]

Also, speaking for the VSG only, a little sip of Water to only help you wash down something dry is not a bad thing.

If you can avoid it, do not drink liquids during your meal and wait 30 minutes after eating your meal.

A crock pot, a little low calorie sauce or gravy on it, cooking the chicken in an aluminum foil tent with some liquid, etc., can help too.

Don't worry, it gets easier.

[Kindle 8,667]

I followed that rule for a little bit, but discovered I was hungry after 2-3 hours whether I drank with my meal or not. Since there is no physical reason not to do it, I threw that "rule" out the window. Like Inner Surfer Girl said its kind of a rule left over from bypass. Since our pyloric valve is intact, it controls how fast food comes out of our sleeves. And I'm perfectly capable of deciding when and what and how much I eat. The Water I did or didnt drink with my previous meal doesnt dictate my eating habits.

So do what it takes to get your Protein and fluids in.

[SweetPotato 142]

Yes, we keep our pyloric valve which closes when we eat the dense Protein and keeps it in our sleeve to promote satiety... However, it doesn't fully close and our food drips down into the duodenum/small intestine. When we drink while eating, the liquid helps it to drip/drain faster because it lessens the density of the food, which means that we don't keep it in our sleeve as long. The pylorus is the reason why we also need to sip when we start drinking... We sip, wait for it to open and then sip some more. It opens more quickly for liquids AND because it's always slightly open (even when closed) they pass through pretty quickly. Even if this opening and closing function wasn't true of the pylorus, why wouldn't you follow your surgeon's instructions?

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

My surgeon never instructed us to not eat and drink together and my NUT said that those guidelines were for bypass and not sleeve so I am following my surgeon's instructions.

[SweetPotato 142]

My comment is for those who have been told to not eat and drink at the same time (the vast majority of Sleevers) who have decided not to follow their post op instructions. We all should follow our surgeon's instructions whether or not we agree with them. I don't drink Protein shakes because my surgeon and NUT consider them to be soft calories and have instructed me to get my Protein from food, but I don't tell people who were instructed to drink them that there is no reason for them to do so. I can't say that there is no reason (scientific or otherwise) for an instruction simply because it isn't one that my program follows. There is a reason for each and every decision that our surgeons make.

[Kindle 8,667]

My comment is for those who have been told to not eat and drink at the same time (the vast majority of Sleevers) who have decided not to follow their post op instructions. We all should follow our surgeon's instructions whether or not we agree with them. I don't drink Protein shakes because my surgeon and NUT consider them to be soft calories and have instructed me to get my Protein from food, but I don't tell people who were instructed to drink them that there is no reason for them to do so. I can't say that there is no reason (scientific or otherwise) for an instruction simply because it isn't one that my program follows. There is a reason for each and every decision that our surgeons make.

The surgeon that removed my gallbladder last month is telling me he didn't create an incisional hernia. I can feel it. I can push the protruding tissue back in and stick my index finger in the hole. It's ACTUALLY there, despite my surgeon saying it isn't. My PCP confirmed I have a reducible hernia at one of the incision sites which will likely require a second surgery to repair. But according to you I should listen to my surgeon and "pretend" the hernia doesn't exist because he said there isn't one.

So no, I'm not going to just blindly follow without question every order my surgeon gives me. Sometimes the "reason" doesn't have anything to do with my well being. WLS success is not a "one size fits all equation" and surgeons and nuts should not lump all patients under one umbrella set of rules. But unfortunately it's easier, more convenient and cheaper to do it that way. And just as unfortunately, a lot of times the patient suffers for it.

[SweetPotato 142]

I didn't say anything of the sort. I simply said that we should follow our surgeon's post opinstructions and that there are reasons for such. If you feel that there has been a misdiagnosis, by all means, get a 2nd opinion. If you don't trust your surgeon, you should get a different one. And please don't turn my comment into a slippery slope argument.

[Fame 53]

Denisa, we were in the same boat! I was lactose intolerant after surgery.. but now 3 months out I am back to normal with that.. thank goodness! I am not a big fish eater either but I do like tuna.. and chicken salad is similar to the consistency and is moistened.. maybe you can try that? As far as sipping with meals.. my surgeon said it wasn't a issue, just don't drink a whole cup. Now I have attempted to eat cereal... like milk and all but it doesn't work out too well after a few bites. Just hang in there! Things will get better with your eating.. I still have issues with food feeling stuck at times but I am used to the discomfort now so it doesn't bother me as much.