Rationale behind not drinking before you eat??

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Hi All! I'll ask my surgeon this when I see him in October but inquiring minds are curious now.

What do you think is the rationale behind not drinking for a period BEFORE you eat? I understand the "no drinking during" and in fact when I do, it HURTS. I understand the "no drinking afterward" and in fact if I just allow the time my doc requires, it HURTS! :w00t:

But before? liquids flow through the stoma down into the lower part of the stomach easily, unless you are uber tight. As far as I know they don't linger there long, either.

So I can't quite figure it out. Anyone know, or have a good guess?

[elcee 3,341]

I agree restless this one bugs me too as it really doesn't seem to make any sense. I am interested in the answer. Are you going to ask the other question too?

[RestlessMonkey 7]

AH where we get stuck! Right? Yes I will. I'd better write it on my calendar so I don't forget. I'd been going to go at the end of Aug but am still well restricted, losing well, feeling great, so I postponed. :w00t: Thanks for reminding me.

BUT I am really curious about the pre meal liquid thing. DH is pretty good with anatomy and mechanics etc and he has no clue either. Anyone?

[NurseMelly 0]

I don't know either. It doesn't make sense to me. Just like the fact that my doctor doesn't allow you to eat anything the day of a fill. How does me eating Breakfast at 6 am affect having a fill at 3pm??? That food would have long passed.

Personally, I don't think drinking up till the time you eat harms anything but what do I know :w00t:

[elcee 3,341]

I don't know either. It doesn't make sense to me. Just like the fact that my doctor doesn't allow you to eat anything the day of a fill.

My Dr doesn't require this, I am allowed to eat up till the time of the fill but only have liquids for the rest of the day afterwards. So this is one that differs from Dr - Dr. The no drinking beforehand one seems to be a pretty universal requirement . It would be good to know why.

[Bel 1]

My doc says you can drink up to ten minutes before eating but you need the 10 min break because if you still have liquid in your pouch when you eat it helps the food slide through faster causing you to be able to eat more.

Bel

[RestlessMonkey 7]

But Bel, the liquid doesn't STAY in the pouch 10 minutes! I mean, unless you drink a lot or are super tight. It goes through. Liquids flow...they aren't just going to hang around up there for the fun of it. That's why i wonder. Maybe it's only REALLY tight people, or a LOT of liquid?

Because for me when I forget and drink while I am eating, let me tell you there's no food flowing through. It may come back UP but it isn't flowing. It hurts like the devil. So if there's still Water or liquid in there when I eat it's going to hurt, not make me able to eat more.

AND I'm not arguing in case it sounds like it. I'm really honestly trying to understand the logic of it.

I don't believe in "disregard authority" but I DO believe in "Question authority". If the reason isn't sound, THEN I'll disregard! LOL

Edited September 10, 2009 by RestlessMonkey
ui

[NCLisa 0]

Liquids don't stay in your pouch for more than a few seconds, no way they sit there 10 minutes. I can feel the liquids going right through. I have to drink before I eat, or I can't eat. If I don't drink at least 8 ounces of Water or an Isopure drink, my food won't go down at all. It's like I have to turn my stomach on not to eat.

[Julia_N 2]

Maybe it's an old requirement that never got updated. My surgeon's rules say drinking up until mealtime is OK. I usually drink while I cook a meal and stop when I sit down to eat, then hold off drinking for 45 minutes after. If you drink before you eat, and still lose weight, what's the harm?

[Bandster25 0]

I have heard of some surgeons saying to go ahead and drink up until you start eating but just not during or after. This is what I usually do at restaurants.

Most of the time I don't drink for at least 30 minutes before eating since this is what my surgeon said to do, but it doesn't really make sense to me, either. I have noticed that if I don't eat or drink anything for a really long time (like more than 5 hours) that I'm extra tight the next time I eat. It seems that drinking right before you eat might cause the pouch to loosen up a bit so you will eat more.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Ok Bandster25. I do know that dry=tight in band world, so you may be onto something about drinking loosening the band! I'm going to experiment with that. I'll keep my Papaya enzyme handy though! :thumbup:

[Bel 1]

hmmm, good point. The directions i have are from when i was banded 8 years ago so there is a good chance it needs updating.. lol who knows you have me baffled now

Although i do feel when i drink my band temporarily loosens and i can eat more if i drink immediatly before but that is just me

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Wow 8 years? That's amazing! :thumbup: You were a young guinea pig, weren't you? :frown:

[addelapp5 0]

I have a fill today and I'd ask, but my surgeon always said it was OK to drink until about 10 minutes before I eat, so I've never had the problem of not drinking 30-45 minutes before a meal.

Actually... I have found that if I don't drink before my meal, I get thirsty when I eat, and I have a really hard time not taking a drink of something after I eat... so I make sure to drink a full 8oz of Water about 20-30 minutes before each meal. That lets me go through the entire meal and then make it my 45 minutes after eating without dying of thirst.

[Cortney75 0]

What I was told by my surgeons office is that they don't want me to drink 30 minutes before I eat because it will make me feel full and then not eat the proper amount I should to get my nutrients for the day.

Granted I can just eat more later, but I think they just want to get us into a habit of no drink with meal so that we eat the Protein that we need and don't just have a liquid diet.

But I don't see a problem with drink up to shortly before a meal. I never know when I am going to eat so I don't know how to gauge when to stop. Doing the hour my surgeon asks for after won't be a problem.

Let us know what you find out. :thumbup: