Hey guys...Im curious..since ya'll have a vsg stomach .what are YOUR dietary guidelines ..given by your nut/surg on the eating and drinking w/ meals rule? Do you follow a DS specific diet/guidelines?

Its a huge behavior modification deal for me. I wouldn't do it..for fear I was doing something wrong...yet I eat soups occasionally! I realize I AM physically able to eat and drink w/ meals (soups)...but this mental hang up about doin it even now...has made me question every "VSG specific diet" Ive read..Even  LapSF/Dr. Cirangle (our public VSG forums "sponsor") diet says the same thing.

NO drinking 30 minutes before or after meals. WTF???  Is it because VSG diets are ALL based on RNY / a stoma?  

I remember Diana C. a loooong time ago saying DSrs can eat & drink with meals...as a rule or that its 'physically possible'? 

I'd some feedback cuz I see VSGrs repeatin the same rule over n over....not only post ops in first year but vets years out. So Im comin to youz...since you've lived on the block longer than we have. 

TIA!

Sounds exactly like RNY rules. :)  Since you still have your pyloric valve you can drink with food but it will take up valuable real estate that you may need for nutrition. Most, if not all, surgeon's programs stress not drinking with food early out. I don't think they should get all that hung up with DSrs and VSGrs who are further out, IMO.

--gina

 You got RNY instructions for sure.  The VSG is fairly new, so they will give you the same basic instruction sheet that they give every other wls.  

Now, that being said, I did find it difficult the first year to drink much during my meals.   It just filled me up too fast. Today, though, I drink all of the time, during meals and between meals, too, no problem.

When I was researching WLS, no one was talking about the VSG. I think some surgeons were doing them, but---they just weren't on the radar.

One of the selling points of the DS for me was that it would allow me to drink with meals, and I've done so from the get-go. Keep in mind that when I had my DS, 8.5 years ago, most surgeons made the DS stomach larger than most surgeons do the VSG. Mine started out at 3-5 ounces.

Even so, early out I couldn't drink MUCH with my meals---just didn't have room. I remember when I was on pureed foods I made the mistake of drinking a small glass of tomato juice while I was preparing my food---and I couldn't eat but two bites!

However, since I was about 6 months post-op I drink about as much with my meals as my non-op mom does.

I'm so glad you asked this question!  I've been wondering the same thing.

First--my trick for eating w/o drinking is to always have something moist to eat.  Example--if I eat barbecue brisket for my meal, have some applesauce on the side.  Just a small bit.  Or, simply finish off my meal with a bite of applesauce to bring moisture back to my mouth, plus freshen the taste.

Now that I'm a few weeks out I'm more likely to make it some kind of veg. 

Beyond that--I have not had problems with restrictions so rely on measuring and weighing to determine how much to eat.  I have sometimes forgotten and drank water, as well (usually at a restaurant when they don't ask and just plot the water down in front of me).  And that hasn't bothered me.

So I'm wondering what I'm risking here.  Not developing the ability to know what "enough" is? 

Even if the water washes the food into the intestine, it's still going to digest for full nutrition, isn't it?

NOTE: I ANSWERED BY MISTAKE--I'M A SLEEVER!  SORRY!

It's ok, glad you answered. :)  
Since you have your pyloric valve and no intestinal rerouting, you don't have to worry as much about washing nutrients through your system. If you want to follow some rules that work for you, that's ok too.

--gina
 

Thanks.  I don't know anything about the DS so was worried I butted in where I wasn't needed.

Sleever's and DS'rs have the sleeve in common...we can drink with a meal but it does take up space. One reason I did NOT want the RNY, I have to have something to drink with mine...even if it's just a sip.

The rule about not drinking with a meal is RNY based not DS or VSG based. The RNY does not have the pylorus which is nature's way of keeping things from being "washed" thru.

Liz

My nut said no drinking...but she was spouting RNY rules...we have a pylorus...it's nature's way of keeping things from being washed thru...

I remember Diana C. a loooong time ago saying DSrs can eat & drink with meals...as a rule or that its 'physically possible'?

She was correct, you CAN as a DS'er and as a Sleever!.

Liz

My question would be whet other bad/wrong advice have you been given?
One size fits all advice scares me. You do not have a RnY. Hang out with people who are living successfully with YOUR surgery type.

Becky

 My question would be whet other bad/wrong advice have you been given?  .....I thought I made it clear in my OP..that I was asking a question, not intending to answer one

One size fits all advice scares me. (?) Im not sure what you mean.  

You do not have a RnY........I thought I made it clear I have a VSG. Its listed as my wl surgery of choice for almost 4 years now...on my avatar thingie.

Hang out with people who are living successfully with YOUR surgery type.  Indeed I have for 4 years . I don't know how this statement relates to the question posed.  

No need to reply, Im going back under my rock.  


THANKS SO MUCH to everyone else!! 

Carmelita, I think you're taking offense where none was intended.

When you make a post asking a question, you should be prepared to answer questions as well. That's give and take, right? And given that your post was about bad/wrong advice you wre given by a medical professional, it's fairly normal to wonder what other bad advice you've gotten. Even so, I really think this was intended as a 'rhetorical' question.

BB's referring to the fact that you were given RNY advice, not surgery-specific advice, hence the comment about 'one size fits all' advice being a bad thing.

EVERYBODY knows you've got a VSG. Becky was merely pointing out, again, that RNY advice doesn't apply to you---because she KNOWS you've got a VSG.

And when she says hang out with others who have your surgery type, she's NOT trying to tell you to go back under your rock---she's again pointing out the RNYers and VSGers have different needs.Not so much to you, but to others who may be reading this post looking for similar information. If that gets up your nose---well, maybe you should go back undr that roc****il your nose is a little less sensitive. (*grin*)

 I was told no drinking with meals as well (DS) but all advice is the same RNY advice.  Makes no sense to me since we have different configurations. That being said post op it will be all about fluid between meals and protein every other possible moment!

And, it's hard to read between the lines with text. Answering emails all day long I've learned the hard way to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, assuming they mean well, until I'm positive they mean to attack me...jmo. 

Best of luck to you!

Yes you *can* eat and drink with meals;  it gets easier after your first year.

Case in point:  My surgical report says my immediate post-op sleeve capacity was 2.8 oz. I can now comfortably eat 8-10 oz of food at a sitting. What really gives me trouble is white meat chicken and hamburger, because of the tendency for it to swell up when you drink fluids.  Rice,  certain types of bread and pastries, and cooked cereals do the same thing, so I eat considerably less of those foods. 

The sleeve is designed to stretch some during the first year in a process called sleeve maturation.  We need to be able to hold more food because we are more malabsorptive than RNY's  Our sleeves are *supposed* to increase capacity, where RNY's need to guard against pouch stretching.  The DS is extremely difficult to "break" that way. 

My hosptial's "DS Owner's Manual" had gradual increases in quantity and bulk of foods during the first year, so that by the end of that first year, you could comfortably eat 6 to 8 ounces of food in a sitting, and for some, even 10 oz, depending on common channel length. The shorter the common channel, the more you have to eat and supplement.

What you have encountered is the "one plan fits all" mentality of many bariatric programs.  Their information is geared toward RNY's, because they are in the majority when it comes to bariatric surgery.

That's why OH exists, so we can help take care of each other, until the NUTS get a clue, and that's why I'm studying to become a Registered Dietitian with a bariatric specialty!

 My "nuts" drive me nuts they have no concept of DS math. My doctor is the only one who gets it & we don't spend enough time together to get enough information. I rely alot on OH and other board to get my guidance. My nuts also have no concept that we only absorb 20% of our fat. Hense I can eat red meat and butter and bacon fat. If they knew the fat I took in they would have a cow, but it keeps me regular.

I just had to laugh when I read this.

I've been in the hospital a couple of times since my DS (not in any way related TO my DS), and each time I thought I was going to die from constipation. I simply could NOT get them to feed me properly!