Sip Or Gulp??

hi everyone, I was just wondering if it really is true that you have to sip all of your beverages? Sometimes I just get so thirsty that i chug,chug,chug I KNOW what the books and docs say........but people are different. So do you sip and swallow,gulp and swallow, or just swallow? You guys mean the world to me. bridget

Hi Bridget! When I get my water I swallow, not sip. I want to gulp so bad, that one night I had a dream, it was like one of those aquafina comercials. I was just standing there gulping a big a ole jug of water. That is how bad I want to gulp it all down!!! I am supposed to sip, but my mouth gets so dry that I just take about a one ounce swallow, every time. Hope this helps! Hugs, Alicia

Hi Bridget, Try just to sip. If you gulp then you get air in with your liquid and you might not get as much liquid in. Plus, you might get more gas that way and you dont want to do that. It it good practice to sip too because you have to learn new habits. You also have to learn to eat slower also. I had a real hard time trying to think about that while eating. I was a shoveler with food. So, try your best to sip. Hugs, Sue

Hi Sue, I was just wondering where Levittown is. I have heard of it but cant place where it is. I am from Pa. too thats why I was curious. I checked out your profile and your before and after pics are amazing. Debbie in Pa.

Months of sipping ahead of you. A year out I can do some gulping, but not much (and that's really annoying when exercising, we all know how much fat people sweat when exercising, and I've always had dehydration problems beyond the usual) Actually, to take this OT, that's the hardest part of exercising for me now. I actually sort of enjoy the exercise, but I have such a hard time preventing dehydration

Bridget, Sip and swallow... at first.. As you get farther out you will be able to take larger amounts. You really need to try to make sure that you have enough to drink so that you dont feel the need to gulp.. That is hard at first. I am a year out and try not to gulp still.. you end up swallowing air. However I can take regular drinks now and it is much easier to get all my liquids in.. That was a real issue for me in the beginning. Right after surgery my mouth was always dry.. I learned to take a normal drink but just swallow small amounts at one time.. like maybe 3 to 4 swallows per mouthful.. that way the dry mouth issues were taken care of... I know it seems hard now.. but you really get used to it... it becomes a way of life... Good luck with your journey.. Sondra 8/25/04 362/239

Bridget, I had no problem gulping from day 1. I noticed myself gulping and was scared there was going to be pain, but there was none. I have no problems taking 3 or 4 swallows back to back. I am not a sipper. If I go overboard, there is some tightness, and I get in tons of liquids. Carrie