How long does it take you to eat?

I'm almost six months out and I haven't ever had anything 'stuck'  since surgery.  I used to take 15-20 minutes to eat b/c that's what the doc said to do early out.  But now, I notice that I can eat pretty quickly.  I understand that there is a difference between the fact that I can and what I should be doing, so I want to know what others are experiencing.

I still can't eat much, but I feel like maybe I should eat a little bit slower.  I'm trying to be careful about making sure I chew well too. 

What are the repercussions of eating too quickly or not chewing food enough?

I am 7 1/2 months out and this seems to be my worse habit that creeps back now and again. I find if I eat on my regular 3 or 4 hour schedule I do fine, but if I am to hungry I eat to fast. The only thing that happens to me is I fill up to fast, so I do not get enough in. Things have not gotten stuck (after they fixed the stricture), but I still fill up fast.
It is definitly not a good habit to fall back into. Eating slower gives out pouch time to digest and our intestines times to absorb.
Audra

I just had my RNY on 7/19/10.  My surgeon said to eat what I can in 30-45 minutes, and then I'm done.  I bought a timer that I wear that buzzes every 5 minutes and I take a bite.  I find if I eat any faster than that, it doesn't come back up, but it's extremely uncomfortable.  The 30-45 minutes usually equates to one string cheese stick, or one scrambled egg, or when we went out last night, two bites of baked potato and five bites of baked cod.  It's hard to imagine eating more than that because I get so full!

Alicia

The repercussions are you'll swallow a piece of food that's to big and it will get stuck.  That fun fact never goes away, doesn't matter how far out you are. 

My best advice, try to stay mindful when you eat, trust me I still swallow sometimes and immediately know I may have an issue.  It never goes away.

Edie

As i've started to eat different foods (chicken, steak, pork) I find I need more and more time to eat. At home its no big deal if it takes 30-40 mins to eat but its a little embarassing at a restaurant when everyone around you is finished and you're not even finished with the 1/4 of the plate you are eating.

i take about 20 minutes to eat. Otherwise I get full too quick

My dr. says to take 20 min. and stop. But I have found that if I do that I don't get enough in during the day.  I now take about 40 minutes to eat.

and that is usually about a 1/2 cup (depending on what it is..) Salads I can eat more of, but meats will stop me at less than a 1/2 everytime.

 

It's something I have to think about all the time...I take 20 minutes to eat a meal.  Sometimes less if the food is soft like egg whites in a tortilla.  Meat...20 minutes.

Twenty minutes I could do.  I was just wondering if I should still be taking 30-40 minutes as I've heard others say. 

I do notice that if I'm eating quickly I get less in and depending on what it is I could also get an uncomfortable feeling in my chest.  I usually will have to wait about 5 minutes before taking another bite -- maybe more.  I can eat best when I eat really slow by puttig my fork down and even pushing my plate aside for a few minutes so I'm not habitually taking large bites of food and swallowing before I've chewed adequately.

Is it possible that eating to quickly and not chewing the food properly can stretch your stoma?