how long does liquid stay in your pouch

i worry that i drink too much fluids, too fast and that i will mess up my pouch or cause a leak or something. i posted yesterday or the day before that i can take a sip just about as big as i could post op. and then i wait a minute and take continuous small sips here and there, then bigger sips etc. well before i drank maybe about 2 ounces of water then got my lipton soup broth. i drank about 4oz of that so far all of that(including water) in about 8 minutes and still could keep drinking the remainding 8oz of soup broth but im giving myself a 5 minute break so i don't mess anything up. does anyone else not have problems with fluids at all...how much should i drink before i stop and start again

You cannot stretch your pouch or cause a leak or anything bad at all by drinking liquids.  The worst thing that can happen if you drink too much too fast is that you will feel the liquid start to back up into your esophagus until some of it moves out of the pouch.  MANY people have no trouble drinking liquids after surgery! 

One of the downsides of a forum like this is that the MINORITY of people who DO have trouble are the people who post the most (because they are the ones who need support)... you never hear from the people who are doing just fine... so it gives pre-ops a skewed view of the surgery and of how many people have trouble.  Sometimes people can actually talk themselves into HAVING trouble just because they EXPECT to!

Lora

thank you! this is true because i see a lot of people having issues with water/fluid when i was pre op and the day i started drinking at the hospital with no problems and i expected to have problems, i was shocked. now i just worry i am filling up my pouch too fast and will stretch it. glad to know i won't. thank you

Lora is exactly right - that's exactly what my surgeon told me. BTW - I'm about 4 1/2 weeks post op and I am drinking normally - no huge gulps, but normally. I don't have any problems getting my fluids in at all. You're only a few days post-op, right? It sounds like you're doing fine - I had a similar experience. I never had a problem getting fluids down - thankfully! Your body will tell you if you're doing something wrong!

Good luck!

~Karen

I'm a week out and I have not had any trouble getting all my liquids and protien in.  This morning I have a cup of decaf coffee, 4 oz. watered down juice and am now drinking a bottle of So-Be water.  I can drink as I did pre-op with no problem.

I am just 19 days post-op and I can pretty much drink similarly to pre-op, as well as with soup.  Last night, I ate too much soup, though, and had that "backed-up" feeling that Lora describes.  It just took a few minutes to go down.  Bu****er, I can drink normally.  Thanks for asking this question, because I think most  post-ops are concerned about *anything* stretching our pouches or ripping them open!

 I am a little over a year out and I have never had ANY PROBLEMS with drinking anything or eating anything.  I used to WORRY terribly about that fact...I mean it seemed like a problems/complications would be a must and because I didn't have any I thought SOMETHING MUST HAVE been wrong with ME or MY SURGERY.  I drank very very well after surgery....just about all the recommended amounts.  So, be glad that you can and keep up the good work,

i am almost 2 weeks post op and i have no problem drinking my water, i drink it now like i did pre op..i have a huge jug, i fill with ice and water, i drink on it all day long and fill it up as i need to..i use to drink 1-3 of these a day...i think it is a 48 oz jug..i got it from 7-11, for their sodas...i use to toake it everywhere i went with me...i and i still do...the only real rule i have broked is i still use the straw as the water is very cold and my teethe are very sensitive to the cold..
hope this helps
have a great day
debby

I had surgery on 3/30/11 and I am able to drink normally.  It felt weird in the hospital but that went away before I came home.  Now I drink as I always have.  I actually questioned if anything had been done before I got to eating some solid food.  The only problem I've had so far is that my stomach hurts if I drink my calcium mix too fast.  It's not a problem if I sip at it over 15 minutes or so but if I slug it, it hurts.  So I don't do that anymore. 

I think this is one of those things that the doctors warn us about because if we did need to sip and we didn't, it would be pretty scary.  Then those of us who are lucky and can drink normally are just lucky.