It's against the rules to drink before/after eating for 30 minutes because the liquid flushes the food out of your pouch faster.

I almost always need a very small sip though and my doc said that was okay, just don't "drink", like gulps.

I'm a week post-op and am totally the same way. I even want to wash down my protein shakes with a drink. lol... Today I was able to eat some pureed chicken and I literally had to set the timer so I didn't take a sip of water before 30 mins was up. It was hard. Hoping that with practice it gets easier over time. I told my surgeon this was probably going to be one of my biggest challenges.

Good luck!

You will get over the desire to drink when you eat shortly. Especially when you get sick or begin frothing because you drank too much and put water on top of your food. If you can tolerate it great, but I am 2 years out and I cannot drink anything, except for a small sip or 2, until about 1/2 hour after you eat. This is my experience and I don't think it is too unusual. JIM

I don't even keep a beverage near me when I eat... mind over matter!

Thanks for the replies. I knew I couldn't be alone here. It's good to hear some practical advice and theories.

KarenWantsBetter is correct. For most GBS patients, the problem with drinking fluids while eating causes the food to move through the system much faste1r, therefore making you hungry faster. My doctor has told me the main problem with that is most people feel hungry much sooner and are likely to eat too much. For myself, I'm never really hungry at over 10months out. I have to make myself eat still as I'm just not hungry. The doctor has said, if I'm not experiencing hunger, there is no medical reason that we can't drink while eating. Just the precaution about it causing many to become hungry sooner (like Chinese food..hungry again in an hour...LOL) I usually take a few small sips during eating. It doesn't seem to bother me or mess with my system. The only thing I've had to worry about is sometimes drinking too much liquid while eating and then not being hungry enough to finish my food. Passed my target weight 2 days ago, and now only 7lbs away from being completely off of the BMI overweight category. WOOT!

Yes, I have the same issues. I do have water, in very small amounts, with food or I have problems throwing up. This has not seemed to cause me other problems that I am aware of.

Im the same. I cannot eat without being able to take a few small sips of water. I spoke to my dietician and nurse specialist and they both said that this was ok.

we really need advice from some long-term-ers on this on. I definitely have the same problem 3 1/2 months out and take small sips. And I also have heard that the main problem is the faster emptying of the pouch that makes you hungry sooner. However, I have also heard two other "reasons" for the no drink rule and those give me concern. One is that drinking while eating removes the signal to the saliva glands to secret digestive enzymes which are especially useful to us since we no longer have stomach digestive enzymes to help us in this process. (Makes sense to me.) The second is, that, while we aren't experiencing hunger now because we are less than a year out from surgery, our hunger function will return at about a year and a half out and we need to firmly establish our habits now in preparation for that when it happens. That also makes sense to me. Long-term-ers please weigh in on this discussion.

My nut also told me a few ounces TOTAL is cool... I cant stand the feeling of leftover food in my mouth or like to start with a clean palate before i move to something different so they told me as long as its only enough fluid at a time to wash my mouth out and no more than a couple ounces total i'm fine. I used to be one that would drink about four or five glasses of water in one meal. I feel your pain its hard to give up :(

My dr says I can have a couple of minuscule sips to moisten

I was told a few smalls sips is ok to help food down, just not alot!

I am still pre op and know this will be a major issue for me too. I dont take my water bottle with me when I go on break at work, so my only liquid is my protein shake and the moisture from my fruit. So far so good there.

At home or when eating out, I could go through 2-3 glasses of water during a meal. Now I am taking tiny sips to clear my mouth occasionally throughout my meal, but trying really hard not to actually drink. Once my mouth is wet, it seems to satisfy me.

Cant break years of habits in a few months, but baby steps will get us there.

@Cairo49 The digestive enzymes you are speaking about is Amylase. It is released when anything is put in your mouth. It's the pre-digestive enzyme that makes food in your stomach digestable. Even toothpaste causes Amylase to be released into the mouth. Of course it's wasted as an enzyme then because you aren't eating anything. Even beverages cause the release of Amylase from underneath the tongue. I'm only 10.5 months out, but I am in the medical field and know all about Amylase. The fact that food is going in your mouth, will release plenty of Amylase, so having a few sips is not going to shut that down that function.

Adjusting to not washing down my meals with a beverage was one of the most difficult things for me to do. However, you need to make this change, because it will really help you to lose and maintain your loss, as well as help improve your absorption.

If you drink with your meal, you empty your pouch quickly, and push food through your system too quickly. The end result is that you will be hungry faster, and that may contribute to eating too much or feeling like you need a snack soon after a meal.

Just hydrate well before your meal, and make certain that the proteins that you eat are moist. That should do it for you.