Drinking water

I am wondering if you can cause the stoma or pouch to increase in size by drinking water too fast? I try to sip but it seems that I am able to drink faster than the ounce every 15 minutes that I have read about. I would assume that if you drank too much it would just come back up. But I am asking because the last thing I want to do is ruin this gift.

By the way I am talking about drinking with no pain. I realize that if it hurts don't do it, but what if I am able to do it. Can that cause damage?

No, you will get to where you can drink water faster over time.

When I was just a couple of weeks after surgery, I could not drink much at all, it would take me most of the day to drink 32 oz.  Now, I can down one over the course of an hour or so. 

But if it is not hurting or you are not vomiting, then you are not doing any damage, the water is just flowing through.

This is why it gets much easier to get the water in after you are a couple of months post op.

Fluids can't stretch the stoma. They just run right through, so there's no reason for the stoma to stretch out to accomodate liquids. You can drink enough to feel it backing up into your esophagus, but it subsides very quickly.

The ounce every 15 minutes is for the days following recovery.  I was able to drink much more than this very early.  Now, I am nearly able to drink like before I had surgery.  No worries.  

I'm the same.  I was able to drink at least 2 oz per 10 min right from the beginning. My Nut & surgeon said that measurement was to encourage people and was the minimum, not the max!

I can also easily drink 1/3 of a bottle of water now without stopping.  Smaller swallows than before, but rapid.

I too was wondering this. Thanks for the info.

Thank you so much for asking this! I am 6 days post-op and don't seem to have any problem drinking at a pace faster than the prescribed 2 T per 15 min. Just didn't know if I should. Sounds like my body will tell me if it is a problem. 

Two tablespoons per 15 minutes?  How would you ever get enough liquids in like that?

Some people can drink "normally" before they leave the hospital. It took me a couple of months. If it's not uncomfortable, it won't hurt anything.

The answers you got were very informative. Thanks for the post.