6 days postop~can i chew some sl gum?

hi, 6 days post op, can i chew some trident or another suger free gum?, no matter how much i brush or gargle i have a nasty taste in my mouth. thanks......julie

Julie, Yes, there should be no problem at all, I know how nasty it is the first several months, I chewed gum and also sucked on tic-tacs all the time, don't know if there sugar free or not, but there can't be much sugar in one. Good luck, D

HI JULIE EVEN YOUR SUGAR-FREE GUMS HAVE SUGAR ALCOHOL-BUT I DID CHEW OR JUST SUCKED ON A PIECE. UNFORTUNATELY, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE THAT WEIRD TASTE FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS ALONG WITH PROBABLY A DRY MOUTH. IT DOES EVENTUALLY GO AWAY. GOOD LUCK-YOU ARE ON THE LOSING SIDE NOW. SUSAN

Well, you should ask your surgeon about this because there always is the danger that you could swallow the gum. The physical act of chewing gum causes the pouch to create digestive juices to break down the food that it is expecting, causing you to possibly get an ulcer. The constant act of chewing will make the pouch make and make and make more of these stomach acids and cause you harm in the end. I would stay away from gum for now, you are too soon PO; you need to let your pouch heal. Stick with food, protein drinks and water when appropriate. You may want to ask your surgeon is you can have SF hard candy. And, oh by the way your probably are in ketosis which is good, therefore the bad taste in the mouth. This is good you are burning your fat. Get yourself some Ketostix from Walgreens or Osco and see if you are in ketosis. Keep up the good work.