If I can tolerate carbonation....

Might want to do a little more research on that...  I was under the influence when I first had my surgery done, that they tell you to stay away from carbonation because it'll stretch out your pouch. But I was then set straight by the moderators of my RNY Support Group. They told us, no, it wont stretch out your pouch, BUT the chemical that is used to make things bubbly, and forgive me I don't remember the name of that chemical, but apparently it eats the calcium in your bones. And a 'normal' person with a regular capacity to absorb calcium, it's bad, but not terrible, since their bodies can replace whatever calcium gets 'eaten'.... but with us RNYers, since we are already are having to implement our calcium intake, consuming drinks that are going to 'eat' calcium is not recommended. I imagine an occasional bubbly water is not going to hurt you much but if you are trying replace all of your water requirements with that bubbly water, you may have issues...  perhaps tripling your required calcuim supplements may help counteract that... But before you get in the habit, I would definitely consult your doc...

That's a good point.  For some reason I was thinking of the phosphorus in most sodas which does the same thing but not thinking of the carbonic acid which is also an issue with carbonated water.  Thanks for pointing it out.

There are a number of good reasons to limit or avoid carboanted beverages (but pouch stretching is NOT one of them).  The phosphoric acid has been shown in SOME studies (but NOT in others) to affect calcium levels and is not particularly good for the stomach (which means that is probably LESS good for the pouch).  Additionally, every kind of soda has a ton of chemicals in it.  No fewer than in Crystal Light, Propel, etc. though, so that isn;t really a good argument.  Some people say the artificial sweetenber contgributes to overeatinbg (but, again, CL and Propel, etc. all have the artifical sweeteners as well, so that argument just doesn't hold water (they just haven't bothered to do any studies that I know of with the flavored waters).

All that being said, though, I still choose to drink a soda every couple of days. Nothing else has the same refreshing effect for me.

Lora

My Dr said if you feel you have to have it, let it sit open for a bit to help it release some of the carbonation. Also, be careful if you are ordering from a restaurant, one of the people at my meeting asked for a diet coke in a to go cup and they gave her regular, she gets dumping syndrome really bad and the first drink make her feel extrememly bad, but she didnt put the two and two together,she just thought it was something she ate and a little bit later she took another drink because she had left it in her car and she immediately got sick again and realized what had happened. She said she didn't even think of it because it was a fountain drink and they all have differnt taste, so she said it tasted a little "off" to her, but she didn't think it was regular. So just be careful!

I appreciate everyone discussing this subject. I haven't had surgery yet but I was unhappy to think that I could not drink sparkling water and mineral water after surgery. I also have a vita mix and was wondering whether using it to makes shakes and smoothies introduces too much air in the drink.

I am worried about being able to sip, sip, sip. I am practicing this with all the drinks I have now. I would like to be able to use a straw after surgery to help with this aspect but I don't use them now because I have read that using a straw can contribute to lines around the lips.

The reason they say no straws after surgery is because most people sip air thru a straw when they use a straw so you have to careful of the gas in your pouch.

Carbonated water is hard on my pouch if it is in a bottle. there seems to be more carbonation to me.  I usually open a can of diet soda occasionally and sip on it.



Tamara

Whether the vita mix will put too much air in your shakes will depend on you.  Some people don't like them foamy or find it gives them gas.  It doesn't bother me at all if there is some foam.  I actually kind of like it.

I don't think you have to worry too much about being able to sip after surgery.  Chances are, taking big drinks will feel very uncomfortable for you.  In that case, you'll quickly learn to sip.  On the other hand, if taking big drinks does feel OK to you, there is no reason you must only sip.

Hey SUnbunny don't know about everyone else, but I can NOT gobble down my fluids anylonger. I have to sip, sip, sip, because if not it hurts so bad! So yes, Practise now, get used to it. I am only 3 weeks out and yes I still sip,sip,sip! :) Thank the rest of you all for the info! Good to hear info like this... :)

Fortunately, I haven't had a carbonated beverage in at least six months.  I used to drink crystal light but found out that aspratame has a side effect of increased water retention.  I was drinking regular crystal light and decided to change to plain water.  My husband had me try the crystal light PURE and I liked it, so I started drinking that.  It seems whenever I drink anything with artificial sweetners, my legs swell (which they normally do) but at night after putting them up, they would not go down at all.  Since then, I have been drinking plain water or water with lemon and no problems.  Go figure.  I hope I don't have any problems with the taste change after surgery because I really do not like the taste of water but I drink it because of the side effect.  Good luck to you....

I don't know the  reasoning behind it, but my NUT said no carbonation after surgery forever.  They also highly discouraged alchol as we get drunk very fast, can become an addiction since we can't turn to food anymore, and can cause liver failure.  I intend to avoid carbonation of any kind especially soda as I am afraid it will may me want to snack on bad things because they were a big part of why I am at this point.   I also don't intend to turn to alcohol as liver problems run in my family.  My intention is to take this gift and make the best of it.  I think it is like Pandora's box to try things we shouldn't and once the lid has been opened it is very hard, if not impossible, to go back.  Just my humble opinion.