Gum Chewing

I have been chewing alot of gum lately and I hear from many that it's a no no...outside of the chance of swallowing it, what harm is it??? I find the gum chewing alleviates my need to eat more often.

I stopped swallowing my gum when I was like...30!  I'm kidding...Since I was a kid....I guess it could be a problem if you were prone to swallowing it????...I chew gum til my jaws ache!  I always have gum in my mouth....I never heard it being a "no no"...But then again I have been out of the WLS community loop for a long long time until very recently... I only believe half of what I read...The one thing i did hear is that the sweeteners can give some people diarreah....Some days I almost pray for the big D word...So SF gum doesn't do that to me. I don't chew regular gum so there is no worries about sugar dumping... Who knows? Someone probably had a bad experience with gum and scared enough people to start a boycott. That's usually how these things start. I could be wrong and maybe gum really is evil chew stuff...GAWD!!!!  Am I allowed to have NO bad habits??? hehe Anita <----gum chewer

It's great facial exercise but a no no for the tummy...I know if I chew it I will swallow it LOL

Maybe it was a lapband patient?

Dr. Kligman's gastric bypass patients have to promise to swear off gum.  We were told serious problems could occur if it is swallowed.

I swore off gum in '99 when I had my VBG surgery and have never gotten back into it.  Have to say that when I stock shelves and open a fresh box of minty gum I do miss it but don't want to risk it getting stuck to my anastamosis.  I used to be an absent-minded gum chewer and swallowed it a lot.   But even if the tummy weren't an issue, my mouth is full of big bucks dentistry and i can't afford to ruin any of it.  No sticky candys (even sf!) and no gum.   Molly...bridgework in May

It's a "no-no"?  I've been saying "yes-yes" to it for a couple of years now.  I eat when I'm bored, and gum chewing keeps my jaws busy when I'm having a really "hungry" day.  No issues to date.  Don't think I've swallowed a piece though.  I'll try to make sure no one slaps me on the back or makes me gasp unexpectedly while I'm chewing.  Other than that, until I hear the horror story behind the prohibition, I'm planning to keep chomping on my 5 calorie long lasting friend!

I didn't chew gum for a while postop but now chew sugerless gum constantly. I don't think at this stage for me two years postop that it would get stuck since the pouch and exit opening has most likely expanded some since surgery.

 

Sher

i did not chew gum in the first year but now i chew gum most days.  it keeps the mouth busy and helps me with my heartburn jacki

 Here is an excerpt from a post by Cathy Wilson (OH Support Group Leader Program Manager) when I asked about chewing gum.

because when a person thinks about or begins to eat the salivary glands and stomach acids kick into action. The salivary glands work on the food in the mouth to break it down into simple sugars and make it easier to digest. Some argue that the breakdown allows the sugar to be absorbed through the mouth into the body, thus causing actual calorie ingestion. Others argue that this would be minimal as the food does not stay in the mouth long enough for this to happen. Some claim that it's impossible to not swallow some of the food, but again this is usually minimal. When the salivary glands and acids are frequently working it can lead to the complications mentioned. It can also cause a spike in insulin levels, which regulate blood sugar, and make it harder to lose weight.