Soda

Carbonation does not seem to bother me, so the bothering me part is a non issue.  My stomach has the same in and out, so I do not know if it has a different effect on a stoma, but as for my stomach, the only thing that's going to stretch it out is hard core eating past full and doing it often. 

But -honstly I do not think Diet Coke did any favors for me, and I know when I was drinking it, I was doing some heavy-duty drinking of it, and wanted more.

So, my rule of thumb anymore is - if you indulge in something and then you cannot let it go - you are its ***** and in short for me - why invite the monkey back? 

"My stomach has the same in and out, so I do not know if it has a different effect on a stoma,"

You don't have a stoma. A stoma is a man-made thing that RnYers and Lap banders get.

Sorry I was confusing, I know I have the same in and out - I was saying I didnt know if it made any difference for the OP if they had a stoma!

Oh, it definitely makes a difference. If the stoma stretches too much, it makes it harder to reach satiety because food doesn't stay in the pouch long enough.

I am really not doing a good job of expressing myself!

With soda, I didnt know if how a pouch with a stoma reacted to soda, as opposed to my stomach, which has the same in and out - which personally isnt effected.

So, speaking to the stoma situation in regards to carbonation - I didnt know if having a stoma and having carbonation would be different than how I am effected by it,

Then I went on to wax poetic about the soda junkie monkey. 

???

You asked if having a stoma made a difference with soda and I said it did. I'm not sure what the confusion is about.

I can drink pop if I want and occasionally have a Diet Dr. Pepper but really don't want it all that often.

This is why I don't drink soda of any kind, diet or regular:

The artificial sugars in diet soda stimulate insulin production and can cause you to crave sweet things and send your brain messages that you are hungry even if you don't really need to eat.

The phosphates in cola leech calcium from your bones.

The dark sodas, like cola and root beer, stain your teeth.

Once you lose the taste for them, diet soda is just plain nasty.

And, yes, drinking soda of any type, diet or regular, has been correlated with weight gain. Whether the soda is a cause or just a symptom isn't known but I'm taking any chances.

I amn 2 months shy of 3 years post-op, am maintaining my goal weight (well, I vacillate 3 pounds around it), and I drink diet soda (sometimes caffeine-free, sometimes not) several times a week (always over ice to cut the carboination a bit, but not completely).  I drink oit as a treat, in lieu of something caloric that is sweet. I do not, as some claim, crave anything (sweet or otherwise) after I drink soda, do not eat anymore after I drink soda, and there is absolutely no evidence that my pouch or stoma have enlarged... I still eat about the same portions that I did when I was 9 months post-op (when I re-introduced soda).

Soda does NOT stretch your pouch (and there is no evidence that it stretches your stoma, either), and Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero have almost NO sodium in them (I cannot speak fro otehr types since those are the only kinds I drink).  I have no idea where that urban myth came from (but probably the same surgeons who try to scare patients into compliance by telling them soda will stretch their pouch).. 

That being said, however, there are some legitimate reasons to not drink soda... it is mostly chemicals (but so is Crystal Light, for that matter), has acid that may be hard on your pouch, caffeine is a diuretic (but, for some reason, no one rails against drinking coffee or SF Starbucks coffee-based drinks), and there is SOME evidence that diet soda leecheds calcium from your bones (but there is also evidence that this is NOT the case).

All things in moderation...

Lora

Accoreding to my surgeon, caffein- free soda DOES count towards your 64 ounces of fluid per day.

Though I do not drink generally drink soda, on occasion I will indulge.  When I do, I generally drink about quarter of the can and I'm satisfied.

I have never had any problems, but then I have really never had problems with any foods or drinks.