Question:
Should I stop Diet Dr Pepper prior to surgery?

This question has surely been asked before but I couldn't find it anywhere. I am truly addicted to Diet Dr Pepper. For the most part, it is all I drink. I know I have to stop after surgery. I have tried to stop my addiction in the past and the result was always the same....an unbearable headache that lasted for days. So my question is...should I stop now or when I have surgery? My surgery is scheduled for 7/9. Thanks :)    — Michelle_S (posted on June 26, 2003)

June 26, 2003
A lot of people will tell you that drinking soda will cause your pouch to stretch, even though there is no evidence to back it up. If you are drinking caffeneited soda you should stop. I have heard caffeine depletes the bones of calcium. I have been drinking diet decaffeneited soda since about 2.5 months out and I continue to have succesful weight loss. I try to drink more water before soda first though. Soda is certainly no substitute for water. As always follow the instructions of your surgeon. Good Luck! : )
   — J. W.

June 26, 2003
Trust me... after surgery you won't want to drink anything with carbonation in it because it hurts too bad to burp! LOL!! I was a diet pepsi addict, so I can understand your pain! LOL! I will now, occasionally, have a diet dr. pepper, diet pepsi, etc. but I try to get the caffiene free when I do (the caffene can cause you to be hungry when you are not really hungry! The caffene also gives me a headache, anymore!). Also... and this is important. If you want to try it after surgery, make sure you shake the heck out of it over and over again until it is flat. I know... gross! But, trust me... you get one of those bubbles in your tummy and you will never want to drink another soda again! It really HURTS! I couldn't tolerate even flat soda for the first year out! Good luck, and be prepared... you are going to have to give up a lot of comfort foods, and Diet Dr. Pepper may just be something you will never have again. Too much sodium any way!! LOL! I'd drink it right up to the day before surgery! LOL!! That way you don't feel that you deprived yourself and try to drink it too soon after surgery and end up hurting yourself. The day before surgery, drink, drink, drink as much as you can. You are going to be so thirsty after surgery... at least you can stave it off BEFORE surgery! :~)
   — Sharon M. B.

June 26, 2003
FYI at our support meeting last month the leader took a bottle of mountain dew and a bottle of coke and put a balloon. Within the hour, the balloons had swollen to twice the size of our pouches. Saw this with my own eyes. The other poster is right about the calcuim and caffeine. I have just a sip or two of diet coke occasionally with my docs approval. When a hot drink doesn't break up the mucous we have a sip of a diet drink will. But no way would I take more than a sip or two.
   — Delores S.

June 26, 2003
I don't even have a date yet and I stopped drinking Diet Mt. Dew six weeks ago. It was hard. I'm like you it was all I drank. Now I drink water and crystal light. I cant' say I feel better but it just one more thing I'll have out of the way when I get to have my surgery. I feel preparation is a big help. Now I'm thirsty....DeAnne
   — DeAnne H.

June 26, 2003
I would stop immediately if it gives you headaches when you stop. Why? Because you want those headaches to be GONE by the time you have to deal with surgery stress and discomfort! It only lasts for a few days, but why add headaches to the mix?
   — ladyphy

June 26, 2003
I'm sorry, I just had to post again...I get so angry when people compare the stomach or pouch to a balloon or ziplock bag. The balloon has no openings and the pouch does (2 of them.) A lot of the air comes back up from burping. Of course the balloon will swell to half it's size...the air has no where to go. Again, do what feels best for your body, some of the posters are right, my first sip of soda felt like acid going down, but I got used to drinking it again. Dr. Pepper makes a decaf diet soda that should be ok for you to try, if your surgeon gives you the go ahead. : )
   — J. W.

June 27, 2003
The headache you're getting when you try to quit the DDP is from caffeine withdrawal--it's a very common symptom. My advice is to wean yourself from it before your surgery by gradually reducing the amount you drink until you can give it up completely; the last thing you want to do right after you've had surgery is suffer the pain of caffeine withdrawal! My surgeon recommended that all his patients get off caffeine well before the surgery, and I was NOT happy--I loved my morning coffee, and I drank Diet Pepsi every day (it was harder to give up than coffee!!).
   — Maggie T.

June 28, 2003
As the prior posts have noted, caffeine is addictive, and withdrawal causes headaches. How you stop it depends on how you handle addiction to a substance. Can you slowly wean yourself to lower and lower amounts to bypass the headaches? Or are you one of those people who need to just go cold turkey and get it over with, and just deal with the headaches? It's up to you. Caffeine can affect alot of things in your body electrolyte wise, especially as it is a potent diuretic (makes you pee a lot). But one of the worst things about pop of any kind is that one the fizz ingrediants is phosphorus. Phosphorus binds with calcium, people who drink a lot of pop can actually cause bone loss as the phosphorus binds with the calcium in the blood stream, then the body takes more calcium out of the bones and teeth to do its normal functions, and the phosphorus binds to that and it is a vicious cycle. After wls, one of the minerals you must pay attention to is your calcium level, so drinking pop would just cause further depletion if taken in large amounts. Granted, we are not talking about the occastional pop can full. But people who regularly drink large quantities (3+ cans) of pop each day put themselves at risk, especially as they age and calcium levels are harder to maintain (especailly women). Just some thoughts.
   — Karen M.