Question:
Question about Carbonated Drinks

Do any of you post op folks drink carbonated drinks? If so, has this stretched your pouch? My surgeon tells us to never have carbonated drinks again but I am addicted to diet coke and have been for years. Don't get me wrong, I can put it down and will do so for this surgery to be successful for me but I wondered if you guys do drink it and if you have had any consequences?    — daphneblount (posted on July 8, 2008)

July 8, 2008
I think I was told no carbonated beverages for about 6 months, but I occasionally, I mean, very occasionally have a Diet Coke. I get tired of the taste. I mostly stick with diet tea or water.
   — ALafferty

July 8, 2008
I am not sure what kind of surgery you are having. I had LapBand. My doctor says carbonation is not good but more importantly the chemicals in Diet soda alter your chemistry and helps your body store fat. That was enough for me to give it up. I am about 3 months out and every now and then I will have a sip my hubbies soda but only if it has been sitting for a while. I miss the taste .. but a sip is enough for me to get what I need. GOOD LUCK!! It was a hard habit to give up but I think it is an important one.
   — ItIsMyTime

July 8, 2008
I was told no carbonated drinks - ever. I know a lot of people from support group who have gone back to soda. Some have gained. Some have not. Some go up and down. Personally, I love soda every once in a while (before surgery) so it was easy for me to give up. Every now and again I will crave a soda. I can take a sip or two and the carbonation makes be burp and fart for like 20 minutes - off a sip or two. It makes me very uncomfortable and bloated. which instills in me - not to drink anything carbonated. I am 1 year and 5 months out and have taken 4 sips of soda in that time. It's not worth it to me to feel like crap after I drink it. If you can, don't try it after surgery. after you do something or don't do something for 30 days it becomes habit. don't get back in the habit and then you won't have to worry about it. good luck.
   — jammerz

July 8, 2008
Please reconsider your addiction to diet coke. It will add extra gas to an already very gassy post-op pouch, it is very high in sodium so contributes to hypertension, it is filled with artificial chemicals, and it costs alot more than water. Why bother? Nancy Nurse
   — nancycarle

July 8, 2008
I to was missing my drink so now i open the bottle and let it go flat Caffine Free diet still is good flat...Good Luck
   — phatkatz

July 8, 2008
I was told back in 1997. No more carbonated drinks of any kind. I am addicted candy. But I don't it candy anymore. This is just my opion. I for got to say I hate carbonated drinks. It makes me burp up and gives me gas real bad.
   — [Deactivated Member]

July 8, 2008
I use to be addicted to diet drinks also until I found out that one of the ingredients they put in them was used to embalm people with, that's when I quit cold turkey and drink only water with crystal light only hope this will help you
   — humper

July 8, 2008
I wasn't a soda fanatic to start with but I like my Coke now and then....After surgery...I remember the first time I had a sipof Coke, I thought I'd die fromthe pain of theose bubbles...It felt like acid burning a hole in my pouch...It wasn't hard to leave it alone for years! Every once in a while I will sip on a diet coke, but the carbonation sensation on my pouch is not pleasant...and it only feels okay with food in there...But drinking with meals is a no no...so when I get an urge...I take a small sip here and there...but I doubt you'll miss it much after it hits your tummy! The gas is HORRIBLE too...I burp so long it takes my brethe away! LOL It's just not worth it anymore. But I do take a sip of it now and then...
   — .Anita R.

July 8, 2008
Thanks to all of you who answered. I think I can do without farting and burping...lol it doesnt do that to me now but I can imagine that will be very different after surgery. Thanks all.
   — daphneblount

July 8, 2008
When I think if I have Crystal light one more time, I might become an axe murderer. I have some that is completely flat. I have even been known to add a little water to it. Never drink it from a can! I have'nt seen that this has caused me any problems. But I didn't have one until I was about 5 months out. If you buy it in a two liter it goes flat pretty quickly. But it goes without saying, just diet cola. Nothing with sugar! But that is me. Okay, so good luck.
   — lesleigh07

July 8, 2008
I have heard this requirement from every surgeon I have spoken to.... and every diet coke addict in my support group still drinks the stuff without problem. Some stir the bubbles out, some don't. I don't care for the stuff myself, but, I do like a few sips of champagne every now and again. I will pour it back and forth between 2 glasses to get rid of some of the bubbles or I will suffer. I tend to do what my surgeon tells me to to get the results that he and I both want for me. The bubbles can stretch your pouch, and the acid can erode your stoma.... bad stuff. Dawn Vickers, RN, BLC, CLC
   — DawnVic

July 8, 2008
I was a big soda drinker before my surgery last October. I was told no soda after surgery and I almost fell off my chair but after surgery, I've never craved it at all. I've tried it a couple of times just because.... and it left me bloated and full of gas and it didn't even taste good to me so I figured, why bother. Now I'm a big Lemonade/Ice Tea/Grapefruit juice drinker. Hope this helps.
   — PAWLLA L.

July 8, 2008
I think you should do some soul searching before you proceed any further with preparing for this surgery. If you can't commit to dropping this habit, then maybe it's not for you. Your surgeon, who you are trusting with your life, is telling you NOT to do something postop. Why would you ask for feedback from people you don't even know on something so important? Do you know that all of us are making good WLS choices and are good examples to follow? Nope. It sounds like you're trying to find a way to rationalize not being compliant. Maybe I'm off base, if so, I apologize, but where's your head right now and where will it be as a post op if you are working already to get around restrictions you have been told in black and white are for your own good? My doctor told me the same thing. Stay away from it. Period. So, I do. This is a doable change for you, but only if you think so, commit to it, and realize YOU CAN DO THIS. Remember, the surgery changes your stomach, NOT YOUR HEAD. I wish you the very best of luck and hope you will find the answers you need. Call your doctor and talk it over.
   — Shirley D.

July 8, 2008
I thought it would be hard to give up, too, but I honestly don't miss the soda at all now. It's been 4 months now since I've had one. I found that the recovery time post-surgery when I COULDN'T drink it was enough of a detox that I've kicked the habit and have no desire to go back. I've also kicked caffeine and have not gone back--and I feel better and have more energy without it. Good luck.
   — suezahn4me

July 8, 2008
I drank some sparkling water one night at a resturant, with out thinking about it and was sick as a dog. I could not burp it up and it just was like I swallowed a tire and they inflated it after I got it in my gut. I take a sip and I mean one sip of root beer when my wife orders it, and that is it. Best of success to you. By the way, I had RNY. Only know from that side of the fence.
   — William (Bill) wmil

July 8, 2008
I drink one dr. pepper a day and only one and not diet. You may as well drink a regular soda, diet is full of sodium and all soda will make you gain weight. Make sure to limit very little or you can be very unsuccessful on the amount you want to lose.
   — nascar_angel_3_2003

July 8, 2008
Get UN-addicted and find another drink of choice. No carbonation, bad for your stomach lining over time. What's the point of having surgery if you're not going to follow the BASIC guidelines?!? Might as well throw your money, time, effort, emotional and physical sacrifice (as well as your families') out the window! If I do drink any Gingerale/Soda, I use a FEW sips to help in my aid of gas after eating. Not on a daily occurrence, just if we are out - take a few quick sips of hubbys' soda and Whew...better. Everything in life is a choice, but its up to you to make the right one. Good luck, C, RNY, 3 yrs. p.o.
   — C-There

July 9, 2008
If you look at the research more than 75% of the patients that regain weight after WLS is due to continuing or starting to drink carbonation again. My doctor said NEVER again and I have been addicted to Diet Mountain Dew for years but I will give it up because it is not about the food and what I have to give up it is about living and being here 10 years from now. Good luck in your research and please think about all the issues before making the wrong decision because there will be people out there that tell you it is ok to drink soda every once in a while but it is really worth risking all of the hard work and all of the blood, sweat, and tears.
   — RN2B2009

July 9, 2008
I just wanted to encourage you to get a mind set that your health is more important to you than the diet coke. I must say that I was a caffeine free diet pepsi addict for years. I am 54 years old and I, like you thought no way can I kick the habit. The week before my surgery I had to stop drinking the diet pepsi and I did ok. But I still wondered about not drinking it at all again. I had the gastric sleeve surgery on June 16th, I have drank nothing but my protein drinks and water with crystal lite in it since then. I have honestly not had one single craving for the diet pepsi or any other carbonated drink. I read somewhere a long time ago that technically we are creatures of habit and what you put into your body, your body will crave. If I ever picked a diet pepsi up again and put it in my mouth then yes, I would probably crave it again. But so far,no problem. So, you will be fine. Just don't drink it and by the time you are well from your surgery you won't crave it.
   — Jodi L.

July 9, 2008
Hi Daphne, thanks for writing. You don't say where you are in the process, but here is my story. I am 4 years out, and 9 months BEFORE I saw my surgeon for the FIRST time, I agreed to give up my addiction to diet coke (with fresh lemon,yum!). I drank it every day and loved it every day, but knew that having surgery would cause me problems after. I stayed the course, drank no diet coke until about 2.5 years post surgery. Total of about 3.2 years without carbonated beverages. I do drink frozen cokes now and enjoy them, and I also believe they don't stretch my pouch because of how they are watered down and the carbonation is less in them, but I would NEVER recommend drinking carbonated beverages before surgery or after for at least 1 to 2 years. Why? You have to deal with the lust for foods for one, you have the challenge of getting what you want against what you need. Your pouch will be small and should only have needs in it. Another reason is the self denial made me fight for the weight loss in surgery. I didn't have the goal of drinking soda again, I just moved forward, and 2.5 years down the road I decided I was ready to try it out. Also, the one reason that kept me going when I didn't want to keep going on the soda fast was that 80% of people who have revisions surgeries all drank carbonated beverages, 80%! I do think in the young stages that it can stretch your pouch, it is small and you have to be careful with it. As you get past surgery, your pouch will naturally stretch (don't help it), so I tried to be patient and wait for that to occur, and now I eat small normal portions and drink my frozen coke and water and milk, and lead an almost normal food life. Patience pays off. It taught me a lot along the way, I got total victory in my weight loss and body size, and I have it back and enjoy it more, at my will, than in the past. WLS is a long journey of lust and desire. To conquer those things, somethimes we have to give up stuff we wouldn't think would matter to gain what we really want. Soda was one of those things for me. I would recommend total abstance from carbonated beverages for any wls patient, even banding, fight the battle, and then revisit it in a few years, you will be amazed at your health and your resolve to do what you set out to do. Lose weight. Patricia P.
   — Patricia P

July 9, 2008
There may be many good reasons not to have carbonated drinks, but seriously - stretching the pouch can't be one of them. It's a LIQUID and the pouch has a hole on both ends, it flows right through. If you could seal up both ends, maybe the pouch could stretch but as long as there is an opening for the fluid and expanding gas to escape into, the pouch will not stretch.
   — blues-singer

July 9, 2008
I am 14 months out from bypass and was told Never so I have not tried it. I went thru to much to screw it up!!
   — Alvernlaw

July 9, 2008
Diet drinks that have Aspartame in them puts a chemical response in your brain that makes you crave sugar. Plus as those that have already posted, Aspartame changes to formaldehyde in your body, it also contributes to headaches. It is best to stay away from them. I haven't had my surgery, but have rode the weight loss roller coaster so long that I have learned that water is the best thing for you, do I listen to myself, not always--that's why I need to have an RNY. Best of Luck breaking this addiction to diet drinks :-}
   — jenks621

July 9, 2008
I'm like you I was a Diet Coke junkie, but when I look at old pictures of myself. I put that can down real fat. Like othets I have had a sip from my brother's can and I was ok with just the simple taste. Vitiamin water, crsytal lite and ice tea my new friends. I freeze juice and drink it just as it becomes slushy. That kinda helps to give my drinks a bite. Trust me Diet Coke vrs a Healthy New Body, no compaision.
   — spicybarbzie

July 10, 2008
yes i did and yes it does i had vbg 10 years ago and had to have a revision due to a streched pouch. i gained 100lbs so my question is it worth it? I would have given it up had I been told not to drink it.
   — Nurse343

July 10, 2008
My Dr told me that was the only thing he would tell me to never ever ever do again was any item with carbonation....I think that's a small price to pay to look good and lose weight and why would you want those extra calories and the chance for pouch dilation and band erosion....NOT ME.... Pam / Ft Worth Bandster Bites [email protected]
   — pphillips4720aol.com

July 13, 2008
I was told to avoid carbonated drinks and if I just had to have an occasional soda, it should be flat. I'm 4 1/2 years post op and I have a diet soda on rare occasions. I don't miss it, but when I drink it full strength, the bubbles fizz in my throat until I almost choke and it feels like someone has punched me in the stomach....so I avoid it unless it's a rare occasion and FLAT only.
   — CHARLYLVN

July 14, 2008
I am two and a half months out and have taken a sip of Mt. Dew (my weakness before surgery at least a twelve pack a day) all I could feel in my mouth was the bubbles. Of course I didn't have any problems with it, but it was a very small sip (a capful) just for the taste. (Hubby brings one home with him every night and I have learned to stay away from it. One of the battles after this surgery is the mental mind set that you need to have, always think about why you had the surgery and where you want to be after the surgery and that tends to help a lot. I have followed my doctor and nutritionist's words and after two and a half months I am down 48 pounds with 37 to go so just listen to your doctor and you will have a successful surgery.
   — Melanie C.

March 26, 2009
I'm pre-op, but thought I'd reply anyway. For YEARS, I have consumed Diet Coke in excess. I would order one, two, or three large DC's from McDonald's, in addition to drinking four or five cans per day. On 2/15/09, I gave it up "cold-turkey". A few weeks later, I ordered a Diet Coke from McDonald's, and was SHOCKED. I couldn't stand the taste. I couldn't even drink it. I also heard that people's tastes sometimes change after surgery. You may want to start cutting back to see if you're able to wean yourself slowly from the Diet Coke. Now, a month-plus later, I don't even have the desire to have any. I know it's only been a little over a month, but, I'm still in shock.
   — kevlev

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