diet pop
Debbie,
For years, I was a serious Diet Coke addict. I could
easily drink 2 liters a day. I cut down when I was preop
and now I very rarely will have a small amount, a couple
of sips. Maybe once or twice a month, if that. I’m
careful about getting rid of at least some of the
carbonation. I hope I’m not doing myself any harm but
this is really the only thing from my preop days that I
miss. Good luck to you.
Donna in NJ
Open RNY 12/10/01
267/215 (as of 3/3)
Dr. Gus Slotman
September 26th, 2003 at 9:32 am
Debbie,
YOu should wait about 6 months to give your stomach fully time to heal
before having carbonation. If you drink diet pop before then put it in a
blender to make it go flat. I never used to drink diet pop pre surgery (only
the real thing for me then) but now it is a staple. Beware though because it
can cause you to get more hungry. You don’t have to give up diet pop but
definitely drink it flat until the 6month point. Also, if you do drink it
without it being flat it may very well make you sick. The bubbles invade the
pouch, expand, make you overly full and you get pop coming out your nose.
Its happened to me. It burns. But if you sip — sip sip sip sip — and drink
it flat you are highly unlikely to have this problem. Drinking caffeine free
varieties is what i do.
Denise Rasley
mailto:drasley@…
BTC, Columbus, 10/7/98
Lost over 90% of excess and maintaining
Gained a beautiful daughter on 8/9/00
September 26th, 2003 at 11:24 pm
Here is my experience regarding soda pop. I was the diet Coke queen,
I think, pre-op. I could easily drink a six-pack a day. I didn’t
drink much else. However, over the years, I had gone “off” of pop and
experienced a few days (maybe a week) of headache-withdrawal or
something. I knew that I wouldn’t be drinking pop right after surgery
- and there would be all the post-op to deal with — so, I chose to
“go off” diet pop a month before surgery. For 2 weeks, I switched to
iced tea - exclusively and then decided to go off the caffine (tea) as
well.
At about your stage (7 weeks), I tried a little diet Coke and found
that I didn’t like it as well as pre-op. I drank about a few sips and
decided that it wasn’t that big of a thrill somehow. I decided then
and there that I wasn’t going to become addicted to it again. Now, at
almost one year post-op, I occassionally (maybe twice a month) have a
diet soda. It’s OK but not the same as pre-op at all. You’ve heard
from many on this list that your tastes change.
What I do drink, on a fairly regular basis is the Sugar-free,
Caffeine-free, Sodium-free, Naturally-flavored Sparkling water - that
is available in most markets. It does have Aspartame - so if you
avoid that, it is probably not a good choice for you. However, I like
the fact that it is carbonated and cold. Perhaps you would like to
check it out.
The best thing, of course, is plain water. My experience is that
after a while, you get kind of used to drinking it. And, I do
sometimes drink iced tea - but not even every week. At your stage,
please begin slowly and don’t let your old habits over-run you.
Maybe, like me, you will try your soda pop - and not be all that
thrilled about it afterall. Remember, it’s your head that is doing
the craving - not your body…..not after you’ve been 7 weeks without
it.
Keep on keeping on,
Susan H
Lap RNY on 4/2/01 at Alvarado, San Diego
Pre-Op 325 with a BMI of 53 and Size 26
Today 175 with a BMI of 28 and Size 12
miss is pop. Yes, I drank diet before WLS and switched to caffeine
free pop before surgery. I am 7 weeks post-op. How long should I
wait until I drink pop again? Or should I just give it up??
September 27th, 2003 at 1:31 pm
There’s a theory out there that the carbonation expands the pouch.
However, I asked my doctor about this, and he said that stretching
the pouch is not really a problem.
However, he tells his patients to avoid soda because it can cause
ulcers in the pouch. There’s less surface area for the stuff to
spread out on, so it’s more intense than when you were pre-op.
So the minute he said it doesn’t stretch the pouch, I went to get
myself some diet coke! (Ulcers - PSHAW!)
Well, the stuff burns my stomach like hell! I bet it will do some
damage to me if I drink too much of it. I can get around some of the
burning if I take small sips (can’t gulp it like I used to!).
That said, I would definitely give your pouch a good 6 months to heal
before you introduce diet coke into your diet.
–Christine
September 28th, 2003 at 6:11 am
I think it is amazing how addicting Sodas/Pop is to people. I have never
really liked soda, oh yeh I drank it…orange, rootbeer, Dr. Pepper, Mnt.
Dew…Now All I can think is BLECK. Plus I’d much rather enjoy a Fruit 2 O
(zero calories) than a cup of Mnt Dew (100 cals)…then have a snack later
too!! To all you recovering POP addicts…remember, One day at a time…keep
it up!!
Love yous
})i({August St. Amand- Maine})i({
Lap RNY Oct. 15, 2001 -148
Dr. PA Aslam- Augusta Maine
September 29th, 2003 at 10:13 am
I thought the carbination from the soda is what causes
ulcers and could damage our pouch??
Kimberly
315/260/175
1/17/02
Dr Leo Murphy