It's been 20 days.

20 l.o.n.g. d.a.y.s.

Since I've had a diet pepsi. Can I just say I'm majorly jonesing for one right now?

My craving for my throat burning, caffeine delivering, bubbly substance is about to do me in! Ack!

Is there a meeting I can go to? Does someone want to be my sponsor?

Can you come hold my hand as I go through my withdrawals?

It's been 20 days.

20 l.o.n.g. d.a.y.s.

Since I've had a diet pepsi. Can I just say I'm majorly jonesing for one right now?

My craving for my throat burning, caffeine delivering, bubbly substance is about to do me in! Ack!

Is there a meeting I can go to? Does someone want to be my sponsor?

Can you come hold my hand as I go through my withdrawals?

I feel your pain :smile2:. It is nothing like a nice cold Pepsi. I haven't had one since 10/29/09 so I do know how you feel. I am scared to drink pop now, don't want any problems. My dr told me I could try a diet pepsi and see if I can keep it down. I tried some sierra mist and I got full after a couple of sips. So no pepsi for me. Maybe I will get my nerve back up to try it again :thumbdown:.

Melinco, I so feel your pain! Banded on September 21, 2009 and have not had my favorite beverage of choice, TAB, since September 20, 2009!! It was dificult at first but now I just think of the fond memories we had together!! LOL!!! I just don't even have any in the house anymore. I am having trouble drinking crystal light as I don't like a lot of the fake sweetners after taste. I find myself drinking a lot of hot tea and my new found favorite is the SoBe agave lemonade drink. It is NOT "no calorie" but only has about 50 calories in a 12 oz bottle. I just monitor how much I drink and go for it. Sometimes I wonder how bad those artificial sweetners are for us anyway!

I will join! My fiance is addicted worse than me. He lives on it. He tried to quit when I did but he is right back to it. I hear the "pop" of the can from my bedroom :smile2:

Spicy food tastes soooo good with DP!

It's tough. I'd usually have one with lunch and dinner, and then one in the afternoons to help me get through the day.

What brought my craving on today was when I was upstairs in our breakroom at work eating my lunch, when the soda machine started to get stocked. I saw her bring in the flat of diet pepsis and other sodas, and that's all it took!

I will admit that I had my assistant, on her way back from her lunch, stop at a local 7-11 convenience store and get me a small cola flavored icee (about 12 oz). It's just the cola flavor, no carbonation. I drank about 1/2. I didn't want to drink anymore due to the calories. But I don't want to do that too often as it's too many calories in a liquid. However, it scratched my itch, for today!

Mel, I am not a Pepsi drinker, and I wasn't really a carbonated beverage fan anyway (except for Sprite which I had to give up). But..there may be hope for you!! A friend of a friend who has the band does this...she pours her drink, and lets it sit for around 30 minutes until all the bubbles are gone. I know it won't taste great, but it may help with the craving.

I was a Pepsi One addict and weaned myself off it gradually. One day I realized I had not had one in over a week and I haven't looked back since. It's probably just as well, that stuff is not good for us banded or not.

I haven't had a soda in almost 18 months!!! I don't even miss it now, but at first it bothered me.

Hi, my name is Lisa and I'm a recovering Diet Pepsi addict. I woke up in the morning and grabbed a 24 oz Diet Pepsi to take to work with me. I would drink about 2-3 of them during the day and then come home from work and have more. I drank no water whatsoever. If I was running low on cash and diet pepsi I literally would start to worry how I was going to make it. It was a monkey on my back. I have not had diet pepsi since February 2009. I tried diet ginger ale over the holidays and had horrible problems and that has cured me from wanting to even try Diet Pepsi. It will get better. One day at a time... just like any other addiction. Just say NO!

My Pepsi love came in the form of Diet Mtn. Dew. My biggest concern with going off of them was the loss of caffeine. I have never cared for tea in any form and was worried that I would have caffeine withdrawal as well as dealing with my new band. However, Crystal Light makes an Energy blend with a wild strawberry flavor. It doesn't taste as good as my old Dew, but I haven't had one caffeine headache yet. This stuff could very well be my saving grace!

I am with you but my drink of choice was diet coke. Now I don't know if this is true but it scared me. My doctor said if I were to continue to drink diet soda like I used to (4 a day) it would erode my band.

That hit home and I now I don't think about it as much. I don't want to go through the surgery again.

I was a Dt Dr. Pepper freak. I drank a 2 liter everyday. When I made the commitment for surgery, I thought carefully about whether I could give them up or not. I wasn't sure I could do it but I have, much to my surprise. I don't even think about them anymore or crave them.

Some reasons that have helped are 1) the manufacture of the band states that soda of any kind is not good for the band. 2) It will cause band erosion. 3) Artificial "stuff"

in the colas aren't good for us. 4) My doctor says NO, not ever again. 5) I paid too much for my surgery and went thru too many insurance hoops to risk it over a soda. 6) If I couldn't commit to this, how was I going to make it thru all the others ups/downs.

That's why I don't drink it anymore but to each their own.

Dr. Pepper was my choice. Then before surgery, I got myself switched to diet dr. pepper. However, while my doc did tell me not to drink it for all the reasons we know, I still do...In VERY limited amounts and VERY flat! I use it as my occassional treat. I get a 2 liter, pour an 8 ounce glass and stir the crud outta it. Nice, flat and yummy...And because I only drink it once a week or so, the rest of the 2 liter goes flat for me!!!!

Ok, and now, I am gonna duck and cover, cuz I just said to drink it and how to do it, lol!!!!!

MHO its better for ME to have a small flat soda as a treat than to tear into a full size candy bar. I am still a human with cravings, this happens to be one I give into instead of fighting it...:thumbup:

I will admit that I had my assistant, on her way back from her lunch, stop at a local 7-11 convenience store and get me a small cola flavored icee (about 12 oz). It's just the cola flavor, no carbonation. I drank about 1/2. I didn't want to drink anymore due to the calories. But I don't want to do that too often as it's too many calories in a liquid. However, it scratched my itch, for today!

I too, not long after surgery thought a Slurpee was a safe way to get that Cola flavor in, then I read the nutrition information about Slurpee's online...and they ARE carbonated. So just be careful with them!

Crystal light makes a water drink mix called Crystal Light Energy. It has cafffiene in it. I so missed the caffiene boosts that those drinks gave me. Now I subsititute it with those. Don't even miss it now. I was an addict too. I would drink a 2 liter dt mt dew a day! I haven't had one in 11 months now. You can do it too!

I'm also a recovering DP addict. I would drink anywhere from 1-2 2 liters a DAY! I stopped cold turkey the day before surgery. I have read about bandsters that can still enjoy soda, but not me.

One drink was all it took for me to PB violently out my nose and burn my chest. I'm actually glad I had that reaction to the carbonation because if I didn't I'd be back on that wagon.

It gets easier. I supplement my caffiene addiction with a cup of coffee in the morning and a ice tea or something in the afternoon.