Possibly the dumbest question ever, but here goes:

Are you able to eat lozenges and hard candy on your post-op diet? I ask because my allergies often make me wake up coughing in the middle of the night and I find I have to pop a cough drop in order to sleep through. Also, when I'm craving sweets I like to have a piece of hard candy. Logically these are "hard" foods, but since they dissolve I wonder what the viscosity is that actually enters the stomach.

Thanks in advance!

Hard/soft foods really refer to the form they take as you digest them. Hard candy, if not swallowed whole, isn't a hard food. It melts before digestion. Your concerns here should really be in the sugar/calories in the candy. If you can switch to sugar free lozenges you should be fine. Always talk to doc though to confirm.

Chicagochic is correct...Hard candy is not a hard food since it goes down as a liquid. Be VERY CAREFUL not to accidentally swallow one! My doc didn't even want me to chew gum because of the possibility of accidentally swallowing it and creating an obstruction. Good luck!

I should have clarified, I'm diabetic so I only get sugar-free lozenges and candies. Hopefully the diabetes will be resolved after surgery.

Thanks for your replies!

I share the same allergy issue and even though I have a room air purifier, I still suffer this. I also use sugar free lozenges at night at times. I have found that when I use saline nasal spray that this has helped to cut down on my coughing. I have started using it throughout the day as well.

I was allowed to use sugar free vitamin C lozenges literally the day after surgery.