I went to a barbecue and all they had to drink was soda or beer so I chose beer and it went down fine. (Guess I could have chosen nothing...) but I thought we couldnt drink carbonated drinks? It went down fine no problemo. Does this mean I can have an occasional champagne?

Magnolia -

This is something the docs don't seem to agree on. Some say if you can tolerate it fine, some say let it go flat, some say no, never!

Carbonation was one of those things I gave up, just to be sure. There are many people who continue to drink it and have had no problems.

As you get tighter, the choice may be taken out of your hands - you may not be able to physically tolerate it.

I did read somewhere that the carbonation in beer was lower than soft drinks.

I would follow your doc's recommendations. As for what's already been done, sounds like all you have to worry about at this time is the empty calories.

The reason my surgeon gave me not to drink carbonated drinks was because they could cause stomach dilation and potentially cause band slippage. Certainly in the early days fizzy drinks can cause discomfort, but as far as I can gather that's not the reason why certain surgeons advise that they be avoided. I guess you have to weigh up the pros and the cons. If you have an occasional glass of bubbly then you may get away with it, but I tend to stick to the non fizzy stuff - alcoholic or otherwise;)