Got the you need to wean off caffeine and pop:( boo. How did you do it? I'm suppose to stop with the protein shakes till after surgery too

I was never a big soda drinker, so that wasn't a big deal for me to give up. coffee on the other hand. . . I started by drinking half regular, half decaf for a week, then switched entirely to decaf. It wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. The funny thing is that since my surgery, I don't care for the taste of coffee as much and have started drinking decaf tea a lot more. Kind of strange how our tastes can change after surgery. . .

Giving up caffeine is hard! I was a coffee freak, but I switched to decaf slowly by blending, and only had 1 1/2 days of caffeine headaches. Now i do decaf constantly blended into my Protein shakes (i use instant coffee) and that has been delicious for me. Interestingly, I too couldn't stomach the taste or smell of coffee for several months after surgery, which was my exact experience when I was pregnant.

COLD TURKEY….and keep busy!

It's not bad at all….sometimes we let our minds take over what is really happening.

I drank nothing but diet soda before my band surgery and stopped cold turkey on day 1 of my pre-op. It was not a big deal at all.

Good luck!

I also did cold turkey when I started the Protein shakes. The first 3 days were hell, but then it was all good. Today after 8 weeks I was allowed to have coffee again and it was wonderful!!!!!!

No Protein shakes??? how are you to get your protein in???

For me, the liquid diet cured me of my Diet Coke addiction (I never did coffee)... after about the third day the withdrawal symptoms ceased, and I was "good to go"... and never looked back.

Also, be sure to go to InsureNutrition.com to see if you qualify for free protein shakes/scar cream/vitamins

She told me today no caffeine ever again:( it causes ulcers:( says they follow some guidelines from some accreditation place...

Yea she told me that most people get sick of the shakes after the surgery that I just need to eat real food right now as much as I can... I wasn't going to argue with her.

For sure, every doctor is different.................I see it on here more and more

I was a diet coke from mcdonalds addict. I stopped cold turkey on day one of pre op. I haven't looked back. I just keep a drink handy... Something to sip on and I'm good to go.

I have tried giving up diet sodas before. I have been able to do it but always gone back…even a year later. I thought that would be the thing I missed most. However, it's really been a lot easier than I thought. I stopped drinking them a week before surgery, and that was that. Good luck! You will do great!!

Happy Losing,

Mississippi Girl!

I have been drinking Cokes for the past 50 years or so. During the initial trials on "flip-top cans", I was one of the subjects interviewed. That is how long I have been drinking them. Around 10 years ago, I transitioned to Diet Cokes because I was gaining too much weight. That transition didn't stop my weight gain. When I applied for Bariatric Surgery, I was told that I had to give up caffeine and carbonated beverages. Generally I had a 6 cokes a day habit. So I went cold turkey. I didn't realize how addictive cokes were. My body experienced major withdrawal symptoms. My whole body ached for two weeks, every joint in my body seemed to ache. But then after two weeks, the pain went away. I have not had a carbonated beverage for the past year and a half. By the way, when I gave up Cokes, I lost 20 pounds of weight just based on that change alone.

@James Marusek major DC drinker here too...I know what you are talking about (as many others stated here as well)... my husband has even given up most carbonated beverages and uses the Torani syrups in his Water, etc... he lost weight with that change as well.

After the "detox" was done during the liquids phase, never had a problem or taste for them and I don't plan on going back, knowing my addiction to soda... if I start, I won't stop!

...and I don't miss it

I miss diet sodas but can we really drink this after having WLS? I had gastric bypass and I am almost 6 weeks op. I thought we can't have carbonated drinks due to stretching the pouch.

I miss diet sodas but can we really drink this after having WLS? I had gastric bypass and I am almost 6 weeks op. I thought we can't have carbonated drinks due to stretching the pouch.

You are quite right. After surgery, you shouldn't have carbonated beverages. Although I haven't seen any studies on this, I suspect the carbonated bubbles create microscopic explosions in the stomach that stretches the pouch. As your stomach gets microscopically larger, it allows you to eat more. Over time using carbonated beverages produces a larger stomach and weight gain.

Also it accounts for why when I went cold turkey with diet cokes, my stomach got slightly smaller and I lost weight.

COLD TURKEY….and keep busy!

It's not bad at all….sometimes we let our minds take over what is really happening.

I drank nothing but diet soda before my band surgery and stopped cold turkey on day 1 of my pre-op. It was not a big deal at all.

Good luck!

same here. i looooooved some diet coke/pepsi. actually any diet soda. i stopped the day of my pre-op diet and i actually didnt have a headache. it was like my body was ready to give it up.

its only been 2 weeks, but i havent really craved one. i crave carbonation, but the feeling subsides in a few minutes because i dont give it the time of day.