Will I ever be able to have carbonated drinks again? There is conflicting guidance -- some say it will definitely stretch your stomach so DON'T do it and my doctor says no it won't stretch your stomach. I'm having surgery on November 12th and getting very anxious as I drink carbonated drinks ALL DAY and NIGHT. Majority is from carbonated tea made with my Sodastream but also from Diet Coke and Diet A&W Rootbeer. I discovered the joy of the Sodastream back when I did the HCG diet and they said I needed to drink a gallon of Water a day....just adding some carbonation to water/tea makes it possible for me to drink that much in one day and actually enjoy it. I look forward to having Diet A&W rootbeer everynight before going to bed and am freaking out that I won't be able to have it anymore....

SO all that said post-sleevers, what has your experience been with carbonation? Can your new sleeve tolerate it? Has anyone actually had their sleeve stretched from drinking too much carbonation?

It's not the carbonation in sodas that's the problem, but their acidity.

About 10 months post-op I had "one of those days" (stuck for 10 hours on a road trip with relatives who stopped only at McDonalds, Sonic and Dairy Queen for food). That day / night I wound up drinking about 32 ounces of fountain diet coke. And being a good WLS patient, I let the carbonation bubble away for the most part.

Didn't help. For the next week I was really f**ked up with horrific GERD. I had to go back to my proton pump inhibitor (Protonix), and even that didn't work well. Within 10-12 days I was back to feeling normal. But boy, I won't ever do that again!

One woman's anecdotal report there.

(Others' mileage may vary, but don't bet on it.)

Yeah my surgeon said never again... and I'm alright with that. While my love for Pepsi was tremendous, my love for myself and the reason's I had the surgery to begin with are far more important to me... So I can go without soda.

I had such a bad Pepsi and coffee addiction that I drank innumerable quantities of both. My Pepsi addiction was so great I was able to trade in for Pepsi memorabilia. ( I have no idea if they still have those online) However I earned enough that I *still* have a really nice Pepsi picnic blanket and 2 CDs full of pop music (Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Ricky Martin, etc...). The straw that broke the camel's back for me was when I had my hysterectomy years ago. I was in the hospital in pain and got that afternoon caffeine withdrawal headache. I vowed never again. That was the end of my soda drinking days and I cut back on coffee to no more than 1 a day. As I worked on my health I decreased that. When I needed to switch to decaf for my sleeve I had no ill effects. Now I can take it or leave it as far as coffee is concerned and I have rediscovered my love of Water.

I tried a few sips about a month or so out and it felt like my stomach would explode! Way too much gas for me. When the notion hits now, I just get a small Coke slurpee from 7/11. A few sips satisfies me for a few weeks or so.

I was told never again for anything carbonated as it would stretch the sleeve and no soda because empty calories