I was wondering (I am not yet banded) why no carbonation and no gum. I have not met with the nutritionist so I am not sure about the whys yet..

Also, what other things have you been told to avoid. The reason I am asking is so that I can start working on training myself not to eat or drink what I am not supposed to kwim?

I will start weaning myself off soda next week Monday. I have been buying crystal lite and cases of water to help that.

I am a gum chewer...so I will work on that this week...

Any other suggestions????

Carbonation is thought to maybe stretch the pouch---as it bubbles. If no other reason it is full of chemicals we don't need. My Dr.'s have neither one expressed the point that I cannot have it. It is on my allowed in small amounts list. I occasionally have some Diet Dr. Pepper---for the taste change. Not able to drink lots of it anymore, so it is not an issue.

Gum is worrisome in it getting stuck in the stoma and blocking you up if you were to swallow it. I ask about it when I saw my Fill Dr. he told me if I ever swallowed my gum, to follow it with a shot of cooking oil and I would be fine. Uh excuse me....no I would not---I would be gagging my toenails up drinking cooking oil!!!! He said the oil breaks down the gum base.

Every Dr. has a different take on what they allow or don't allow....best you can do is follow the orders of the Dr. you chose to put in charge of your care.

Good Luck on your upcoming surgery!!!

Good plan to work on things in advance!

Kat

I gave up carbonation long before my surgery, but in addition to the "stretch the pouch" idea (I don't know, that's another one that doesn't make any sense to me), sodas are empty calories and several people find the carbonation/gas uncomfortable. Having been away from sodas for a long time, I tried a sip of DH's a few weeks ago and - wow - you don't realize how gross they are when you're drinking them every day.

Kat nailed the gum. Anything we can't pass has to come back up, or be let through. Gum is the right size and definitely the right consistency to get stuck.

Carbonation is thought to maybe stretch the pouch---as it bubbles. If no other reason it is full of chemicals we don't need. My Dr.'s have neither one expressed the point that I cannot have it. It is on my allowed in small amounts list. I occasionally have some Diet Dr. Pepper---for the taste change. Not able to drink lots of it anymore, so it is not an issue.

Gum is worrisome in it getting stuck in the stoma and blocking you up if you were to swallow it. I ask about it when I saw my Fill Dr. he told me if I ever swallowed my gum, to follow it with a shot of cooking oil and I would be fine. Uh excuse me....no I would not---I would be gagging my toenails up drinking cooking oil!!!! He said the oil breaks down the gum base.

Every Dr. has a different take on what they allow or don't allow....best you can do is follow the orders of the Dr. you chose to put in charge of your care.

Good Luck on your upcoming surgery!!!

Good plan to work on things in advance!

Kat

Well duhhhh I never would have thought about the pouch stretching out or the gum getting stuck. I am so glad that I found this board...I will be working on breaking my gum and soda habits NOW instead of next week...

thanks so much for the info!!!!!!!!!

I was wondering (I am not yet banded) why no carbonation and no gum. I have not met with the nutritionist so I am not sure about the whys yet..

Also, what other things have you been told to avoid. The reason I am asking is so that I can start working on training myself not to eat or drink what I am not supposed to kwim?

I will start weaning myself off soda next week Monday. I have been buying crystal lite and cases of Water to help that.

I am a gum chewer...so I will work on that this week...

Any other suggestions????

:thumbup:

If your doctor said no to carbonation and gum...ask them why. Mine didn't forbid this and I enjoy them from time to time.

I've not been told to 'avoid' anything. The band is about lifestyle changes and better choices.

But, I can give you some insight to gum. A few months after being banded the newness wore off and from time to time I forgot about the band...so one evening when I was paying bills and not paying attention, my 12 yr old offers me a Jumbo Gumball, I take it and start chewing... continuing to write checks and pay bills.

Well, I swallowed as I do with all my gum and immediately I felt it! OMGoodness!

I just went to bed but all night kept tasting the gum. The next AM I still tasted the gum and KNEW it didn't go down. I drank and drank hoping to dislodge it...but no.

Went to the ER, GI doc had to put me under to retrieve it.

So, now if I ever have gum, it's not bubblegum but chewing gum like Orbitz or something small. AND I keep the wrapper in my hands until I spit it out...don't want to hold the wrapper...I have to spit out my gum.

When I went for my consultation with my Dr. he forbid gum chewing, he said if I swallowed it, it would have to be surgically removed. As far as soda, they said caffeine free. but not for months after surgery and by then they hope our "addiction" to soda is gone.

Hi,

All surgeons are different, of course, but mine hasn't given me any "not allowed" foods or drinks, and he was trained by the doctor who invented the lap band, so I trust his judgement.

Then again, I never swallow my gum, but I could imagine it would cause big problems if swallowed. I've never been a gum swallower, as my grandma told me when I was little that if you swallowed gum, it took your body 7 years to get rid of it... freaked me out!

As for carbonation, my doc told me that the "stretching the pouch" thing is utter B.S. But, he did say that carbonated drinks can cause incredible discomfort if you haven't been able to burp post-surgery. Me, i've been belching like a sailor since 2 days post-op, and I drink a sugar-free carbonated soft drink (soda) about every 2 days.

It's up to you, really. If you feel more comfortable giving it up "just in case", then by all means do it, but it's not essential.

Hope this helps,

Annie.

The reason why I don't chew gum is because it makes my stomach juices churn. I swallow alot of saliva and I think my stomach thinks I am eating food and it bothers me. Anyone else have this, or is it just me?

I drink diet coke all the time,I just shake the stew out of it! lol I get a 20 oz bottle and pour some out and shake til it's flat. It takes a little while but to me worth it!

:tongue2:Two different things that I can add - I was told that gum was ok if not swallowed, and not chewed with such gusto that it puts a lot of air into your system.

As far as carbonation, in addition to the gas it adds to your system, the carbonation will corode your band over a long period of time.

It's been almost 5 months since my banding, and I've had no problem going without my Diet Coke! Plain old Water tastes great now!

I've lost 70 pounds with four fills so far and am closing in on my desired restriction.

Good luck to you all!

Nancee

Wow! I can see where the carbonation might be hard on the stomach lining--but how does it corrode the band? It shouldn't even come in contact with the band. The band is on the outside of the stomach. If carbonated drinks sit in your pouch that long, I would think you are waaaaay too tight.

This confuses me......any more info on it???

Kat

Nancee, I am questioning the corrosion thing too? How can carbonation corrode your band if the 2 do not come in contact? did your doctor tell you that this will happen or are you speculating?

Thanks,

Ah ya, as I think about it, it doesn't make sense to me. The dietician was the one who told me that. I will challenge her next time I see her - thanks for the wakeup moment!!

(You know in the beginning you are so overwhelmed by everything and believe all the info you're given. After a while you kinda learn by trial and error within boundries - that's what's been fun!):frown:

Ah ya, as I think about it, it doesn't make sense to me. The dietician was the one who told me that. I will challenge her next time I see her - thanks for the wakeup moment!!

(You know in the beginning you are so overwhelmed by everything and believe all the info you're given. After a while you kinda learn by trial and error within boundries - that's what's been fun!)

OOooohhh let us know how she responds!!

LOL

Kat

I like that idea! I am a diet coke fanatic and need the taste...I also had a suggestion from a bander, to swish and spit...you can have the taste with the bubbles and then spit it out, so it doesn't jeaopardize the band...Cathy