I was told by someone that once you have the lap surgery that you can no longer have soda pop of ANY kind ...... not even diet. Is this true?

Different Doctors have different rules

Different Doctors have different theories

I was told by my Dr. No carbonation and I do not miss it one bit

It has been 16 months with NO carbonation

I have found other drinks to satisfy me, mainly Water and crystal light, & ice tea

Giving up carbonation has been a small sacrafice in such tremendous success for me. Losing 95 lbs is well worth no carbonation in my situation, others may feel diferently

I wasn't a big soda drinker pre-band so no biggie for me. I have heard enough from others that I still avoid it. I don't know how good it is for your band/stoma, it's all a bunch of chemical crap anyway. Banded or not, there's nothing about sodas that's good for you. Banded or not, Water is still the best for your body in so many ways.

That said, I still take a small sip occasionally if it's handy and I'm thirsty. My stomach hasn't popped yet. And I still drink more Crystal Light than I do water most days. Oh well.

My Doc said avoid it, if I'm restricted, it could bulge my pouch or if it gets through, the trapped gas could be painful. I do have a regular pepsi once in a while, one a month maybe, without a problem, but don't indulge much and don't miss it like I thought I would. I was a big pop drinker.

I've read that diet soda is loaded with formaldehyde, formaldehyde is stored in fat cells, formaldehyde protects those cells from degradation... drink diet pop, don't gain weight. Drink diet pop, don't lose weight... talk about your catch 22

well, it might be true for you. It might be that your band doesn't like it/won't tollarate it.

What is true for one bandster doesn't automatically make it true for all bandsters.

My doc said none of us want carbonation, otherwise we'd all be crying over missing Perrier Water. He said we only want the crap inside the carbonated water. So true for me considering I crave the chemicals in Diet Pepsi. However, he said there's no proof or documentation that carbonation causes slippage or problems with the band, unless a huge burp manages to get trapped. But I don't know any bandsters that have problems ripping a huge burp!

My surgeon knows my biggest problem is ice cream. The amount of fat in a pint of Ben and Jerry's is disgusting, but ice cream is my biggest problem. A couple weeks ago my surgeon told me he'd rather see me as a "Diet Pepsi Filling Station" than for me to ever rendezvous with Ben & Jerry again. Since then I've been backing off the sugar, because at least I have my Diet Pepsi crutch.

No, my doctor does NOT recommend that anyone drinks any kind of diet or regular soda simply for the fact they are loaded with nothing but crap. But for me, he said go ahead and use the Diet Pepsi if that's what it will take to keep me from night bingeing.

If you can quit and stay off it, more power to you. There's absolutely no nutritional value in any kind of soda. Maybe one day I'll be able to quit, too. But I didn't eat any sugar today since I had my DP fix.

Thanks all for your replys! I am a HUGE, HUGE Diet Coke drinker here. I drink a full 2 liter bottle EVERY day ...... sometime more!! If I don't have it I go crazy.

I am hoping to have ny band surgery before the end of the year. I sure hope I can make it w/out the pop!!!!!

I have also been told NO carbonation ever again. It irritates the pouch and is potentially painful as well as stretching the pouch. Not to mention the mere crap you are putting in your body with all of the caffeine, sugar, sodium and additives.

I gave up soda and carbonations and will never even try it. It was hard for the first 3 weeks but now I don't even miss it. And I had a serious Pepsi addiction. Had some headaches for the first 3 weeks but now, nothing.

Although, I do say this as I munch on some M&M's for Breakfast.....

My doctor told me that the reason to avoid carbonation is because it will stretch your pouch out and then take longer to get full, making it harder to lose weight. True? I dunno. I say, if you've been able to tolerate it and your weight loss is going where you want, go for it! I can certainly see where it would be a good alternative to downing a pint of ice cream at night (ice cream is my downfall as well). 8-)

Delarla,

I have to confess I have a real bad craving for ice cream every night, never before I was banded, it just goes down so nice and easy. I only eat Edy's light it's 1/3 less fat and calories, and I limit myself to 6 oz at night, it is a fight to stop but it does help the craving for something sweet. Maybe that cold be a reason why I am not losing quickly but I know that I am over 30lbs and 4 months out...

I also was a hugh soda drinker before surgery but it turned out that I barely missed it. What I do miss is drinking anything during or right after a meal. That is my biggest issue right now. I am two months out.