Question:
Should I stop Diet Dr Pepper prior to surgery?
This question has surely been asked before but I couldn't find it anywhere. I am truly addicted to Diet Dr Pepper. For the most part, it is all I drink. I know I have to stop after surgery. I have tried to stop my addiction in the past and the result was always the same....an unbearable headache that lasted for days. So my question is...should I stop now or when I have surgery? My surgery is scheduled for 7/9. Thanks :) — Michelle_S (posted on June 26, 2003)
June 26, 2003
A lot of people will tell you that drinking soda will cause your pouch to
stretch, even though there is no evidence to back it up. If you are
drinking caffeneited soda you should stop. I have heard caffeine depletes
the bones of calcium. I have been drinking diet decaffeneited soda since
about 2.5 months out and I continue to have succesful weight loss. I try to
drink more water before soda first though. Soda is certainly no substitute
for water. As always follow the instructions of your surgeon. Good Luck! :
)
— J. W.
June 26, 2003
Trust me... after surgery you won't want to drink anything with carbonation
in it because it hurts too bad to burp! LOL!! I was a diet pepsi addict, so
I can understand your pain! LOL! I will now, occasionally, have a diet dr.
pepper, diet pepsi, etc. but I try to get the caffiene free when I do (the
caffene can cause you to be hungry when you are not really hungry! The
caffene also gives me a headache, anymore!). Also... and this is important.
If you want to try it after surgery, make sure you shake the heck out of it
over and over again until it is flat. I know... gross! But, trust me... you
get one of those bubbles in your tummy and you will never want to drink
another soda again! It really HURTS! I couldn't tolerate even flat soda
for the first year out! Good luck, and be prepared... you are going to
have to give up a lot of comfort foods, and Diet Dr. Pepper may just be
something you will never have again. Too much sodium any way!! LOL! I'd
drink it right up to the day before surgery! LOL!! That way you don't feel
that you deprived yourself and try to drink it too soon after surgery and
end up hurting yourself. The day before surgery, drink, drink, drink as
much as you can. You are going to be so thirsty after surgery... at least
you can stave it off BEFORE surgery! :~)
— Sharon M. B.
June 26, 2003
FYI at our support meeting last month the leader took a bottle of mountain
dew and a bottle of coke and put a balloon. Within the hour, the balloons
had swollen to twice the size of our pouches. Saw this with my own eyes.
The other poster is right about the calcuim and caffeine. I have just a
sip or two of diet coke occasionally with my docs approval. When a hot
drink doesn't break up the mucous we have a sip of a diet drink will. But
no way would I take more than a sip or two.
— Delores S.
June 26, 2003
I don't even have a date yet and I stopped drinking Diet Mt. Dew six weeks
ago. It was hard. I'm like you it was all I drank. Now I drink water and
crystal light. I cant' say I feel better but it just one more thing I'll
have out of the way when I get to have my surgery. I feel preparation is a
big help. Now I'm thirsty....DeAnne
— DeAnne H.
June 26, 2003
I would stop immediately if it gives you headaches when you stop. Why?
Because you want those headaches to be GONE by the time you have to deal
with surgery stress and discomfort! It only lasts for a few days, but why
add headaches to the mix?
— ladyphy
June 26, 2003
I'm sorry, I just had to post again...I get so angry when people compare
the stomach or pouch to a balloon or ziplock bag. The balloon has no
openings and the pouch does (2 of them.) A lot of the air comes back up
from burping. Of course the balloon will swell to half it's size...the air
has no where to go. Again, do what feels best for your body, some of the
posters are right, my first sip of soda felt like acid going down, but I
got used to drinking it again. Dr. Pepper makes a decaf diet soda that
should be ok for you to try, if your surgeon gives you the go ahead. : )
— J. W.
June 27, 2003
The headache you're getting when you try to quit the DDP is from caffeine
withdrawal--it's a very common symptom. My advice is to wean yourself from
it before your surgery by gradually reducing the amount you drink until you
can give it up completely; the last thing you want to do right after you've
had surgery is suffer the pain of caffeine withdrawal! My surgeon
recommended that all his patients get off caffeine well before the surgery,
and I was NOT happy--I loved my morning coffee, and I drank Diet Pepsi
every day (it was harder to give up than coffee!!).
— Maggie T.
June 28, 2003
As the prior posts have noted, caffeine is addictive, and withdrawal causes
headaches. How you stop it depends on how you handle addiction to a
substance. Can you slowly wean yourself to lower and lower amounts to
bypass the headaches? Or are you one of those people who need to just go
cold turkey and get it over with, and just deal with the headaches? It's
up to you. Caffeine can affect alot of things in your body electrolyte
wise, especially as it is a potent diuretic (makes you pee a lot). But one
of the worst things about pop of any kind is that one the fizz ingrediants
is phosphorus. Phosphorus binds with calcium, people who drink a lot of
pop can actually cause bone loss as the phosphorus binds with the calcium
in the blood stream, then the body takes more calcium out of the bones and
teeth to do its normal functions, and the phosphorus binds to that and it
is a vicious cycle. After wls, one of the minerals you must pay attention
to is your calcium level, so drinking pop would just cause further
depletion if taken in large amounts. Granted, we are not talking about the
occastional pop can full. But people who regularly drink large quantities
(3+ cans) of pop each day put themselves at risk, especially as they age
and calcium levels are harder to maintain (especailly women). Just some
thoughts.
— Karen M.
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