Carbonation Dilema

On the forum here just recently, there has been some discussion in regards to tea, water, sugar, sodas, etc.  I have always had thoughts and opinions in regards to the carbonation issue, when you are a fresh postop patient it is definitely more important to avoid the carbonation then.  The pouch is so newly cut and then fixed with staples or stitches, it is very easy to stretch = cause bleeding/tugging on suture lines = possible adhesion/scar tissue from having to reheal over and over or worst case scenario - blowing out the pouch.  The gases can't escape as easily then through the top or bottom outlets because of postop swelling.

Now, as a patient gets farther out (this is a different time period for each and every person), the carbonation is not as much of a factor.  Just think about it from a physiological point of view = we all fart, belch, and pass gas with no problem - probably even more so now postop than we ever did preop.  Food and beverages have to get in and out of your belly some way = thus the holes above and below your pouch.  There is and always will be an outlet for gas to escape.  It is not like your pouch is going to seal itself off after you drink a carboanted beverage and then blow up - it's just not going to happen!!!!!  No way, no how.

I truly feel that many people are instructed that carbonation is a bad/evil thing because ultimately, for many of us, sugary sodas were horrible choices we used to drink while also consuming sugary/high carbohydate/high fat foods = empty unnecessary calories = more fat put on our already overloaded bodies.  For many of us, myself included (I used to drink 5-6 liters of Coke per day way back when I was an overweight ticking time bomb who was ready to explode), I was addicted just like an alcoholic from sun up to sun down I had a coke on my person or within an arms reach.  I couldn't get enough of the stuff and just did not realize how addicted I truly was.  To this day, I remember how nice and tasty a cold 20 ounce regular Coke was.  Now for some, sodas are just too much of a trigger that might make one want to resort to their old ways and habits.  As such, many postop patients are told to stay away from them forever - which is probably what most people should do. 

In closing, sodas whether diet or regular, should not encompass your daily intake requirement ever, but at the same time, it is not going to undermine your weightloss (unless they are the regular sodas - I recommend only diet sodas as I make this statement) and make you regain all of your weight as long as you use some common sense.  I guess that is the real dilema isn't it - do you have the common sense and self-control to make good choices?  That is problably the reason many of us ended up being so overweight to begin with.  I would hope that after going through all of the preop dieting, the actual surgery itself, as well as the strict postop diet you must follow - one would have hopefully rewired their thought processes so they will finally make better choices in regards to the foods and drinks we chose to eat.  

In closing, I am not suggesting we should all be okay to drink carbonation.  I am just saying from a logical point of view, carbonation in and of itself is not an evil thing, nor should it be viewed as such.  I like my one or two daily diet carbonated drinks.  They bring me some sanity.  They give me choices in addition to the water and crystal light I drink daily.  I have read on many of the recent forums here how many of you have become bored stiff of just drinking water (even flavored water).  I like the variety my choices give me each day.  It gives me something to look forward to.  That is what got me through the postop diet after having surgery = knowing there were better food choices to eat after having nothing but clear liquids and broth for 1-2 weeks.

I'm no doctor, don't take my word as law or something to go by.  Do your own research and do what is best for you personally.  I have done lots of research about this issue and made my own decisions based on my learning.

Be good, Taz

I'm competely with you on this.  I haven't gone back to my old diet soda habits, even though I understand intellectually about the ultimately benign nature of carbonated soda drinks.  It's almost as if carbonated sodas are a "marker" of my old eating habits, dietary choices and obesity, so I avoid them.

If I have the infrequent occasion to sip a diet carbonated beverage (maybe I'm at a party or I'm visiting as a guest), I drink up, and I don't give it much of a second thought.  But I haven't returned to them as a central part of my fluid intake.

/Steve

My surgeon said that carbonation ex spans the pouch. I leave them alone.

Yes, I agree with you totally early on.  Think about it like this, food and water both stretch your pouch.  That's what it's for.  Your pouch is a pliable piece of tissue that is meant to expand and shrink, like a balloon.  Fresh postops can cause themselves trouble - see what I have stated previously in my original post.  Just think about it from an anatomy and physiological process and you will see my logic.  In the beginning, the need to stay away from carbonation is a legitimate concern and definitely necessary for the safety and well-being of your life.  Much later on though, it becomes more of a scare tactic - in my honest opinion.  They (doctors and nutritionist) are trying to keep people away from a trigger mechanism that can be quite volatile if left unchecked, I do support this line of thinking.  Many people are unable to manage certain aspects of their diet and it is just easier to stay away from carbonation all together. 

I am not defending the need to drink soda (diet in my case), but it kills me to hear people say how god aweful it is to have a carbonated beverage. 

Being two years out like you seem to be, I would think you might not have the same issues as a fresh postop, but you are doing the right by doing what your doctor told you to do.  My Doctors office states at the end of one year, it is okay to drink diet sodas, this even has the nutritionist blessing.  This practice is a Center of Excellence for bariatric surgery.  


Good luck and thanks for sharing, Taz

I think you're trying to rationalize drinking soda but it all goes with us changing our lives to be healthier overall and not just having surgery to drop a few pounds.

There has been research on diet sodas and how they affect our brains in such a way that we end up eating more calories than we would have otherwise to make up for the lack of sugar that we are tricking ourselves into thinking that we are drinking. In other words, the chemicals in diet sodas that taste sweet but can't be metabolized by our bodies, causes our body to react as if we actually did drink something with sugar. When it realizes there were no calories we end up making up for it by eating more or craving things with more calories later on. Most of my family are overweight and they all LOVE diet coke! Go figure...

Oftentimes it's probably more like the triple-double-decker-super-max-loaded cheeseburger, the shoebox-sized order of french fries and the double-decker fried apple pie for desert that folks order to go with the diet soda that causes the problem.   

Yeah . . . go figure!

I personally don't see it as a rationalization about being able to drink diet soda.  I just laid out the facts about it from a physiological point of view.  Simply put, maybe it's in your best interest to steer clear of diet sodas altogether.  For you and your family, soda in general probably represents a trigger mechanism that leads to bad food choices.  Let me tell you though, it's not the diet soda that makes a person chose unhealthy foods.  There are other underlying issues.  That is what truly needs to be addressed. 

It's like this, and as I stated this before, it's about personal choices and decisions that an individual makes.  My doctor put it to me this way early on in this weightloss process = first lose lots of weight - which I have and then some, secondly - retrain my mind and body to eat and live healthy - which I have done and continue to do (this is never ending process as my doctor says - once a foodaholic, probably always going to be a foodaholic), thirdly - live life like a normal person and enjoy lifes simple pleasures = don't over indulge in foods = that is where the small pouch come in to play.  It's not like I had this surgery so I could never enjoy something like a slice of my daughters wedding cake or having a drink of a diet coke.  It's about moderation.  Most of us preop had stomachs that would hold a 9 course meal, a six pack of Budweiser or Pepsi, and then some ice creme on top of that.  Postop, we now have this small pouch the size of an egg.  I just can't even begin to fathom even eating a double decker cheeseburger anymore, medium fries, and a Coke.  I'm not worried that a diet drink will send me over the edge.  I steer clear of sugary drinks - I love my two diet sodas each and everyday though, I eat lots of protein, I have minimal carbs, and I work my ARSE off in the gym 2 hours everyday except for Sunday.   

Diet Sodas are not evil.  They don't make you run for all things unhealthy.  Let me tell you, I loved Crystal Light preop when I was morbidly obese, that was water based and it has some of the same chemicals that diet sodas do - Now do I attribute Crystal Light to me eating horrible foods then, I think not.  I think people need to be logical about caring for themselves.

Taz  

There has been research on diet sodas and how they affect our brains in such a way that we end up eating more calories than we would have otherwise to make up for the lack of sugar that we are tricking ourselves into thinking that we are drinking. In other words, the chemicals in diet sodas that taste sweet but can't be metabolized by our bodies, causes our body to react as if we actually did drink something with sugar. When it realizes there were no calories we end up making up for it by eating more or craving things with more calories later on.

No, you are incorrect.  You are simply restating a hypothesis which so far has not been borne out by any research,  There have been a few suggestive but preliminary and _ inconclusive_ animal experiments on the effects of artificial sweeteners on feeding behavior that might support such a hypothesis, but more to the point, there certainly have not been any studies in people.  None.  Zilch.  Yet, it's regurgitated as a "fact".

Furthermore, the prohibition given to post-op RNYers is about carbonated beverages, presumably diet carbonated beverages, and not against artificially sweetened fluids, such as diet iced tea or Crystal Light.  If one were to misinterpret the nature of that so-called "research", one might think that entire swathes of RNYers were condemning themselves to failure.  Either that, or a lot of NUTs and surgeons hadn't yet received the message that Crystal Light is worse for people than Crystal Meth.

/Steve

I can have a few sips of diet soda.  If my wife is having a diet soda, I can take a few sips of hers.  If I have a can of diet soda in my den, it usually lasts me several hours.  If you want soda, water it down with ice or another low calorie liquid (water).   When I became about 6 mos post-op I was told that I could have small sips of soda.  I was told to remember that the gas could always escape through a belch.  Even at 3 yrs post- of I have to sip soda slowly.

 I don't know if it's my imagination or what, but I seem to be able to eat more hard meat or chicken for at least several hours after having Diet Coke.