Carbonation

[Go Kart Mozart 44]

I was originally going to have the lap-band surgery, and it was made quite clear that I was never to have carbonated beverages . I ultimately decided on the sleeve (obviously) and had the procedure on Wednesday. I was just wondering if the carbonation rule applies to all WLS, or just the lap-band?

[laylasmojo 10]

I have not had the suregery yet but my Dr. and Nut say no cabination there is just not enough room / streach for all that gas.

[wannalise 15]

This one is controversial! I am sure you will get multiple answers. Some surgeons absoluetly say no, but there are some who say the sleeve is very difficult to stretch compared to other surgeries. I've chosen not to but my reason is because I was uber addicted to diet coke and for me I associated it with the kinds of food that would cause weight gain, and secondly I had loads of tummy problems had to get an endoscopy and was told I needed to be on SIX presciptions (at 28) but before I started them my dr wanted me to try a week without soda and all my symptoms went away. This is not a common occurence but was enough to keep me away.

After all my jabber, it ultimately comes down to what you are comfortable with, and your surgeon and NUT's advice is probably more valuable then what your internet pals can give you.

Anna

[Go Kart Mozart 44]

After all my jabber, it ultimately comes down to what you are comfortable with, and your surgeon and NUT's advice is probably more valuable then what your internet pals can give you.

Anna

I'm definitely going to ask when I go see him on Thursday, but this morning I had a "eureka!" moment where I realized that, by switching surgeries, I might have found a carbonation loophole. Heh.

[Cknorte 7]

I think that after you heal, as said before it is really hard to stretch out your new tummy, however, I'm only 1 1/2 weeks out, I was a diet coke addict, and I haven't missed it really.

I've talked to a few post sleevers that do have carbonation, and are ok, others have tried it after they are fully healed (6 weeks ish) and find out they don't like it anymore.

You have your stomach, albeit a much smaller one, but it is a full functioning one...so it's up to you and your nutritionist.

I may try it after I am healed and if I hate it or it bothers me....I'll probably be addicted to crystal light by then....ha!

[Tiffykins 673]

It doesn't even apply to the band. There are tons of band and RNY patients that drink soda, carbonated drinks without issue.

I drink soda, rum/cokes when out with the girls, and have zero issues. It hasn't stretched my sleeve, and I've been drinking soda since I hit goal nearly 7 months ago. My stomach holds the same amount of food, and I was scoped at 8 months out, my sleeve is tight, slim, and perfect. Soda is a liquid just like Water, tea, coffee, it goes in, hits the pyloric valve and empties into the intestines. If all other liquids do this, why would soda sit in there and hang out? That's my surgeon's and many other surgeon's opinion. This subject is just about as controversial as the WLS patients should never eat rice or Pasta for the rest of their lives.

Sodas are empty calories, it does leach the Calcium out of our bones, it's a lot of sodium if you drink too many, and it's not recommended for the weight loss phase. Moderation is key, I have a couple sodas a week. If I'm out at the bar, tying one on, I have umm several, and I think the rum is probably more detrimental than the stinkin' Coca Cola.

[educationrulz 18]

It doesn't even apply to the band. There are tons of band and RNY patients that drink soda, carbonated drinks without issue.

I drink soda, rum/cokes when out with the girls, and have zero issues. It hasn't stretched my sleeve, and I've been drinking soda since I hit goal nearly 7 months ago. My stomach holds the same amount of food, and I was scoped at 8 months out, my sleeve is tight, slim, and perfect. Soda is a liquid just like Water, tea, coffee, it goes in, hits the pyloric valve and empties into the intestines. If all other liquids do this, why would soda sit in there and hang out? That's my surgeon's and many other surgeon's opinion. This subject is just about as controversial as the WLS patients should never eat rice or Pasta for the rest of their lives.

Sodas are empty calories, it does leach the Calcium out of our bones, it's a lot of sodium if you drink too many, and it's not recommended for the weight loss phase. Moderation is key, I have a couple sodas a week. If I'm out at the bar, tying one on, I have umm several, and I think the rum is probably more detrimental than the stinkin' Coca Cola.

So Tiffy did you not drink ANY soda until you hit goal? I'm thinking that if a person could tolerate diet soda, it wouldn't affect your weight loss or health if done in moderation. I can't imagine being able to drink much soda after being sleeved anyway. Can you drink several in a short amount of time?

I think Anna makes a good point about food associations and starting bad habits. I'm thinking I'd be ok in that area because I switched to diet sodas right before my preop phase to start decreasing my carbs. So, I could easily do diet sodas and not see them as a food trigger the way I might regular sodas. I don't care for artificial sweetners but I guess they'll have to be a way of life until I get to goal. I'm just wondering at what stage in my postop diet might it be safe to try a carbonated drink without worrying about causing damage.

My docs office is on the NO side of the debate with carbonated beverages. But, there are other things where they leave it up to the patient to use with caution where I've seen that other docs say absolutely NO (like straws, Pasta, rice). (I happen to do great with straws - no gas, no problems, more fluids taken in, and pasta and rice seem ok for me in very small amounts.) The nurse told me that while the carbonation is in your stomach it could sit there before the pyloric valve dumps and cause some distress. It seems to me like this might vary from person to person like the other controversial items.

[Donna4545 13]

I can see why so many surgeons say no carbonation. Lots of people have problems with gas and burping early on, so it seems like a bad idea to make it worse with a soda. Once you're all healed, 1-2 years out, the stomach does indeed stretch and gas would contribute to stretching. I'd rather err on the side of caution. It's kind of like smoking. Not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer, but I'd rather not take the chance. Same with using straws.

[Tiffykins 673]

So Tiffy did you not drink ANY soda until you hit goal? I'm thinking that if a person could tolerate diet soda, it wouldn't affect your weight loss or health if done in moderation. I can't imagine being able to drink much soda after being sleeved anyway. Can you drink several in a short amount of time?

I think Anna makes a good point about food associations and starting bad habits. I'm thinking I'd be ok in that area because I switched to diet sodas right before my preop phase to start decreasing my carbs. So, I could easily do diet sodas and not see them as a food trigger the way I might regular sodas. I don't care for artificial sweetners but I guess they'll have to be a way of life until I get to goal. I'm just wondering at what stage in my postop diet might it be safe to try a carbonated drink without worrying about causing damage.

My docs office is on the NO side of the debate with carbonated beverages. But, there are other things where they leave it up to the patient to use with caution where I've seen that other docs say absolutely NO (like straws, Pasta, rice). (I happen to do great with straws - no gas, no problems, more fluids taken in, and Pasta and rice seem ok for me in very small amounts.) The nurse told me that while the carbonation is in your stomach it could sit there before the pyloric valve dumps and cause some distress. It seems to me like this might vary from person to person like the other controversial items.

I didn't drink them during my losing stage. I think I might have taken a few sips here and there, but I didn't drink them because I was losing, and focused on getting in my fluids.

I drink them on occasion now. Maybe 2/12oz sodas per week. For me, I beat head hunger, and a lot of the "food demons" with the band. I seriously do not have a problem going back to Protein only. I don't go into carb withdraws, I don't crave carbs after eating carbs, I just don't have those issues. I'm not bragging. I got over a lot of that crap because the band forced me to do it. It's not because I wanted to do it. I learned a long time ago, and hundreds of pounds later that deprivation does not work for me. I'm not saying it doesn't work for some, but for me, my mental caseload, deprivation only causes binging on junk.

When I'm out drinking with the girls. I'll drink rum/coke. Think about a 12oz glass full of ice 1.5oz of rum and then it's got less than 6oz of soda. I sip on them. I don't down 10 of them a night, but I do drink 4-6 on any given night without issue. When I say night, I'm talking we start out at dinner around 6pm and we close the bars at 2am. So, over 8 hours I might have 4-6 drinks. Seriously, it's not that much over that much time. Not to mention the Water I'm drinking in between.

I can see why so many surgeons say no carbonation. Lots of people have problems with gas and burping early on, so it seems like a bad idea to make it worse with a soda. Once you're all healed, 1-2 years out, the stomach does indeed stretch and gas would contribute to stretching. I'd rather err on the side of caution. It's kind of like smoking. Not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer, but I'd rather not take the chance. Same with using straws.

Early on I agree that soda would be uncomfortable. But, there is minimal sleeve stretching. We can eat more sliders as time goes on, but honestly I can eat the same amount of dense Protein that I could at 6-8 months out, and I'm at almost 14 months out.

I also know several vets with 2-4years under their belt and none of them can eat anymore now than what they could at 1 year out.

The stomach finally heals, relaxes and learns to accept food again. As long as the fundus (big stretchy part of the stomach) has been fully dissected, the remaining portion of the stomach will have minimal stretching. I can still barely eat an entire 6oz of yogurt in 15-20 minutes. The slower I eat, the more I fit in. It's a "trick" to fitting more in, just like drinking warm liquids before eating. I broke down last week and did the cottage cheese test . This was established for RNY pouches, but several sleevesters have done this just to see how we measure up.

A4 The Cottage cheese Test

So, how do you measure up? Are you accomplishing the feeling of satiety at each meal? Do you know how big your stomach pouch is? Would you like to? Nearly every patient is curious to know just exactly how big their stomach pouch is. The following technique is used by bariatric surgeons and patients to determine the functional size of a patient's stomach pouch.

The idea for this technique began with Dr. E. E. Mason, at one of the Iowa Bariatric Symposia in the early 1980's, who suggested that it might be useful to ask patients to eat cottage cheese, in a structured manner, to attempt to determine their functional meal volume at different times postoperatively.

Dr. Laytham Flanangan (website: The Oregon Center for Bariatric Surgery) is known for his research and experience in developing the "Cottage Cheese Test." This test is accepted as a standardized, reproducible measurement of the functional size of the stomach pouch in a person who has undergone a gastric bypass procedure.

The Cottage Cheese Test

• Purchase a container of small curd low-fat cottage cheese.
  
• Begin the test with a full container of cottage cheese, and perform the test in the morning before eating anything else. This will be your Breakfast on that day.
  
• Eat fairly quickly until you feel full (less than five minutes). Note that the small soft curds do not require much chewing. You are eating rapidly so you will fill the pouch before there is time for any food to flow out of it. After eating your "fill" of cottage cheese, you will be left with a partially eaten container that has an empty space where cottage cheese used to be.
  
• Measure the volume of cottage cheese you have eaten by filling a two cup (16 fl.oz.) measuring cup with Water. Pour water into the container of cottage cheese until the water level rises to the original top level of the cottage cheese.
  
• The amount of water poured into the container is the functional size of your pouch.
  

Dr. Flanagan's research indicates that the average volume of the mature stomach pouch, measured by this method, is 5.5 ounces (163 ml). Additionally, he reached the conclusion that, "sizes ranging up to 9 ounces have NO IMPACT on the person's success in weight loss". This means that unless your pouch holds a greater volume than 9 ounces (267 ml), the exact size of your pouch is not a critical factor in whether or not you can lose excess weight and then manage your weight as time progresses.

I could only eat 4.25ounces in the time limit before I had my little hiccup, and then I felt uncomfortable as it moved through. I forced myself to eat cottage cheese because I wanted to see just how my sleeve was doing.

It's been published that excessive overeating early out can cause stretching, but even many studies are being shown that carbonation has no bearing on pouches or fully functioning stomachs.

If carbonation stretches out our stomachs, why didn't our stomach stretch out to huge amounts for those of us that consumed 6-12 sodas a day pre-op.

I'm not trying to argue. I'm just playing devil's advocate. Follow your surgeon's advice. I'm doing exactly what my surgeon and nut suggest and it's apparently working. I'm not suggesting your (general you here) program or surgeon/nut advice won't work. I'm just saying that there does NOT have to be a cookie cutter rule for WLS, especially for the sleeve.

[Donna4545 13]

I like the cottage cheese test. Thanks for posting that--it makes me curious to try it.

[Morgandobes 0]

Tiff

Can you expand on this? "

It's been published that excessive overeating early out can cause stretching"?

Thanks,

Lisa

[Tiffykins 673]

Tiff

Can you expand on this? "

It's been published that excessive overeating early out can cause stretching"?

Thanks,

Lisa

Let me check my links, and research articles for the information.

Essentially, while the stomach is healing it shows that overeating can cause some stretching of the stomach tissue that is left behind. It'll probably take me a couple of days to find the stuff. My surgeon told me the same thing.

[educationrulz 18]

I can see why so many surgeons say no carbonation. Lots of people have problems with gas and burping early on, so it seems like a bad idea to make it worse with a soda. Once you're all healed, 1-2 years out, the stomach does indeed stretch and gas would contribute to stretching. I'd rather err on the side of caution. It's kind of like smoking. Not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer, but I'd rather not take the chance. Same with using straws.

How on earth could I possibly be stretching or over-bloating my stomach with gas by using straws when I feel absolutely NO discomfort what so ever when using them?! I do feel discomfort when I eat too fast. I do feel discomfort when I eat that one extra bite. Clearly the discomfort means that I'm taking my stomach beyond it's limits. So, I see the link here between repeated overeating and possibly stretching your stomach. I guess this is what happens to many RNY patients. I fail to see a link between drinking with a straw and stretching my stomach when it does not cause me to have gas or discomfort. I'm sorry but this is ridiculous.

Besides, after having experienced dehydration, the fact that using a straw increases my Fluid intake is okeydokey with me.

[laylasmojo 10]

How on earth could I possibly be stretching or over-bloating my stomach with gas by using straws when I feel absolutely NO discomfort what so ever when using them?! I do feel discomfort when I eat too fast. I do feel discomfort when I eat that one extra bite. Clearly the discomfort means that I'm taking my stomach beyond it's limits. So, I see the link here between repeated overeating and possibly stretching your stomach. I guess this is what happens to many RNY patients. I fail to see a link between drinking with a straw and stretching my stomach when it does not cause me to have gas or discomfort. I'm sorry but this is ridiculous.

Besides, after having experienced dehydration, the fact that using a straw increases my Fluid intake is okeydokey with me.

I feel the same as you I swollow less air when drinking with a straw, but some people tend to swallow more air with a straw. I personaly think it is more when people get to the bottom of the cup full of ice are are sucking up those last few drops that they get a lot of air, which I guess could cause discomfort

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

For me, drinking soda makes me feel like I am going to explode. I can have a few sips, but any more than that, I need to burp and I can't. Until I do, it's very uncomfortable.