Why is carbonation a no no?

I'm curious as to why this is bad. Several months back there was a post about it and I had mentioned that my NUT said that it can stretch your stomach/pouch....which then it seemed the group here said in reply that that wasn't true. So I'm just wondering why its bad?

And as an fyi, I haven't had a drop of carbonation coming up on a year now...just curious is all.

I stopped drinking anything with carbonation in October of 2013, which was two months before my WLS. Mainly I did it because I personally feel that soda is unhealthy and a trigger for bad eating for me. It isn't that way for everyone -- but for me it is.

That said, it is a proven myth that is still perpetuated by many bariatric programs that carbonation will stretch the stomach and can even explode the pouch or sleeve. This is NOT true at all -- and has been completely disproven over and over again. It's sort of like that starvation myth that people toss out as "common knowledge" --

That said, on a very personal note and with the added acknowledgment that it is completely anecdotal based on my observations: when I was attending my bariatric program's support group religiously for the first two years -- and semi-monthly in the last year -- I paid very close attention to those who did not meet their goals or who had significant regain. I wanted to carefully mark what they did or did not do in order to learn from their possible mistakes. One common thread I saw was that many of them were avid pop drinkers (mostly diet pop). I have no idea why that would be -- and maybe it was just a coincidence or that I noticed it because I was missing soda -- but it was pretty common.

I do know there are a lot of long term successful vets who do drink soda --- so again, that's just my observation -- but the long and short is that there is not medical reason not to drink soda after WLS.

Kat, I appreciated reading this, especially in connection with another recent post you made about thinking of "one little bite" being like heroin. Personally, soda is not a trigger for me at all. Just not. Since surgery, I might have a sip or two 2-3 times a year. Before surgery, I might have had a carbonated drink 3-4 times a year. (My husband likes to buy designer sodas "from Santa" for Christmas day, and on summer vacation to a favorite spot, we sometimes buy a certain brand of soda as a tradition.) So when I read other comments on this thread, where people are saying they don't drink much soda, maybe 2-3 cans a week, I think, Oh my! That is a lot of soda!

But I do have lots of other food triggers, obviously. I wish that all those other trigger foods were like soda for me--a nice treat once in a while, but not an eat-too-much-too-often-or-for-a-hit food. Anyhow, I have really been thinking of your heroin connection this past week, thinking of it A LOT, because in the past few weeks, I have started acting on some old triggers. Adding in my awareness of how I respond to soda (ho hum) helps me see what a non-addictive thing (for me) feels like.

You think 2-3 cans a week is a lot? You'd be staging an intervention for me. For sure.

I've never been a big soda drinker, maybe one or two cans a day, so it's not a trigger for me. I do enjoy a drink with fizz and so have never stopped.

I also drink tea and water during the day.

Early post op carbonation would probably feel uncomfortable but at almost 5 years out I occassionally drink zero calorie flavored sparkling waters. I have no problems now.

I want a beer.

ha ha ha

I saw a demonstration at a support meeting years ago. They filled a balloon with Coca Cola, tied it tightly and put it in a big pan.

During the meeting the balloon exploded with a loud noise.

That was to show what could happen to your pouch is you drank soda after surgery.

Later I realized that your pouch is open on both ends and is not going to explode. I do notice that some who drink a lot of diet sodas seem to have regain but others have no problem with it.

Like Kat, I see it as unhealthy. I did not go through the stress of surgery to screw up my body with lots of unneeded chemicals.

I agree with what others have written above. I also think that many docs assume that soda pop is synonymous with sugary drinks. It never has been for me.

If you can drink zero calorie carbonated beverages with no discomfort, they don't cause cravings for more food, or for sugary foods, and they don't make you eat more, there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. If they do any of those things, avoid them.