I was always told by Dr. Terracina and all the nurses that drinking a carbonated drink is bad for you after the surgery because it blows up your pouch. Well, I wanted to find out for myself what it does and how I will react to it. So I bought a diet coke yesterday. I always made it diet because there are no carbs in it at all. Anyway, When I took the first sip and I mean a light sip, just to get the carbonation in and a good taste, when I swallowed, I could feel it fizzing in my pouch but it didn't hurt, it was just a very funny feeling. So I probably drank about half the 20 oz. bottle and threw the rest away. I'm not use to the taste anymore. After a period of time, you start to notice you don't have the taste for things like you did before the surgery. Everything taste so different to me now, for one of the mean reasons is because I quit smoking. I haven't had a cigarette in 2 months and I feel GREAT!