I Used To Drink 20 Cans Of Fizzy Drinks A Day And Now I Have Heart Disease

[NellieGirl]

I used to drink 20 cans of fizzy drinks a day, mostly coke and irn bru.

A month ago, I was diagnosed with heart disease and I got told I needed to stop drinking fizzy drinks completely or I would be at risk of a heart attack.

I am allowed to drink all other drinks that are not fizzy. I don't like milk, and water is boring and so is fruit juice. It's not only boring, I'm also sad that I'm not allowed to drink fizzy drinks anymore, not even occasionally. I feel sad pretty much all the time.

It is making me never want to go to parties or go out for dinner. Me, my dh, and my two dc used to watch films on Friday night and Saturday night, and even watching films is boring when I can't drink fizzy drinks.

Is anyone in a similar situation? Or does anyone know anything I can do to get over it?

20 cans a day is a lot OP did you drink anything else?
you only need about 8 glasses of water to be hydrated

herbal tea
milk with lassi spices
water with squeezed lemon/orange
get a soda stream fizz up water and add a splash of fresh fruit juice

it’s just a liquid isn’t being around longer to enjoy films and outings with your family enough incentive to just drink wet stuff, even just water with ice, and enjoy your time together?

The type I have is Abdominal Aortic Aneurism.

You have an addiction. In a few months, you’ll have adjusted and you’ll be able to enjoy other (less chemical laden) drinks again. Basically, just give it time.

Wow, I'm also curious as to how you found the time to drink so much. I'm glad you've stopped now for the sake of your health and teeth x

Oh I see. That is not very nice at all, I'm sorry that's your diagnosis. And yes, fizzy drinks to be avoided with that. Have you been offered repair surgery at all?

I'm sure others will be along who know better but abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a vascular condition linked with smoking usually. It can be operated on and a stent placed in the aorta to prevent a leak or failure of the aorta. I have not heard of it being linked to fizzy drinks.

It's the apartame in fizzy drinks that causes heart disease.

My teeth are bad. I have had 7 teeth out, which are now false teeth and 12 fillings.

I’m guessing it’s not the carbonation itself.

i can’t have aspartame as it triggers an instant migraine. I am allergic to regular cola (something in the “natural flavors”, likely cinnamon).

I love flavored carbonated drinks, absolutely obsessed actually. I make them at home. My favorite is iced tea with lime juice. No sugar. Virtually no calories. A splash of really any juice in water is also good. I particularly like mango when I can find it.

I think you've misunderstood your doctor. Aspartame has been proven time and time again that it does not have the health risks scaremongers allege and there's absolutely no evidence of it being linked to any sort of aortic aneurysms.
That said, drinking that many fizzy drinks a day can certainly be a lifestyle factor that impacts your health and if you are drinking full sugar drinks then sugar is a risk factor for aneurisms as it has various ways it can impact your vascular health.

I used to drink about 2l of Pepsi Max a day, once upon a time. It was incredibly hard to quit. I just made sure I always had (still) water on the go, and drank some every time I had an urge. After the first few days, I didn't miss it at all. I can't imagine having it now, and feel horrified at what I was doing to my body. Just white knuckle through the first week and you'll be fine - although you have to believe it, if you spend the whole time thinking how miserable you are that you can't have them you won't notice when you don't miss them!

(Used same tactic for smoking, sugar and even cocaine 😬. Never tempted by any of them now.)

I didn't drink anything else only fizzy drinks. The first time I remember drinking fizzy drinks was when I was 3, and when I was a kid, my parents didn't allow me to have fizzy drinks with my breakfast or my bedtime snack, which we called 'supper' and I drank fruit juice with them, but I usually drank fizzy drinks with my lunch and dinner, so I had at least 2 fizzy drinks a day when I was a kid. When I was 18, I started drinking fizzy drinks all the time. It started with drinking 5 cans a day as soon as I started college.

Do you/did you realise that this is rather unusual and extremely unhealthy? Even if there were nothing wrong with your heart.

I apologise if that comes across as patronising, but it’s not clear from your comments that you really get this.

Off topic but are you making ice tea with lime from scratch? Would you be nice enough to share a brief recipe? I do make ice tea sometimes and I love lime but you might have a better method than me. Thanks x

I do also smoke, but I stopped that when I got my diagnosis, because I got told I needed to stop smoking, and I also got told smoking would increase my chance of my life being limited. But I stopped smoking no problem, and that doesn't bother me.

That’s a lot OP as I’m sure you know and a must be a hard habit to kick. You will feel a million times better for knocking it on the head though and I agree with the “white knuckle” approach and it’ll gradually get easier.

I’ve recently had to give up alcohol and even the alcohol free stuff because it makes me so poorly and it’s been so difficult to have a good time going out on water so you have my genuine sympathy with that. I would power through with just water for a week or so and after that, squash will taste like the drink of gods. Good luck x

Can't you reframe it in terms of money saved and use the money for a lovely treat? That much fizzy pop must be costing you a fortune. It will also send a better message to your DC. Do they also drink fizzy drinks?

There’s a whole raft of non alcoholic soft drinks that have been developed. The one that springs to mind is
Mother’s root which is ginger based. I would still wean myself off the fizzy onto water but these types of drinks might be good for a weekend or social event when you don’t want to feel deprived.

www.motherroot.london/?srsltid=AfmBOorc8xOwmLgcipxjiVSFy7PD5K5I-JJlfDwogqYw2w0_KrMBpcwv

i do also drink fizzy but tnot that much

isnt there any now without aspartame in it-even if you could cut down a bit

I also have a cousin who is not allowed to drink any fizzy drinks, and she hasn't been allowed them for 14 years, I'm not sure what the reason is for her. I always see her drinking fresh orange juice at parties. About 7 years ago, she posted on facebook about her being depressed, but I know that wasn't because of her not being allowed to drink fizzy drinks because she mentioned in her post that she used to always be happy.

My grandfather is not allowed to drink fizzy drinks. People sometimes give him cans of fizzy drinks, but my grandmother doesn't let him have them. She says to him "you're not supposed to be drinking fizzy drinks" and then she either drinks them or gives them to someone else. I know he has blocked arteries all over his body, so that could be the reason for him.

My sister doesn't drink fizzy drinks, only because she doesn't like them. The only fizzy drink she likes is 7up but she rarely even drinks that. She usually drinks water, even at parties.

It’s amazingly hard to kick a habit. I had to make lots of small changes to my diet otherwise be on meds FOREVER. But once you’re on the other side you wonder what all the fuss was about. Use lots of distractions like sipping water constantly, chewing gum, music etc

Sorry to hear about your heart disease, OP.

I apologize if you have already answered this, but can you drink fizzy water (sparkling water/mineral water)?

If you've stopped smoking as well as giving up fizzy drinks you'll be saving a lot of money. Put what you used to spend into a pot each week and have a wee treat every month. Or save for longer for something bigger. It will make the sacrifice even more worthwhile.

I have another appointment the following week, so I'll see what my doctor says then.

@NellieGirl honestly it's easier than you think! You just to have to get into the mindset of you don't need them, you never did need them. My relation was addicted...he did this.

I might enjoy sparkling water with fruit juice added. I'll try that tomorrow and see if I like it and see how I feel.