Woman Avoided Surgery After Doctors Recommended Diet Coke

A 63-year-old woman who arrived at a hospital in Massachusetts with severe stomach pain, nausea, and a persistent burning sensation was surprised to receive an unusual prescription from her doctors: drink Diet Coke.

After a series of tests, physicians discovered that a large mass of undigested food had formed in her stomach, a rare condition known as a gastric bezoar. Rather than immediately resorting to surgery, the medical team decided to try a less invasive treatment.

The case, which was published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, involved a woman with type 2 diabetes and obesity who was taking a medication similar to the weight loss drug Ozempic. Over the previous year, she had lost about 18 kilograms, but her weight loss had become unusually rapid during the month before she sought medical care.

Doctors suspected that the medication had significantly slowed the emptying of her stomach. When food remains in the stomach for too long, it can accumulate and harden into a bezoar. An examination confirmed the presence of a large mass of undigested food, and the weight loss medication was discontinued immediately. The medical team then chose to try dissolving the bezoar instead of removing it surgically.

Why Diet Coke?

As unusual as it sounds, using cola beverages to treat certain types of gastric bezoars has been documented in medical literature for years.

According to the report, the standard approach is to administer up to three liters of cola over about 12 hours, either by drinking it or delivering it directly into the stomach through a feeding tube. Because this patient had diabetes and also disliked carbonated beverages, her treatment was adjusted to 1.5 liters of Diet Coke per day.

By the second day of treatment, she reported feeling a "pulling" sensation in her abdomen. Soon afterward, the nausea, pain, and discomfort that had persisted for weeks disappeared.

A follow-up gastroscopy confirmed that the bezoar had completely broken apart, eliminating the need for surgery.

How Can Cola Dissolve a Bezoar?

Although the treatment is well known among gastroenterologists, researchers still do not fully understand exactly how it works.

The leading theories include:

• The acidity of the beverage.
• The carbon dioxide bubbles.
• A combination of the drink's acidity, carbonation, and chemical composition, which helps break down the hardened mass.

What Is a Gastric Bezoar?

A gastric bezoar is a hardened mass of undigested material that forms in the stomach. It is uncommon, appearing in fewer than 0.5% of gastroscopy examinations.

Despite its rarity, it can cause severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, early fullness after eating, significant weight loss, digestive tract blockage, and, in some cases, life threatening complications if left untreated.

Doctors emphasize that cola is not a cure for ordinary stomach pain, nor is it appropriate for every type of bezoar. Diagnosis requires a physician's evaluation and appropriate testing to determine whether cola therapy is suitable or whether endoscopic or surgical treatment is necessary.

In this case, the treatment was carried out under close medical supervision, with careful monitoring throughout the patient's recovery.