Yes, I use the 2L store bottles to make my soda and pressurize at 62Lbs and have been able to re-use the same bottles over and over again in excess of 100 times and have yet to have 1 single failure. After about 60 uses, a bottle does develop a few wrinkles but those have not caused a problem yet. Just to be safe, I do place bottle in a wash bucket just in case it explodes during pressurization.
Remember that warm liquid does not carbonate well. The best is to use 3 2L bottles. Take 2 bottles and fill them with water to just about 1/4 inch above the inkjet stamp toward the top of the bottle. Put the 2 bottles in the refrigerator overnight for the water to cool or 1/2 hour in the freezer also works.
Add favor mix to first bottle and shake to mix thoroughly. Squeeze all the air out of the bottle and apply bottle cap and pressurize to 62lbs. Shake bottle horizontally vigorously for about 100 shakes.
Take 1/2 of that pressurized soda and put it in third empty bottle.
Next squeeze all air out of second bottle of cold water and pressurize at 62lbs. Shake bottle horizontally vigorously for about 100 shakes. Then fill both of your initial bottles that are 1/2 full of soda with the soda water.
That is it - Entire operation should not take more than 10 minutes. My grand kids love to participate in the action when they are around.
The candy is made by mixing its ingredients and heating them until they melt into a syrup, then exposing the mixture to pressurized carbon dioxide gas (about 600 pounds per square inch or 40 bar) and allowing it to cool.
I have been drinking the diet drinks for over 20 years now and I still realize that it is not what I prefer in a cola but rather something I have learned to accept. It is funny that now even the real stuff tastes weird, it has an over the top sugar sweet taste that I just can’t handle.
The best diet drink I ever tasted was a short lived version of saccharine sweetened Diet Dr. Pepper. I remember it from the very late 60’s or early 70’s. This was long before my T2. The store was sold out of my beloved Dr. P so I tried the diet version, I really liked it, enough so that I became hooked on it for a while.
True most of us here work very hard at trying to manage our diabetes. But many, many who are battling all kinds of issues with their diabetes come here and lurk for awhile. I lurked here for almost a year before I started posting. For some they don’t post because they feel the preaching is going to start because they are not where everyone else is.
I think as a support group, we need to remember that is someone is ok having an 8.0 a1c, it’s ok. Everyone has a goal and no one should ever be compared to someone else.
And yes, I know some people with diabetes, who are battling with it and the disease is currently winning, and I have some who are not online and doing great. That is the frustrating things about this disease. It doesn’t always play fair. And for all those that are lurking, don’t let anyone’s posts keep you from asking a question or voicing an opinion.
There are,any, many people here who run numbers completely different than my goals and have completely different diet plans and have completely different exercise goals and have completely different medical teams.
So, I guess this is me just saying those that might not be meeting a goal that others think is right, might be doing a good job in their up to now time frame.
We are all here to learn and do the very best we can with the diabetic and other health cards we have been dealt.
I am sure there are very few, if any, that have spent time on this site and have not gained some tips that have helped them better manage their health.
I remember well when my mom brought home the first diet drink (Fresca 1966). It quickly became a favourite for the times I was often severely dehydrated (likely had BG’s over 500 and back then I did get thirsty when BG’s were high).
Soon Tab appeared on the scene, and I liked that one for a while too (Blech - the stuff was terrible, especially when warm)
Diet Pepsi, diet 7-Up, Diet A&W root beer, and finally the king of them all Diet Coke (which to this day I still drink too much of)
truthfully the best current diet soft drink on the market is Diet Root Beer at at Culvers Restaurant. For those of you not int he Midwest, you are missing out.
Loved this post. I am the type 3 diabetic with a type 1 sister. I have gone to every doctor appointment with her for the last 15 years. Her doctor doesn’t want her A1c to be below 7.5. Each person is different and each person has to learn to live with their diabetes in their own fashion.
Sounds familiar to me. R + N back in the 80s, Chemstrips, later a OneTouch meter, but mostly not testing for days, just going by “feel” and trying to eat to the insulin, etc. I’d get pretty good about writing my numbers down for a few days before a Dr visit (NOT an endo, couldn’t get one), then back to mostly blowing it off. And then met a guy doing MDI, and finally got to see an endo at Joslin, who said “You’re not doing too bad considering your treatment makes no goddamned sense whatsoever,” put me on Lantus/Novolog and signed me up for the carb-counting course.
Fresca is still a favorite for me, but these days I maybe have 1-2/week, then go months without any.
That citrusy effervescence feels so cleansing to me. Back when I was regularly running in the higher BG elevations, my mouth would feel like it had a thick film everywhere - that first taste of Fresca would feel like throwing off the chains …
The day I was diagnosed I swore a mighty oath that whereas I had always hated the taste of diet soda I was not going to let T1 force it upon me and would give up the stuff entirely rather than bow to the yoke of artificial sweeteners. Admittedly I have, with time, come to accept Splenda in my coffee. But still no soda. When it comes to citrusy effervescence, I’m totally addicted to Poland Spring Mandarin Orange seltzer.
For me, it was always, always all about the lingering aftertaste. Once cyclamates were eliminated from diet drinks, I loathed anything with sodium saccharine (aka Sweet N Low).
When aspartame (aka Nutra-Sweet) and then Splenda showed up, I was re-hooked for a while, not only with Fresca or Sprite Zero, but also lemonade/limeade mixes. However, all my bike riding has made me really, really appreciate just plain water, with the occasional spritz of lemon.
I gave up diet pop years ago. It isn’t good for us, so it was pretty easy to do. I am not a big water drinker, but don’t want to put junk in my body, so that is what I drink. Water, herbal tea, and an herbal coffee with a small amount of decaf coffee. I drink wine once in awhile. I would drink pop when socializing, but that is about it.
OMG. I loved Pop Rocks. Talk about foaming at the mouth! LOL!
As for diet soda, my father was a dentist. We never had any soda or gum allowed until sugar free came out. If you are old enough to remember, all those sugar-free drinks and gums were first advertised as being less harmful for your teeth. Nothing was mentioned about losing weight or diabetes. There was no such thing as dental insurance in those days. Cavities were expensive.
On the original topic of being the exception, not the rule, I think that is slowly changing. We have a “frequent flyer” T1 in the hospital where I work. I have discharged him to home from the ICU and found he was readmitted about 6 hrs later with glucose’s in the 600’s. He pretty much lives in the hospital. He alternates binging and over injecting. He has been diabetic 15+ years. His Endo is quite old. According to him, his Endo wants his glucose in the mid 200’s and, since his Endo has never mentioned a CGM, it is obviously something he doesn’t need. Pardon me, but WTF!!! He also seems to have no concept of carb common sense. When he eats, he wants 4-5 juices, with a ton of graham crackers and regular puddings. Try to alter that, and the nursing supervisor suddenly shows up and basically says to just give him what he wants. They’ve fought too many times.
Is this all him? Not necessarily. Some of the old Endos still teach, eat what you like and try to cover with insulin. God only knows where they are when continuing education took place. They are stuck in their med school diabetes dogma, from 40+ years ago.
My hope is that, as these relics retire, more pro-active physicians take their place. I know that I was shocked when my Endo agreed with my severe carb restrictions for glucose control, as long as I monitor my ketones. What physician would have done that 10 yrs ago, not counting Bernstein?
I love your post Sally7. I was diagnosed diabetic 16 years ago and accepted it as a challenge, driving down my A1C to good numbers. Then, about four years into this I reached burnout. Life felt like it was too stilted, too much about denial, and so I went back to my old and unhealthy ways. A few years ago I had a tiny diabetic scare, more of a warning than anything else, but I have taken it seriously and once again am thinking about what I eat and testing. No one should be judged harshly, as I believe most people do the best they can at any given time. So much of diabetes management requires having your head in the game, and sometimes that is easier than at other times, especially in times of chaos for other reasons.
I love the seltzer’s! Grapefruit seems the most refreshing to me. But peach ginger, and oh so many different flavors!
I had REALLY liked Pepsi Max! It had ginseng in it and very little after taste. Of course, it became harder and harder to find, but it has been the only “sweet” diet soda that actually tasted good to me. I practically gag on sugar sodas!
