Slipped a sugar "mickey"

Last night I went thru thru the drive through at Burger Dirt to get a meal. I had just finished shopping at Lane Bryant for my first pair of "real" blue jeans in at least 5 years. (They're a 24. I'm SO excited!!) I had a whopper jr with cheese (threw out the bun) and a regular size diet coke and fries for later as I knew the burger would fill me up. Well, I got sick about 30 minutes after I ate a couple fries and sipped on the coke about 4 hours later. (Eating with small sips doesn't bother me.)What I didn't know that the genius at BK had given me a regular coke instead of the diet coke I ordered. With the ice all but melted I couldn't tell it wasn't diet. Not only did I get sick but wound up in the UCONN emergency room because the pain was SO bad. The ER doc was TOTALLY uninformed about gastric bypass as was the surgeon on duty who claimed she was an associate of Dr. Giles, my surgeon, and got pissy when I told her I knew what the problem was, she just had to fix it. I was given a Maalox/Litacane (sp?) ****tail to numb things (which I asked for), dillaudid (sp?), morphine, and benedryl. Two points for this story: A> watch what they pour you at a drive thru if you order a diet soda. Personally, I am getting nothing but ice tea or water from now on. B> Is there anything I could have done for the pain at home or anything to "flush" my system to get the sugar out of there? I tried inducing vomiting but nothing came up. I tried riding it out but after 90 minutes of absolute agony (10 on the scale of 1-10) I couldn't take it anymore. Thanks for your input. becky 330/271/175 3.3.03

Hi Becky! It's Stop and Shop Cheryl!! I am so sorry to hear about your sugar experience. You are so right about drive thru's. It happened to me at Dunkin Donuts, they gave me real sugar in an ice coffee instead of equal. I noticed it right away though. You poor thing. The sad thing is, I think no matter where you went that night, not many ER docs know what we go through. Too bad they didn't beep Dr. G. I think the more Gastric Bypass patients there are in general, the more all docs are going to have to educate themselves what happens to us. I am looking forward to seeing you at the next meeting. Please make sure you come up and say hi! We will probably be having the head of the EAP dept at UConn come and talk to us about emotions and food. Not that we'd have any trouble with that, (wink) see you soon Cheryl

Thanks, Cheryl. I thought about calling Dr. G but the surgeon said she was an associate so I thought she might have a clue -- WRONG! I am going to followup Monday with Dr. G to tell him of the event since my next appt isn't till late November. I also want to advise him the WLS101 is needed for the ER doctors and especially his "associate". See you in August or the S&S deli! becky 330/271/175 3.3.03

MY DOCTOR TELLS ME A LOT OF TIMES WE GET SICK FROM THE FOOD WE ATE BEFORE THE ONE THAT WE THINK GOT US SICK - ANOTHER WORDS - THE HAMBURGER MAY HAVE STILL BEEN IN THERE - WHEN YOU ATE THE OTHER YOU ASSUMED IT WAS THAT - IT COULD HAVE BEEN THE SODA - I DON'T KNOW - BUT SOMETHING TO CONSIDER NEXT TIME YOU EAT A BURGER SEE IF IT HAPPENS WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT AFTER IT - WHEN THIS HAPPENED TO ME LAST WEEK - I CALLED THE DR THEY TOLD ME TO SIP ON SOMETHING WARM UNTIL IT PASSED WITHIN 24 HOURS BUT MINE WAS NOT FROM SUGAR - IT WAS FROM SALMON - COULD IT HAVE BEEN THE FRIES - OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE FULL OF FAT AND ALL THE CARBS - I KNOW YOU KNOW THAT BUT, MY POINT IS COULD IT HAVE BEEN FROM THOSE OR DO YOU NORMALLY HAVE BURGERS AND FRIES WITH NO PROBLEM?

Thanks, Isabel, for your reply. I don't think, however, it was the burger or the fries for a couple of reasons. 1> I've had hamburgers (fast food and home grilled) on a couple of occasions. Same with fries. I only eat 5 or 6 to get the taste and throw the rest out. Again, they've never bothered. 2> Usually if something doesn't agree with me, it'll "hit" me within 30-45 minutes. "Normally" I involuntarily vomit or dump. This time neither but the timing was right. That's where I drew the conclusion it had to be the soda. I still had it when I returned from the hospital and my sister tasted it. She confirmed it was a regular soda not by the taste but by the lack of the diety aftertaste. Again, thanks for the reply and sorry to hear about your salmon issue. I use hot tea when I am too full. Helps move things along without upsetting my pouch further. becky

Hi Becky, My doc says no soda and I haven't had one in over a year. Carbonation is not a good thing for our pouches with or without sugar!!! Hope you're feeling better. Mary Lou

Hey, Mary Lou! Yes, I am feeling 100% better thanks!! My doctor said no carbonation for a while but didn't rule it out indefinitely. I don't consume it often but it helps bring up gas. becky

Becky: You are a little further out than I (4 weeks) but what possesses someone to go to a fast food joint after all we've gone through for a second chance at a healthier life? There is NOTHING good about a Burger King burger, FRIES, or coke (diet or not). I am not judging you, but I can't imagine making this experience any harder than it is by going back to eating unhealthy. I truly hope that you remember your experience in the ER before zipping through another drive-thru. Good Luck, Tara

Yeah right, no judgement. I ate there because I was hungry, still hate to cook, and it was late. I don't eat there everyday and, like I said, ate the grilled burger sans bun, less than a handful of fries for taste for taste and the soda so I'll go back someday just be more careful on my drink choice. The point of the story was for people to watchout for drinks they don't pour themselves (coulda happened at Applebees or a family BBQ) and to ask if there is any alternate way to get through a sugar injestion short of going to the hospital. becky

I am a bit concerned about your post. For several reasons. I am not going to debate BK for a quick meal. Have done it plenty of times post-op. What I am going to comment about is the choice of meals. The BJ Jr without the bun was a fine choice. There were beter, but that is not what is important here. What DOES concern me is the fries and soda. 4.5 months out, I would have NEVER thought of ordering a childs happy meal. Heck, 19 months out I still would not order a childs happy meal. It's just way too much food. Second thing is drinking with a meal, or close to a meal. In the Middletown support groups, we follow 1/2 hour prior to eating, and 1-2 hours after eating before drinking. Sounds like you were well before that time frame. Don't understand why you would want to wash the food out of your pouch and eliminate the full feeling. Third, why are you drinking soda? Carbonation will not kill you, but the gas pain sure in uncomfortable. The pain you felt was not from sugar, but IMHO, from the soda. Remember, ice tea can be presweetened also. Fourth, and for everyone regardless of your stage post-op, you need to be the informed person when it comes to medical intervention. Most MDs are just now becoming aware of the complications which a bypass patient faces, such as poor absorption of oral antibiotics and some other medications which are normally absorbed proximally by the small intestine. Read, be aware,and be ready to educate. It is in your best interest to be healthy, and insure good medical care if the time comes which you are not. Fifth, inducing vomiting weill only work when food is still in your pouch. Once it is out, it will not help at all. Sorry. Keep Mylanta with you, and drink it when ever necessary and early! Keep out of the ER also. There is really not much they can do (as you have noted), and the aggrivation from the uninformed probably enhanced your pain and problems. You might have been better off to ride it out at home. Sorry for what seems so negative, but I do strongly believe that we must work at keeping ourselves out of risky enviroments. If soda is an issue, don't drink it. All of us did this in order to be healthier. Is it not time that we do whatever in necessary for our health, even when inconvenient? Peter