????? about dumping

Good morning MI- I need some guidance from you experienced rny's.   I'm 4weeks out and experienced my first "dumping".  I thought I made a smart choice when I went to dinner w/ some friends ( 1oz baked cod and a few bites of green beans with no added butter) what I did that I believe did it to me was take 2 very small tastes of my girlfriends clam chowder soup. I had no idea it would make me sick. Thank God I didn't eat more.  About 15-20 min later I got this horrible pain in my esophagus, got real sweaty, thought I was going to pass out and the most horrible feeling came over me.  I made it home safely but for a minute I didn't think I was going to.  How can someone ever go out for dinner???  I am so aware of the sugar content in my food but I don't think I can do the same with the fat content- because there is a little fat in everything.  I am so afraid of this happening again- I don't believe I will ever go out to eat again.  How do you all handle this?     Thanks-  Jennie K

Jennie,

Don't get discouraged.  You just had surgery.  I can remember it took a while to see how my body tolerated food after surgery.  There are days when something agrees with me and the next time I eat it, it makes me so ill.  I am 4 1/2 yrs post op and too much sugar or fat makes me dump.  Just take it slow.  Be compliant and you should be fine.

Take care,
Carey

Jennie, I did the same thing to myself the other day at Logans with my sister....ugh!  I tried again last night and did fine.....I stayed away from the soup!

Hey Jennie,
Well, you got through your first dumping, so now you know what it's like! 

Don't try too many things at one meal.  This will let you know exactly what makes you sick. For my first YEAR I threw up almost every single dinner, no matter what I ate.  I'm not advocating throwing up on purpose or anything, but I got that same feeling you described and when I started to feel bad I just got rid of whatever I ate that was bothering me.

You will get this sorted out eventually.  Now you know that fat makes you sick.  I'm the same way.  I don't really dump from sugar, but I do from high fat content.  Clam Chowder really has a lot with the cream and butter.  So just take it slow and eventually you'll figure out what you can and can't eat.  Don't get discouraged, but know that it will take a while to adjust to things and get this whole new eating thing down.

One last suggestion:  don't try new foods when you go out to eat.  You don't want to have that horrible feeling while you're out.

It gets a lot better, trust me!!!

Thanks you guys-  I'm just going to stick with my scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, f/f  refried beans and chicken salad that I handle well.  You're right- I tried way too many new things at once and certainly I should try them at home first.  No more clam chowder for me either - ever!!!!!
I've got so much to learn- I'll just keep taking those little baby steps one at a time and hopefully I'll get this all figured out.  Have a great weekend   Jennie K

What Carey said.
It gets easier after you figure it out. It will become second nature.

kp

OMG, I'm having my lap rny on Monday, and after reading this stuff I REALLY am freaking!

Will I EVER be able to eat an apple again? Serious....I love Honey Crisp apples, and if I can't ever have one again then I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing.

Since surgery I haven't been able to eat apples or carrots.  I can eat a lot of things and don't dump easily, but those two things just won't sit in the old pouch.

I hope you're kidding about doubting your decision because of an apple. 

I've been eating apples since I was about 3 months post-op.  Usually with a dollop of peanut butter.  Sometimes baked in the oven with splenda and cinnamon. 

Every person is different with what they can tolerate after surgery.  I don't do well with eggs.  Some people live on eggs.  Some people can't do meat.  I do better with meat than anything else.  I have a friend who can't eat a bunch of food... big long list of stuff .. and basically only eats soft things.  But me... I can eat pretty much anything with very little problems.

If you'redoubting your surgery because of the food you'll have to give up or might have problems with... then you might not be ready for surgery yet.  Definitely do some deep soul searching in the next 24 hours and figure out if you are doing the right thing.  It is nothing to be ashamed of if you feel like you need to postpone things until you sort out your feelings on this.

Pam