Dumping - a question for everyone

I have yet to dump on anything.  Believe me I'm not complaining, but I'm just wondering if this is strange or not?  The only thing I have experienced that my office told me was "mild dumping" was one week post op I tried to take too many pills at once and got naseas and a little sweaty.

So, my question is?  When did dumping first happen to you?  How/Why?  Did you eat something that didn't agree, were you not as careful watching sugar grams, was it something not related to sugar, were you testing the waters?

I'm very careful and have never had anything with sugar in it and I think so far the only thing with actual sugar grams in it that I put in my tummy were natural sugars from fruit or the occasional protein bar with 2 or 3 grams.

I'm just wondering if my being super careful is paying off or if I might not be sensitive?  I just would have figured something would have done it by now.  So many people say it happens off regular food too, like too much fat in a single meal or a bad reaction to higher sugar yogurt or SOMETHING.

Hmmm....

Hi Lauren,
 I do not dump easily. Some may say that I am lucky. Others, like myself say its a curse! The first real time that I dumped was on Campbell's tomato soup (about 6-8 months out). I did not think that tomato soup would have a lot of sugar in it. I nearly drank 3/4 of one of the soup at hand before I started feeling nauseated, weak, and my heart beat shot up. I felt like I was having a heart attach. I had to lay down and sleep. I had no choice....I had to sleep!  I went almost imediatly to sleep. I did not get  "sick" for real, just nauseated.

Then one time I felt depressed, sad and wanted icecream. I ate a small bowl of vanilla icecream. ( the good stuff...not SF) maybe about 1/2 cup or more. (about 1 year or more out)  I had the same sick, tired, racing heart beat kind of dumping that time also. 

One time ( about 5 months ago) I ordered a sugar free blueberry banana smoothie from smoothie king. It tasted so good. I drank it and no sooner that I finished it... it hit me like a freight train!!! I had to find a bathroom and quick! I spent about 45 minutes in bathroom. I did not get nauseated, nor did I have the racing heart beat. I just had a really bad case of the "trots"   
The one thing that I know is that I can eat most anything that I want ...in moderation.... which for me is quite hard.  If I want it... I should have it... (or so I think! ) and with that attitude, I will have trouble keeping this weight off for the long haul... which scares the you know what out of me!!!

Cath

Tomato soup, huh?  I would have thought that a safe bet too.

I have not tried a smoothie out anywhere because I'm so scared they will put sugar in in.  Most of the pre-mixes they have are sugar filled.  It would be nice to stop by the Cafe place though.  Someone told me you can ask for sugar free, but I'm just worried these highschoolers who work there will screw it up and I'm be sucking down a bag of sugar unknowingly.

My family wanted Brewsters one night, so I joined in and had a scoop of NSA icecream and watched that boy like a hawk and questioned him three times to make sure he had scooped out the NSA, I told him I would get very sick very fast.  Poor boy, he probably thought I was a nutcase.  LOL.

Lauren,

Just an FYI...you can go to Tropical Smoothie and order a smoothie with splenda instead of sugar and for like 75 cents more they will add a scoop of whey protein powder (20 grams of protein) for you.  You can also WATCH them make it and then you see what is going in there. I usually get a jetty punch which is strawberry/banana.  They also have kids sizes that makes it easier to "try".  I am sure other places make them this way, too...but I am only personally familiar with this chain.

That is correct oh wise and beautiful one.

My first dump was from pineapple at about the 3 month mark.  They told me I could try fruit in water or plain straight fruit.  I was sooo ill I called the nurse and swore I had been good.  After getting to stop fretting about being good, she was successful in getting me to tell her what I had consumed.  Pineapple has more natural sucrose in it that most fruits I DUMPED!

I could only eat half a banana until about 8 or 9 months out.  Too much natural fat, I DUMPED!

Then I was bad and ate more than a cup of SF Fat Free Blue Bunny ice cream; I suffered greatly from the lactose intolerance and whatever else that evil food does to me.  Bad intake, BAD!!

Chinese bourbon chicken I had visiting my daugther in Radford last fall.  Ignorance,...I thought it was a good choice.  WRONG. Bourbon chicken,..full of sugary sauce. Sick for 4 hours.

Last surprise, I skipped dinner to get between work and an evening School Board meeting.  So oI had 3 packs of Nature Valley Oats and Honey granola bars and half a bottle water.  45 minutes into the meeting, I thought they were going to call the Rescue Squad for me.  I got dizzy and weak-kneed and sweaty and flushed.  It past after 1 hour and another bottle water.  I told them what I thought was happening and pass on, i would particiapte as best I could but not comment much.  It past but I was really embarrassed.

Now on the good side of dumping, controlled felling like you are going to pass-out; some nights I can't sleep too well.  A pack of poptarts and about 8 oz of water or some standard OJ and a couple  of chocolate chip cookies or a blueberry muffin,....wait about 20-30 minutes and I'd better find a bed. Lights out for a good 4-5 hours easy.  Controlled dumping.

Have a good time with your new found wisdom.  And my congradulations on your self control and avoidance of this most uncomfortable and unpleasant phenomenon.  It keeps me on a limited diet rather than endure its wrath even at 26 months out.  But to me that is one of the benefits of the surgery, not a curse.  It keeps me honest and I like having that safety value.

Joe 

I also consider dumping a benefit of having had the surgery.  It was one of the things I knew going in would help me stay on track.  But now I'm beginning to wonder what the heck?  And that scares me for two reasons - Either I'll eventually try something and it WILL work (BUMMER) or it WON'T work and I'll be doomed to having "just a little" of something that I otherwise wouldn't be tempted with.  I can't decide what's better knowing or not knowing.  Sigh.

Hey you!

The only time I've experienced what people describe as dumping, I was really early out - like less than a month probably. I know I wasn't on solid food yet, but I was eating shredded chicken and such. I went out to eat with friends and ordered a chicken soft taco of some sort - I figured shredded chicken and cheese was what I was eating at home so this was ok. Um, I was really wrong about that. I don't know if it was b/c I was so early out - I'm guessing there was a lot of fat in it or something? I ate just a little bit of the filling out of it, but about 20-30 minutes later I was on the toilet (at my friend's house no less!) shaking, sweating, and not knowing which end to aim at the toilet.

I haven't really had that feeling since then. I haven't purposely tested it either. But I did realize just the other day that the last pack I bought of bars to eat for breakfast have 15 g of sugar each!!!!! I don't know how that one slipped by me - I usually read the labels pretty carefully. (Needless to say, I did not finish the box) I had noticed that I felt a little ill after eating them - just kind of nauseous and icky, not like the awful Mexican food episode - but I don't really like eating in the morning anyway so I hadn't really paid much attention to it.

What I have had trouble with is food getting stuck. (I think that's what it is anyway - I never am quite sure what's going on) It literally feels like something is stuck in my chest, plus I get really nauseous and want to throw it all up. I usually cough pretty hard to get it up - although eventually it will come up without any help. It can last anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour. When I finally get it all up, I usually feel pretty weak for a while. It's usually brought on by just eating too fast. (Again, this is just what I'm assuming is going on. And you know what they say about assuming...) I've found that I'm especially sensitive to this so I have to go reeeeaaalllllllllly slowly when I eat. If I try and keep up with other people, I will get sick.

It's amazing how different we all are - good luck figuring out what happens for you!

After reading everyone's responses there are quite a few non-sugar dumping episodes people have contended with.  Far more of a variety than I would have expected.  It just goes to show all of us and our pouchies are a little bit different.  Post-surgery eating really is trial and error.

I would say that your being extra careful is paying off!!!  The best idea is not to test the waters.  Yes you can dump from sugar, fats, sugar alcohols.  It can happen at any time.  Sweats, nasuea, shakes, clammy, diareha (sp) are the typical symptoms, sleepiness too.  I didn't dump much at all, tested the waters & can tolerate most anything.  Bad for me as I let the sweets & sugars in.

You said you tested the waters, what made you get to that point?  A craving?  Just wanting to know once and for all?

Like my response to Joe, I'm not sure which is better, knowing or not knowing.  I remember talking to my surgeon about this prior to surgery.  He said that he has patients who dumping keeps them on track to staying away form the sweets, cookies and cakes and he has patients who find that they can enjoy sweets still and like to enjoy the occaional treat.  The question is, if you don't dump, can you just say to yourself, one piece of cake once a year for my birthdya or something like that.