Is it dumping?

Hi everyone, I have a question. Am I dumping? Sounds kind of crazy that I don't know but I really do not have a clue. I had my surgery October 12, 2015. So I am a little over three months post op. Nearly every time I eat no matter what it is I feel bad when I fini**** starts about 5 minutes after I finish eating and last about 20 minutes then I am fine again. The only thing that I have notice does not make me feel bad is greek yogurt. When I say I feel bad I mean that I get nausea, slight heart palpitations, slight shortness of breath and feel kind of clammy. I have never actually vomited or had to run to the bathroom, but it is quite uncomfortable.  Anyone have any ideas? I do not eat fast, I stop drinking for 30 minutes before and after and I do not eat very much at all. 

Just hoping some of you might have an idea as to what is going on? Maybe this is completely normal. I was going to ask my dr at my 3 month check up but he had a surgical emergency so I never even got to see him.

Thanks

If you are not eating sugary food, starchy carbs, or high glycemic fruit, it's not dumping.  Dumping is a direct response to sugars being quickly emptied into the small bowel from the stomach.  Dumping is REALLY bad.... like "I need to go to the ER" bad.  If you dumped, you would know it without a doubt.  

It is common to be nauseated for a while after surgery.  It takes a while to get the hang of eating.  You may be eating too much.  Cut back on portion sizes and see if you feel better.  Some people have more swelling while healing and that can cause you to not feel good.

Feeling nausea and fluttering heart could actually be signs of dehydration.

Thanks Rocky513 for your thoughts. I haven't eaten any sugar and the only carbs come from fruit or vegetables if I have any with my meal. I do not think I am eating to much but I will try to cut it back to see if this helps. Depending on what I am eating it is usually not more than about 1 ounce of meat and about 1/4 cup of a fruit or vegetable. I do eat more yogurt and cottage cheese up to 1/2 cup of those together. Oh and I drink my 64 oz of water everyday. So I am just not sure.

Doesn't sound like dumping... you are still in a major adjustment period. Eat slow, small bites, chew well and make sure it is moist. That was my mantra in the beginning and sometimes I have to remind myself of it.

Thanks NyMom222 that might be a good point. Moist could definitely be the issue. Again the yogurt and cottage cheese do not bother me. I am going to try to watch closely to see if that is the issue.

Sounds to me like you are not chewing quite enough or eating a bit too much or food that is too dry. Chewing and eating slowly is so important post surgery and it takes some getting used to. Chew until you think it's mush and then chew some more. I am working on year 4 and if I let myself get too hungry I still will sometimes eat too fast. It takes time to learn any new behavior,but you WILL get it!

Hello,

I am many years out from surgery now, because mine was way back in August of 2001. I can tell you from this vantage point that although I had an excellent surgeon and have had few complications resulting from the surgery in the long-term, the few months immediately following my RNY were kind of scary. Turns out, it really was just an adjustment period; but, like you, I had to sit or lie down for a while after every single meal. I was not eating the wrong foods, or foods that were too dry, or drinking with my meals . . . none of that. My digestive tract and indeed my whole body just needed time to adjust. I frequently felt nauseated, frequently had gastric distress (including diarrhea), and sometimes worried that I had made an enormous mistake. But it turned out fine once my body got into the swing of things.

Some people say that they stopped dumping after a year or so. I am fourteen years post-op and have never stopped dumping. The beauty of this is that you are unlikely to regain most of what you lose (as some sadly do) even if you do regain a bit.

Things that can make me dump vary but are not limited to the obvious. Too much of anything (unless it is plain lean meat and low-sugar vegetables) has the potential to send my blood sugar into chaos due to dumping; examples include risotto, ice cream, creamy soups, wine, any rich dessert if I eat more than a bite or two. BE VERY AWARE THAT EATING MEALS WITH INADEQUATE PROTEIN WILL SET YOU UP FOR THIS KIND OF EVENT. What I mean is, sitting down to a tortilla with some beans and a side of yoghurt might cause problems. The protein/fat/carb balance is not adequate for a RNY patient. The protein protein protein chant is there for a reason, and it needs to be first-class protein like lean meats, eggs, etc. Because I cannot eat whey and don't like breakfast, I start every morning with a SunWarrior Classic protein powder blended with chilled plain water, and sometimes I eat some nuts with that. I am not a vegan or a vegetarian, but needed a shake that I could digest and I am lactose intolerant ever since the RNY. This shake is unusual in that, even though it is vegan, it has a full amino acid profile. It is inoffensive in flavour.

Dumping is sneaky and discombobulating, because one of the things that happens is you become confused due to your blood sugar level affecting your brain. Even all these years later, I will find myself shaking my head, asking myself "am I dumping?" . . . Hint: if you have to ask, you probably ARE (well that is the case for me). Dumping can be caused not only from sugars that you are aware of having eaten, but also from overeating. Case in point: the very worst dumping episode I ever had was from a bowl of pumpkin-sage risotto that I had made myself. Too fatty and too carbohydrate-intensive. My husband did not understand what was happening as I became confused and was sweating even though it was winter. I was trembling and went to lie down and he thought I was losing consciousness. He ended up feeding me a few jellybeans, which is what you do for diabetics, and that worked.

So, that is a bad episode of dumping. A lesser episode might make you feel irritable, shaky, and hot no matter what kind of weather you are having. I hope some of this information about my own experience is helpful to you.

Good luck with your journey!

Thanks for all your information. I truly appreciate it. I try very hard to get the right combinations and amounts but it is still a learning process. Your information is vey helpful.

Most of what that poster wrote about is reactive hypoglycemia not dumping.  And note that the foods mentioned (rice, ice cream, etc.) aren't exactly WLS or weight friendly foods.  Note that proteins and vegetables weren't in that poster's list...

It's good to see you joined OH 15 years after your surgery welcome.

You're confusing dumping with reactive hypoglycemia. The sweating and trembling is a classic sign. But while giving sugar to a diabetic might be a good idea, giving pure sugar to someone during a reactive hypoglycemic episode after RNY is a really bad plan. Most of the time it will just result in a roller coaster ride of RH episodes.

I disagree that if you have to ask about dumping, it probably is. If you have an actual dumping episode, there will be absolutely no doubt about it. You'll think you are dying. All of these other episodes are either RH, food getting stuck, or something just disagreeing with you.