Question:
Have watermelon or strawberries caused anyone else pain and distress?

Yesterday I purchased some fresh watermelon and strawberries. I had about 1/4 cup of the watermelon around noon. About five I had about 1/4 cup of sliced strawberries (with Splenda lightly sprinkled on them). About seven-thirty I was in pain. I dump, but this wasn't dumping. I ached in my tummy and had bad gas for several hours. Around ten I started having (excuse me here) severe diarrhea. I do protein mainly and very little fresh fruit; I'm about fifteen months out from rny and about six weeks out of incisional hernia repair with mesh. Am I doomed not to enjoy fresh fruit, even in small amounts? Do they cause this with anyone else? BTW, no one else in the family had any tummy upsetedness, so it wasn't a bad batch of fruit. Thanks in advance.    — Mary Ann B. (posted on March 29, 2004)

March 29, 2004
Hi there. You said it yourself. "I eat very little fresh fruit." That is most likely the reason you had the tummy trouble. Your system is not used to the fresh fruit and you shocked it with all the fiber and enzymes it wasn't used to. The key is to add very small amounts every day and slowly build up the amounts until your system is able to tolerate it again. You will again be able to enjoy fresh fruit--just take it easy on the amounts and eat it daily. Don't worry too much about the calorie content of fruit right now. Chances are you can't eat that much anyway. The nutrients, vitamins and minerals in the fruit are invaluable to your overall health.
   — artistmama

March 31, 2004
Fruit tends to be gassy anyways so in a system not used to it, I can see the end result. Brenda is right, small amounts until your system adjusts. In some cases, it may not adjust and just avoid whatever upsets it. I have a hard time with citrus fruits (pain in pouch), raw carrots (go figure) and definitely have to stay away from Chinese food!
   — Cindy R.

April 4, 2004
I've had strawberries before w/no problems, but they were mixed in with jello and cool whip. Today, I had a few with breakfast that were naked and I don't know if it was because they weren't ripe enough or what, but they just laid on my stomach for several hours, and I kept belching them back up (yughhh!!!) so I could -NOT- enjoy them for a 2nd time. (Oh, I did eat other meat with breakfast too, so not sure what caused this).
   — bufordslipstick