Question:
Is there any hard and fast rule of food tolerance/avoidance postop?

I have read such diverse postings regarding food problems postop. I am considering/investigating The Fobi Pouch, which I guess is Roux En Y(?) (If anyone can clarify, please do) I hear that sugar will be forevermore banned. So many foods/drinks have sugar! And what about fats? Will I have to experiment, allowing myself to become sick, or "Dump" (what exactly IS that, anyhow?- sounds gross!) to find out if I can eat a favorite food afterwards? So many variables it seems.    — Linda F. (posted on May 6, 1999)

May 6, 1999
I had gastric bypass 2 years ago. I have friends who have had the same procedure and we all differ as to the types of food we can tolerate. Something that upsets me they can handle. The only thing that we all seem to have in common is the inability to handle carbonated beverages. Sugar dumping is when you eat say a candy bar and then about an hour later you have the shakes. I relate it to a hypoglycemic reaction. I do not have them all the time I eat sugar. I have found what helps when I do have a reaction is peanut butter. Sugar and fats are not necessarily banned but should be used in moderation. After all going through this surgery you don't want to offset the great results! The only way to know if a food is going to upset you is to try it. However, if you only try in small quantities you shouldn't get sick. Once you learn the foods you can avoid them. It's a small price to pay, for me, to have my health back. Hope this helps.
   — Roberta B.

May 6, 1999
There are no hard and fast rules anyewhere I think. Post op food regimens are very individualized. Many people are completely intolerant of sugar. I can have some, say in my coffee or cereal. But not a lot and nothing really sweet like ice cream. The main deal after surgery is get a lot of good nutrition, esp. high in protein to ward of any malnutrition. Yes, there is some experimentation after surgery and the healing period. dumping refers to substances hitting the small intestine without spending a lot of time in the stomach. There, things like fats and sugars can upset your systems. Everyone varies. The symptoms can be, sweats, racing heart, nausea and diahrhea. Some folks find themselves lactose intolerant after surgery and milk products cause dumping for them. I've had very few dumping syndrome problems. Dumping I believe is a function of the intenstine and the length of the bypass and not the size of the pouch. Good luck Susan [email protected]
   — Susan C.

May 6, 1999
I had a different procedure (removal of part of stomach, bypass part of small intestine), and it hasn't had a drastic affect on what I can eat. I shouldn't eat alot of sugar, and I don't -- I don't have the room most of the time. However, I drink fruit juice, gatorade, and take a bite out of an ice cream sandwich everyday (my 'sin'). Some fats pass right though me, literally (that's kinda gross). I haven't experienced dumping (people generally don't with my procedure). I understand it is the sudden and immediate need to go to the bathroom, and is causesd my eating certain foods, including sugar. There are some very good bariatric surgery web sites out there. Dr. Koop's Shape Up America also answers some questions. Good luch researching!
   — Elizabeth W.

May 6, 1999
Yes, you will have to experiment. Everyone is different. For me dumping is usually diahhrea for an hour or so until my system cleans itself out. No, sugar is not forever banned. It used to make me dump, but I find that a minimal amount of sugar now and again is okay. Like one (yes, only one) cookie or something along those lines. Personally I can't tolerate spinach, broccoli, asparagus, beef on occasion. Yet I can eat stuff like chips and salsa or pizza with no trouble at all. Go figure.
   — dboat

May 6, 1999
The Fobi Pouch is not the same as the RNY. It gives you much less space in your stomach. After your surgery, and after you ease yourself back to regular foods- you'll begin to label read and watch for foods in refined sugars. The dumping syndrome is a reaction to sugar. It is similar to a diabetic reaction. Sweating, cramping, maybe vomitting. It might lasts for about 30 min. Your doctor will tell you what you can or can not have.
   — Sheila W.

May 6, 1999
Each doctor us different. Our doctor fobids sugar AND milk, which he considers to be another word for sugar. I have studiously avoided milk & sugar and have maintained a weight of 112 lbs for over 3 years now. My surgery was 1994. Dumping is a GOOD THING. It is absolutely miserable! But it protects you from sugar. If milk and sugar don't make you sick, they WILL make you fat. If you play with them during the wt loss stage, you may not get all your weight off. And later, you can certainly bring it back. Dumping is rarely diarrhea. It can be any or all of: cold sweats, cold hands & feet, dry mouth, swolen tongue, shakes, heart palpitations, nausea, fuzzy vision, blurred thinking, EXTREME overhwelmng sleepiness. It is NASTY. But I am SO thankful, becasue I know there are some days, that if I COULD eat sugar, I would. And there I'd be again, with all that weight, packed snugly around my heart 'n lungs and squishing my joints. If the object of yoru surgery is to become much thinner and be much healthier, you can but HOPE to dump.
   — vitalady