Question:
Dumping?

I am just starting the process for gastric bypass. I am scared to death of dumping. My question being, how often do you vomit after surgery? Especially after where the incision is sore. Thank you!    — SOADtoxicity16 (posted on April 9, 2009)

April 9, 2009
if you do what the doctor tell you to do you should not get sick
   — oldpepsilady

April 9, 2009
dumping is a way that your new body reminds you not to eat the bad foods. the way you feel while dumping and after, you wont make the same mistake again and eat the bad food. so if you stay away from the bad food, and dont stuff yourself silly you wont get sick. remember right after bypass a baby size meal will fill you. eat slooow so you can pin point your full target. if you dont eat slow and fill too much your gonna vomit. stay away from the grease and sugars and you should not dump. as strange as it sounds it may be good that you are scared because that fear will help you eat the right foods and thus lower your chances of dumping.
   — chickie_mama

April 10, 2009
Do exactly what Dawn said.. I followed all the rules, am 4 weeks post-op and have not been sick at all. I started off getting a small digital scale to weigh everything. I weigh my fish and meats (2oz.) before I put them in the freezer. You will do great !! Good Luck !
   — LoriLynn1515

April 10, 2009
I feel the exact same way. I was really scared about the dumping...I had my surgery 3 months ago. I haven't thrown up due to overeating or sugar ever. I do have esophagael spasms which has caused me to throw up, but throwing up now is not like it use to be. It's more like a burp with food in it...Sorry, I know that's gross, but that's what its like. Just do exactly like the doctor tells you and you shouldn't have any trouble.
   — GODSBAMAGIRL

April 10, 2009
I had my surgery on 2/19/09 and only thrown up 2x. One time was because I forgot not to eat and drink at the same time. This made me sick. The other time was because I at something that I thought was okay and wasn't. I hate throwing up and felt the same way you did before surgery but so far it hasn't been too bad. Eat slowly and don't over eat. Follow doctor's orders and you should be okay. People dump becuase they break the rules. Good Luck. You'll do great!
   — alojah82

April 10, 2009
as soon as I was able to consume solid food, I went to LaRosas piqqeria, ordered a child portion spaghetti and meat sauce and had dumping syndrome before I finished my meal. I felt like I was going to die! I got a lump in my chest, turned red and felt like I couldn't breathe; seconds later, I regurgated in my napkin,; seconds later I was back to normal. A month later, while eating lunch, I got a call to go pick someone up; I tried to scarf down a couple of bites; five minutes down the road; I got the same deathly sensation, had to pull over and vomited again. afterwards I was as good as new. Now I am careful not to eat too quickly or too much. The blessings are that you recover as quickly as you regurgatate and you quickly learn what you are not ready to eat. I believe my first experience was due largely to the fact that I consumed thick tomato sauce with my pasta which was slow to be digested, hence, it remained in my new stomach pouch while I continued to consume more; there simply was no where for it to go. My advice, do not be afraid of the possibility of dumping; if you dump, you will immediately know why, hence, a valuable learning experience.
   — ronvh1947

April 11, 2009
I'm sorry.... but I have to jump in here. I disagree that "vomiting" and "dumping syndrome" are the same thing, at least for the majority of RNY patients. From what I have read and heard, dumping symptoms are light-headedness, dizziness, nausea, sweating, shakiness, racing heart, blurred vision, cramps, and explosive diarrhea, and it's mostly caused by eating too many fats or sugars. It can sometimes take you two or three hours to recover from it. Vomiting, on the other hand, is just vomiting, and can be caused by over-filling your pouch, or from your pouch deciding all of a sudden that it doesn't like what you're putting in it. I didn't vomit until I was over 4 weeks out from surgery, and transitioning to soft foods. Seems that scrambled eggs (something I've always loved) don't agree with me anymore, and everytime I eat them, I get a feeling like I've got a HUGE burp that won't come up, and I feel very uncomfortable for a while. The problem is, you can't "force" yourself to vomit in order to relieve the discomfort, so you just have to wait until it decides to come up on its own. Sometimes if you're lucky, that's right away. But I've never put so much in my pouch that it rebels like that. The few times I've had to vomit - almost always because my new pouch has decided that it doesn't like something it always did before, it's like what someone else mentioned... a big burp with food attached. At least with me, it's not traumatic, it doesn't hurt, I don't retch or feel like I'm throwing up my guts, and it's a huge relief after it happens. And just so you know....your surgeon should be as concerned as you are about you NOT vomiting post-op. They gave me a scopalmine patch before I went into surgery, and were constantly giving me anti-nausea drugs in my IV afterwards, until I proved that I could hold down water and then broth and jello. AND, they sent me home with a prescription for scopalamine patches - over a week's worth (which I never used). But I do have to say, that the FEAR of dumping syndrome is what convinced me to have the RNY surgery as opposed to the Lap-Band. I don't EVER want to dump.... and therefore, I am being very careful about what I eat and when, and I making sure to follow all the "rules of the tool".
   — Erica Alikchihoo