Question:
A question about dumping....does it occurr immediately?

If I try a new food, how soon until my body reacts to it? Just curious. I have tried many foods (all nutritionist apporved) and have not had any dumping symptoms- yet. I keep waiting for it to happen! (i know everyone is not the same but I figured there must be SOMETHING that will make me dump). I am 4 1/2 weeks out.    — tparr (posted on August 20, 2006)


August 20, 2006
I never dumped. Never. Sad but true. Actually wish I had. I am 15 months out. I felt uncomfortable a couple of times when I wasn't paying attention to how much I was eating but I never ever dumped. It gets really hard after a year - you can eat a little more, and in my case, I can eat anything. Bad bad bad. Don't test the waters. Best to be safe. I have put back about 10 lbs and am freaking out over it. I can eat very little at one time, but find myself hungry often and those little bits add up. Be very careful.
   — patgels

August 20, 2006
I never dumped. Never. Sad but true. Actually wish I had. I am 15 months out. I felt uncomfortable a couple of times when I wasn't paying attention to how much I was eating but I never ever dumped. It gets really hard after a year - you can eat a little more, and in my case, I can eat anything. Bad bad bad. Don't test the waters. Best to be safe. I have put back about 10 lbs and am freaking out over it. I can eat very little at one time, but find myself hungry often and those little bits add up. Be very careful.
   — patgels

August 20, 2006
I would assume that if you're eating foods that are all nutritionist approved, you're not going to dump...unless it's unforseen...like you're lactose intolerant and you didn't know. It's when people "cheat" that they dump - like eating sweets or something high in fat or carbs. High sugar alcohols will do it too - that happened to me - so that I guess isn't really "cheating" since I was eating a protein bar! lol. For me I started dumping within about 15 mins. I ate about half the protein bar and started to get cramps, sweating, nausea, etc. It's probably different for each person though. I'm almost 5 months post-op. Take care!
   — platypus

August 20, 2006
If you are not dumping that means you are eating what you are suppose to be eating and following instructions of the nutritionist. Why you sound like you want to eat something to make you dump? If you're not dumping don't worry about it.
   — the7thdean

August 20, 2006
dumping can occur up to 4 hours later. It depends on your body, what you ate and how much. Why do you want to dump so bad?
   — Steve Cohen

August 20, 2006
Funny...it is not that I WANT to dump so bad. It is more like I am waiting for the inevitable and it hasn't happened.
   — tparr

August 20, 2006
I've dumped a few times. I get nauseated, shaky/jittery and just an ill feeling. It can last for 15 to 20 minutes. I usually dump on sugary foods. I'm 20 months post op and still cannot tolerate some things even in the smallest amount w/o dumping (i.e. milk - even the lactose free milk). I'm glad I dump, because ironically, it keeps me in check.
   — CHARLYLVN

August 20, 2006
Tara, not everybody dumps. It is more common than not, but not everyone dumps. I have only dumped once, but don't anymore. Sometimes I wish that I did as it is a restraint. If I were you, I wouldn't test the waters. Just assume that you do and advoid those foods that would make you dump.
   — jk_harris

August 20, 2006
I'm 2 months out and I don't dump much. Actually, I might dump - just my symptoms don't seem to be as bad as others. I get extremely uncomfortable - sometimes mildly sweaty. I don't really dump on the few high-sugars I've tried. I do mild dump on chips. I haven't really tried much more than about 5 chips at a time.
   — KC

August 21, 2006
Nutritionist approved doesn't mean you won't dump on it. It depends on the person and their own sensitivities. And some nutritionists say it's okay to have watered down juice...which would make many people dump. Generally if you are going to dump, you will notice it within 30 minutes or so. Most people will get a fast heart rate, feel just a general all over "not good" and may want to nap. For me my nap is 3 hours. Some people feel sick to their stomach. For me, it was just an odd sick feeling that is very hard to describe. You don't want to go through it again, but it's not like the stomach flu...at least not for me. Now there is also late dumping which I didn't realize I had until just recently. That I mistook for early menopause or something. Essentially it is very low blood sugar and it can wake you out of a dead sleep. You start sweating profusely, feel weak and shakey and possibly disoriented. You also feel like you have to eat...even though you may not be really hungry. Just a kneejerk feeling that you have to eat. If you feel that way EAT!!! Because that means your blood sugar is too low and you need to get it back up. I would instinctively go for crackers or cookies, and once I realized what was going on it made sense. I needed to balance my blood sugar. Once I would eat, within a half hour or less I was feeling much better. If you ignore it, it could be serious. I passed out in the shower one time before I realized what the deal was. Late dumping is usually brought on by eating the wrong thing. I was fooled because I thought I was getting away with eating something carby that wasn't making me dump right away. Well, joke was on me. Anyway, I am actually happy I found out and have this because it keeps me from eating the wrong things all the time. I have to watch it for both types of dumping...and that keeps me on track. You may not experience it for awhile if you are being good. But some people dump on not only sugar or carbs (crackers get me as well as breakfast cereal) but also fat. I did a lot initially. Good luck to you - hopefully you won't have to find out, but for me, it is a good form of negative reinforcement. :o) Dina
   — Dinka Doo

August 21, 2006
After RNY we dump for a couple of different reasons. First, the initial dumping that many people experience is when they eat something that tends to absorb the fluid in their small intestine; the body then responds to this quick dehydration and tries to expel the offending food. For many of us, refined sugars will cause this initial dumping. Also, eating anything too quickly can have the same effect (I have dumped when eating a protein bar too quickly and many talk about dumping when they eat something that is loaded with fat or grease). There is also secondary dumping (also called latent dumping) that happens when concentrated sugars are consumed-- in addition to soaking all the fluide out of our systems, they can also trigger an hightened insulin response (they're not broken down and trick the body into thinking that far more sugar has been consumed for which all that insulin is needed). Of course, the insulin can wreak havoc with our system (which causes a lot of the other common symptoms of dumping). I appreciate your weariness of dumping-- it does seem inevitable and it is easy to anticipate it and be anxious of what will trigger it. However, for those of us who have dumped (the first time was on a small sip of cranberry juice that turned out to be cranberry cocktail, other times it has been the result of thinking that something had no sugar in it-- mix-ups when ordering diet sodas), we just learn to practice constant vigilence. It is a great disincentive and it does serve us well to be conditioned that sugars will make us sick. For me, I need to know that dumping will make me very sick to help me stay on course. However, many people are successful who have never dumped because they simply burn it in their heads that eating quickly or eating sugar will not be healthy for them (regardless of how those behaviors will make them feel immediately). Hope this helps. Good luck.
   — SteveColarossi

August 24, 2006
Well I'm a little over a year out and have had really bad direaha (sp) for most of the time and just found out that it is a form of dumping and usally sugar makes this happen. I thought dumping was just throwing up but it takes many different forms. If you don't dump in any for then I would say good for you and I hope you never do, but ( hate to say this) just wait a little while longer, you never know when it will hit you!! Good luck!!
   — Zimpo

September 26, 2006
I'm 3-1/2 years out and I still dump, so I guess I probably always will. I can eat maybe 3-4 bites of something like a piece of pie or cake, or half of a cookie, but if I try to push it and eat a bit more, I'll dump within about 15 minutes. A couple of sips of milk is also all I can drink without dumping. About an hour after dumping, I'll get the jittery feeling of low blood sugar, which it is because dumping dumps the sugar or other offending substance into your smaller stomach, which quickly dumps it into your intestines, which causes the sick feeling. It seems if I dump badly, my sugars will feel up and down for several hours afterward, though I was never diabetic or had need to actually test my sugar.
   — Kate T.




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