Question:
New Post-Op here; was this dumping?
I'm 7 days post-op today, and am having no interest in food/drink (i'm at the creamy liquid stage). Today i had only had a Snapple Meal Replacement drink and 1/4 c. cottage cheese. The family decided to go to Dairy Queen, so i figured i'd give a child's size chocolate soft serve a try. I was kind of dismayed that i was able to eat all of it (i think there was maybe 1/3 c. of ice cream) without dumping, but about 20 minutes later, my stmach began cramping mildly and i had the urge to use the bathroom. i figured i might have a bout of diarrhea, but i only had a normal bowel movement (sorry for the graphic), then proceeded to feel a little bit flushed and a sweaty. it passed pretty quickly (about 20 minutes). i just wondered if this was dumping? from what i've read here, usually the dumping seems to be a bit more dramatic than what i experienced. Please let me know! Thanks! (OPEN RNY 7/7/03, 227.6/215.0/138) — sweetmana (posted on July 15, 2003)
July 14, 2003
That sounds like what I go through with a mild case of dumping. With
severe dumping I feel flushed, shakey, flu-like, and then I throw up and
then get diarreha. Unfortunately, then I usually have trouble for 2 days
keeping foods in me. I have learned the hard way to look for hidden sugar
and fats. Good luck to you and remember it's all a learning process.
— ckreh
July 14, 2003
Sounds like dumping to me. Dumping can be mild to severe with different
symptoms. Your body is trying to tell you something; I hope you take the
warning. Dumping isn't serious, it's uncomfortable but the foods that
cause it can cause much more serious problems; LACK OF WEIGHT LOSS. Please
think twice before testing your tool again.
— Patty_Butler
July 14, 2003
Yes that is dumping. That is why we should never eat sugar. My surgeon
suggest no more than 6 grams per serving. Now the further out you get -
some can handle a little more sugar than others.....but this early out you
shouldn't try anymore than 3 - 6 grams per serving.
— Sharon H.
July 15, 2003
Sounds like dumping!! You were able to eat all of it because technically
the ice cream is a liquid & runs right through your pouch. Everyone
dumps differently, but your episode sounds classic. I ate 1 chocolate
"no sugar" cookie this weekend and had a mild dumping episode
just like yours. Then I was reminded - why eat a cookie? I had the surgery
for a reason. If I eat cookies, sugar free or otherwise, I could end up
being one of the people who had the surgery fail. BTW Congrats on your
surgery!!!
— M B.
July 15, 2003
— Jazzy
July 15, 2003
That was dumping. Sometimes it's more intense, not the same for everyone,
not the same with different types of food. I worried though about
something much more important than your dumping episode. Why are you going
to Dairy Queen at only 7 days after surgery? Why are you going there at
all? You made a decision to take care of yourself by having the surgery -
a wise choice but then a week later you are making questionable choices on
what to put in your body? Not trying to lecture - just very concerned and I
want to see you succeed. You now need to eat to live not live to eat. Big
difference. Please don't go down the wrong path at put yourself at
nutritional risk or risk of weight loss failure. Seek support, make wise
choices, take care of yourself. We are all here pulling for you and wish
you good luck.
— Deborah F.
July 15, 2003
That was dumping. Sometimes it's more intense, not the same for everyone,
not the same with different types of food. I worried though about
something much more important than your dumping episode. Why are you going
to Dairy Queen at only 7 days after surgery? Why are you going there at
all? You made a decision to take care of yourself by having the surgery -
a wise choice but then a week later you are making questionable choices on
what to put in your body? Not trying to lecture - just very concerned and I
want to see you succeed. You now need to eat to live not live to eat. Big
difference. Please don't go down the wrong path at put yourself at
nutritional risk or risk of weight loss failure. Seek support, make wise
choices, take care of yourself. We are all here pulling for you and wish
you good luck.
— Deborah F.
July 15, 2003
Deborah, I've answered your questions to your personal email address.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer me. I'm glad I now know that
i was dumping, and I think it was important for me to learn that lesson.
Thanks once again to OH community for their valuable and knowledgeable
responses and support. :o) (227.6/215.8/133)
— sweetmana
July 15, 2003
Just an FYI, since I wondered about this and thought others might too.
I don't think the Snapple Meal Replacements are a suitable post-op choice -
the Staw-Banana flavor has 36 grams of sugar per serving! Yikes. And 43
grams of carbs
(http://www.snapple.com/index.asp?Pageid=1&subid=1j&contentid=1b_product_detail&catid=5&ProdID=37).
There are a lot better choices out there than this. If you are a fruity
drink lover, I would highly recommend Nectar (order from
http://www.tkfitness.com/ or http://www.wlssuccess.com/).
Good Luck!
— kultgirl
July 16, 2003
Do you really want to sabotage what you have done? Do you really want to
renig on the contract you made with yourself and with your insurance
company who forked out 50k for you to get a chance at a new life? Is your
sugar addiction that important after putting yourself at risk of death
during a risky surgery? Is your codependancy with your family going to win
and absolutely destroy every chance you have of getting well from this
disease? Trips to dairy queen aint part of the deal anymore, and neither
is sugar. Maybe your too lost in your own denial to realize how food almost
killed your ass before surgery. Yah your cherry is popped now you dumped
whoopie..what are you going to do in the future to prevent this?? The
surgery was only the beginning. Now you get to work on your insides.
— Wes P.
July 16, 2003
Wes - I think that you are being a little hard on the poster. But I guess
that you have never screwed up at all, eh??? If you do, and you have the
nerve to admit it publically on this forum, I hope that people are more
compassionate towards you than you were in your post below.
<p>
To the original poster - yes, that is dumping. The symptoms from dumping
can vary widely. For me, the times I have dumped, it's been mild (it
wasn't that much sugar). I have a worse tolerance towards fat (which this
could have been for you too - I'm not sure how much fat is in the DQ ice
cream). Also, as someone pointed out - there are better things for you to
drink than the Snapple Meal Replacement drinks. Try to look at the labels
and maximize your protein while keeping the fats and carbs (especially the
sugars part of the carbs) to a minimum. Yes, it's a learning process and
all of us posties have been where you are now. Best of luck with your
post-op journey...JR (open RNY 07/17/02 -180 lbs)
— John Rushton
July 16, 2003
Not that I feel i have to defend myself, but regarding the Snapple: i
never had a big problem with sugar (i was never the kind of person who sat
down with a pint of Haagen-Daaz or a dozen cookies, or even a bag of chips
for that matter!), and I don't think i do now, either. #1: i tried the
Boost Breeze, loved it in the hospital, for some reason tastes really nasty
at home. #2: i don't drink a snapple meal replacement EVERY day, or even
EVERY OTHER DAY.
Secondly, regarding the Dairy Queen Soft Serve: when i was on weight
watchers before, i researched the amount of fat in the chocolate soft serve
at Dairy Queen, and it is NOT the amount of fat you see in normal soft
serve or hard serve ice cream, it is LESS.
Thirdly: when you've been out of the hospital for a couple of days and
eaten/drank very little, feel yourself tottering towards the edge of
dehydration (which i've ended up in the hospital for over three times
pre-op), and feel very little interest in food or drink, sometimes you make
poor decisions to make sure you don't end up with potassium pumping through
your veins. this is what i did. i knew ice cream at room temp was a fluid,
and it was better at that point than NOTHING!
i don't think i deserved to have someone taunting me like we're in grade
school, but i guess i set myself up for it by asking a naive question in a
public forum. I suppose in some ways i AM a child again. i will test
limits, i will stumble and bloody my lip, and i WILL sometimes fall. i will
learn from my own mistakes, even though there are over 10,000 out there who
have already made them before me. isn't that what childhood is about? I am
NOT perfect, and i am still learning (even with all the research I've done
prior to surgery). i AM glad (believe it or not) i had the chance to
experience what dumping (even in it's mildest form) feels like, since i
think i stopped listening to my body long ago. I appreciate everyone's
responses who were a bit more tactful and caring, but i urge everyone else
to be not so judgmental and a bit more empathetic. after all, we're hear to
SUPPORT each other, NOT beat each other up. it's not like i went to the all
night chinese buffet....
thanks again to everyone for your support.
— sweetmana
July 16, 2003
To Sweet One: It is regretful you feel the need to defend yourself on this
board. I read through all of the answers to your question and, with the
possible exception of one, all seemed genuinely concerned for your health
and well-being. Some just expressed it better (more diplomatically) than
others. Justifications of your food choices may make you feel emotionally
better but do nothing for you physically. I have not experienced dumping in
its true form because I stay away from anything that I think may cause it.
I am only 9 weeks out of surgery, but the longer I go without the awful
sugar/carb crashes of my pre-op life, the better I feel, and the easier it
gets to keep going. I hope you will re-read the answers to your question
and take them to heart. They really wish you well, and so do I.
— Carole V.
July 16, 2003
As others have said, it sounds like dumping but here's something else. You
may become lactose intolerant after surgery. I know I sure did! The idea
of ice cream, cereal with milk or any other dairy is enough to give me the
chills. If I ingest more than a mouthful or two, I'm guaranteed hideous
stomach cramps, faint flushed feelings and then a minimum of two hours
straight on the toilet with runs from hell! A baked potato will do the
same thing and my one attempt at crawfish etouffe is an experience I will
never forget! The only other thing that gives me problems like that is
cake. You're right, we pretty much all test our limits but if you're
anything like me, the results are something you won't forget anytime soon.
Good luck!
— Kellye C.
July 16, 2003
Ice cream is a BIG no-no!!! How can you even consider eating it at only 7
days post op???? From dumping stories that I have heard, you should
consider yourself lucky that that was the worst you experienced. I would be
very careful if I were you, because it seems like you are not getting
started on the right foot!
— Ceil G.
July 16, 2003
Hello Sweet One. I hope you take this in the spirit it is intended. I had
Open Distal RNY back in April 2003. I'm down 96 pounds so far. So I'm an
experienced WLS patient. When I read your post, I was shocked. What we've
chosen to do is drastic change in our bodies and lifestyles. With that in
mind, why would you even go near sugar at this point ... or even much later
on? I went to a local support group meeting last night. One of the people
there told of a Bariatric Center who let's their patients have one Oreo,
since one is low enough on sugar, so as not to cause dumping. Most of us
all agreed ... give us one, and we might not want to stop. All it takes is
a few screw-ups to waste this expensive surgery we've had. And I've met
people who have screwed-up ... had the surgery, gone through the lifestyle
changes, then strayed, and then ended up morbidly obese again. Forgive me
for being blunt, but is that what you want to see when you look ahead a
year or two? I doubt it. I know I don't. I haven't had more than about 6
grams of sugar per serving yet ... and I don't intend to in the near
future. I've been given a new lease on life. But I know from past
experience that on my own, I'll screw up again. Part of why I went through
this was so that I was forced to not have sugar anymore. If I try a little,
I'll keep trying more .. and more. Then a few chips. Some Cheetos. Fudge
cookies. Then some fatty meats. And it won't be long before I'm morbidly
obese again. I urge you to rethink your food choices. If you need sweets
... go for something with Spenda in it. Take some pudding with Spenda with
you when the family goes to Dairy Queen. Or some sugar-free pops. Better
yet ... some fresh fruit. Don't start down the road which seems like just a
teeny detour from what you know you should follow. It probably won't be
long before you've completely lost track of your journey.
— Robert Neff
July 16, 2003
Side note to Robert N.'s response - actually, I've heard Dairy Queen HAS a
sugar-free item - possibly Blue Bunnie- in which case no need to byo
dessert there - but call first.
— Postop_nurse
July 16, 2003
I will keep my own opinions to myself and I will simply answer your
question. Yes, it was dumping. The Dairy Queen by my house carries a sugar
free fudgecicle for $1.50.
— Connie M.
July 16, 2003
As you now know, that was dumping! When it happens to me, I get sweaty and
clammy, and my nose runs! The only thing that seems to make it abate is a
nap. I'm more concerned with the reactions you got to your question, and
have to echo John Rushton when he asks which one of us hasn't screwed up?
I am a much longer-term post op than you (1 year next week), and although I
am not at goal (25 pounds to go), I am choosing to try to live
"normally" now, when I want to. I will not refuse a sweet,
because I know now that I can be satisfied with one, and not a whole bag.
And if I make a wrong choice, I dump, as I did two nights ago, on a
fat-free, low cal ice cream, of which I had maybe 3 tablespoons. Yes, we
made a choice to live healthier--but I, for one, never made a promise to
live like an ascetic forever. I am using my tool, but I am also learning
to live in the real world. I hope we all learn to handle our bodies and
our choices in a way that makes sense to each of us.
— AmyL
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