Question:
I am having surgery July 15th and am trying to stock my pantry with foods I

will be able to eat. I looked at the label of tomato soup (one of my favorites) and it said it contained Frutose (sugar). Will I be able to eat that without dumping? Also, I noticed some foods that I like listed on the ingredients said "contains less than 2% of the following" and sugar was one of the items. Will I dump eating those also? Thanks for your responses.    — Judy W. (posted on May 20, 2002)

May 20, 2002
I usually don't dump on fructose BUT the first food I dumped on was tomato soup. Don't know if it was because it had sugar added to it or maybe it was the cream (tomato-basil soup). I would look at the sugar grams on the label. I dumped on anything more than 6 grams of refined sugar. That seems to be about average, although some people are more sensitive and others never dump at all. Just remember that fruit sugars and milk sugars are counted in this amount but that those will likely not be a problem for you. For example, no sugar added Carnation Instant Breakfast has 7 grams listed as sugar. Add what's in a cup of milk and it makes 17 total, but unless you are lactose intolerant, that won't make you sick and/or cause dumping. BTW, my dr said to avoid acidic fruits like citrus and tomatoes (notice how well I followed instructions =) for 6 weeks.
   — ctyst

May 20, 2002
I dont know about tomato soup but my dietician told me that as a rule of thumb, if sugar is listed as one of the first 3 or 4 ingredients, avoid that food. At the immediate post op stage I drank a lot of carnation instant breakfast-no sugar added, sugar-free popsicles, sugar free jello, broth, sf pudding, and some baby food bananas. I also bought some non-fat powered milk and added it to certain things like the carnation instant breakfast to increase the amount of protein. Hope this helps, you will find what you can tolerate and what tastes good to you.
   — Cory F.

May 20, 2002
I started eating tomato soup on day 8 and it was one of the only things that stayed down well and gave me enough norishment in my body to start feeling energetic. Every doctor seems to differ - mine said anything under 10 mg. of sugar was okay - I know there is a lot of sugar, or what seems to be a lot of sugar, in tomato soup but if you think about the quantity we're eating, especially that shortly after surgery (you'll be lucky to get down 2 - 3 oz.) it's hardly nothing. I also recommend not stocking up on a ton of foods & whatnot - get the basics for whatever your doctor recommends for your diet and let it go or it will be sitting there for-ev-er - you're going to be amazed at how much you will be able to eat or tolerate. I wish you the best of luck !!
   — Lisa J.

May 20, 2002
i'm not sure about the tomato soup - as long as one of the first three ingredients is'nt sugar -you can have it. that's what my doctor said. i did like you and went shopping for goodies i thought i would need when i got home. i still have not gone through a third of all this mess i went and got! the best things i did stock up on were crystal lite- which is my best friend now. get butterball chicken broth! this is the best thing next to kool-aid to me. it tastes so good it seems like you are cheating! get frozen veggies, eggs, jello-sugar free kind, watermelon- ahhhh, this was my savior and still is. tastes so good and it stays down! quenches thirst and cures the "wanting to eat something but i'm thirsty too and don't wanna wait 45 minutes blues"! get some breyers lite no sugar added ice cream, dole sugarfree popscicles are ganna become your sweetheart too. and what else? hey!!! frozen fruit is great for munch attacks. i get the berries and peaches or strawberries. they're individually frozen in slices so you can pop one in your mouth or throw them into your cereal. i love shredded wheat- but you got to get the plain. then add your fixxins'. get some butter buds, some equal packets for on the go and a supply you can pour at home. i got all this stuff i have mentioned and i am still going strong in my supply. you are not going to be able to eat hardly anything. so don't go broke trying to stock up because before you can use it all up you will be ready for your second list of can haves and when you can put meat in your mouth the first things you bought are ganna take a back seat for a while. so good luck to you. email me if you need me. i'm here for you [smile]. and i've got cheating experiance too- trust me do- not- do-it! good luck! god bless! and continued success and health!
   — Janvielle F.