Question:
2 months Post-op and I do not dump?????

I am 2 months Post-op. For the most part I try to eat what is required by my physician. My problem is I do not dump on sugar or fat. Is this normal?????? It scares me to know I can eat anything. Does anyone have this problem and any advice? Or am I freaking out over nothing???    — [Deactivated Member] (posted on August 22, 2003)


August 22, 2003
It is my understanding that 30% of post-op RNY patients do not dump on sugar. I don't know what the percentage is that don't dump on fat. If you had problems with high-sugar and/or high-fat stuff before, you'll have to be extra vigilant...JR
   — John Rushton

August 22, 2003
It's really weird, the further post op I get the more weird dumping is to me. I thought at first it would be fats and sugars but I'm finding it can be anything... even meat and protien drinks. I had a severe bout of dumping after I ate a scrambled egg with cheese and salsa today. I'm not so sure it has everything to do with fat and sugar, I think it has to do with how fast certain ingredients hit your intestines and what happens once it gets there. You're pretty new post, and you may find this to be true.
   — Happy I.

August 22, 2003
I'm 2 months post op and I'm in the same boat as you, I don't dump on anything. I just have to remind myself that I can't eat all that bad food like I use to. On special occations i will have a little. It's tough but just stick to what you are suppose to eat and you will do fine.
   — jen091172

August 22, 2003
just my two cent's my surgeon says that his patients do not dump. he did an open distal rny on me and i'm nine months out and haven't dumped to date and i've eaten everything i mean everything so go figure. i'm sure you'll find other distal rny's that say they do i don't know maybe you never will and really i know it might be easier to stay away from things you shouldn't eat if you dumped but a friend of mine does dump and she still eats the things that make her dump anyway so your better off not being a dumper. i dunno. best wishes, kimberly open distal rnt 11/12/02 -120lbs
   — kimberly T.

August 22, 2003
At 2 months PO you should not be dumping as you should not be eating enough of the foods that can cause that to happen. Very few people dump on a frew grams of sugar or fat and if that's all you are getting in a meal then you are doing just what you should be. I am 6-1/2 months and have never dumped. I do eat small quantities of sugar in things like ketchup or BBQ sauce and I tolerate it fine, but it does not get out of line. In this time I have had 1 cookie, but after I had eaten so I had other food in my pouch, and 2 tiny bites of chocolate mousse and 3-5 pieces of gummi life savers (about 6-10 grams worth), no sugar added ice cream bars (2-5 grams of sugar) etc. But because the quantities were low it has not been a problem. The only time I even came close to dumping was from sugar free ice cream. I had it on vacation and so I do not know what it was sweetened with and how much fat it had in it but I did not feel real good for a few hours afterwards. No serious side effects just a yucky feeling. Might have even been a lactose intolerance issue instead. I also will eat a few onion rings here and there and sometimes if I go out the food I get is breaded - like as in parmesean chicken. Since I eat a small quantity and eat very little other carbs I do not worry about it and I tolerate it, but again it is quite small. For me I can more easily get sick from eating too fast than dumping from sugar or fat. <p>Personally I am happy with how my body is dealing with sugar and fat. It allows me to have small quantities with no problems, which is how a normal person eats. I have no idea what would happen if I had regular ice cream or more than 2 tiny bites of mousse, but I have no desire to find out. I do not feel a need to find that break point where I will dump. This is a good balance for me so if I never dump it just tells me that I am sticking with my plan and have found something reasonable that I can enjoy and keep my body happy. I have more issues with eating fast and once in a great while I get reminded that I had surgery and I can no longer eat that way - and I deserve to throw up.
   — zoedogcbr

August 22, 2003
Christine, I also didn't dump at 2 months postop but now at 5 months out, I am finding that I have to be more careful. It's really weird because I can eat a SF icecream bar and not have any problems but eat one serving of SF icecream from the half-gallon container and I dump. hen I was 2 months out, I just had to make a concious decision not to eat anything with sugar (except for the occasional treat) and find SF alternatives that I could get used to eating. I also find that I dump more often on highly concentrated sugars such as sauces so I try to avoid them too. The GNC near my home sells SF, low carb (.4-2gms) chocolates that are heavenly and I think that even if I didn't dump, I would never go back to eating regular chocolate because it's too close to the danger one for me. Just a few suggestions.....good luck and take care.
   — denisel

August 22, 2003
Christine- With respect to dumping, when you dump on sugar, it is truly a horrific experience as your body over-produces insulin to manage the sugar that has left your pouch undigested. I dumped merely licking the spoon after making my daughters ice cream sundaes when I was about 4 weeks out. I don't risk it now (at ten months out), in part because the feeling was so terrible, but also because now I fear that I won't dump and I will be back to grazing (and then gourging) on candy, cookies and other treats. I happen to be a firm believer that, if you overate even in the face of doctors telling you that weight compromised your health, or if you ate even when you were full (to the point of feeling kind of lousy), then chances are you suffer from a food addiction. That's where I was before surgery, so I strive to make eating food unimportant (even "real" food like a "normal" person eats). So, don't worry about not dumping, but try to figure where you were before surgery in terms of overeating and then try to find a lifetime food plan that will minimize your risk of returning to those old bad habits-- for many of us, quitting "cold turkey" is the only alternative.
   — SteveColarossi

August 22, 2003
Some people don't dump. I do and I'm thankful as it is a most unpleasant experience that I choose to avoid if at all possible. I have not eaten a single piece of candy or had cake or ice cream (other than no sugar added) since my surgery almost 21 months ago but I have dumped on a soup made with tomatos, orange juice, a regular popsicle that I was given in the hospital and a variety of other foods that I didn't even think would make me dump. I think our bodies vary in what they will tolerate because sometimes I can eat something fine and the next time I eat it I dump on it (yogurt, for instance and peanut butter). The best way to handle the dumping situation is to not test it. I was afraid I wouldn't dump so I wouldn't even consider eating anything with sugar and once I found that I did, I sure wanted to avoid it.
   — Patty_Butler

August 22, 2003
not dumping is not necessarily a good thing. i sometimes wish i would have a bad experience. even though i try to stay away from sweets i don't always do it. it's very hard. this surgery is done on our stomachs, not our heads and being further out it's hard for the same eating habits to stay away. good luck.
   — candymom64

August 23, 2003
Could we be getting the dumping syndrome mixed up with something else? I don't think I have ever dumped. But I sure know when enough is enough. The few times I have ever so slightly pushed it, I have felt big time discomfort. That 'one bite more' that my doctor had warned me NOT to do has gotten me a few times. So maybe it's not that I ingested too much fat or too much sugar, but just that 'one bite more'. I usually don't overeat. My head tells me I don't want any more before my tummy does. I eat very small portions, but I don't fuss over WHAT I eat. Of course I won't eat candy and nonsense stuff like that. But if I want a bite or two of a cookie (maybe even a WHOLE cookie) or a bite of birthday cake (oooh gotta be real careful there), I have it. I eat fresh fruit. I have never eaten anything that made me ill. I have never thrown up. I have eaten too fast and when that happens, I am done. I end up not eating hardly anything then because I feel like I have this HUGE knot in my stomach. The heart pulps and cold sweats and neausea, I have never experienced. Knock on wood.
   — Ginger M.

August 23, 2003
Oops! That would be 'PALPS' not 'pulps'. LOL Circle the errors! I'm a compulsive 'circle the error' personality! ;)
   — Ginger M.




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