Just curious about your sugar experience

You have to be diligent. Many times I stop for something and say it over and over and I hear - yeah, yeah yeah. Sunday I stopped at a coffee shop for a decaf americano. I said decaf 4 times. I finally said - I'm sorry to be so persistent but I have a medical condition that makes me very sick if I have caffeine. She went in the back with my cup and came out and started over saying the machine was broken and she needed to redo it. Sometimes persistence isn't enough!

I'd admire your approach. I didn't take the time to evaluate if I should try sugar. For me, it was bad behaviors and addiction/habit. I just did it. Let me be your cautionary tale! I started with one M&M. Chocolate was familiar but not yum. Then, I'd have a starburst. Nothing happened and they were yummy. So I was trying Sprees. I could have 3 so I'd try 4. My habit before surgery was to eat and then have sweets. That is why I ended up with surgery!

I was six months post-op when I had some food freedom that I started slipping. I'd tremble, get a bad headache in my forehead. The best way I can describe the pain is when you have the flu, right before you throw up (I call it the scrunchy moment because the hair goes up in the ponytail to prepare) that cold sweat completely miserable time? Pizza, carbs, and sugar hurt. So why do I risk it? Addiction? I don't know.

So, my line used to be 5 pieces of hot tamales, sour somethings, etc. Now I can eat the whole bag. My advice is don't start. My nutritionist says the sugar is not stopped by the stomach. Think of it as a ziplock bag. It can only hold a slice of bread but if you put in a cup of sugar you can add water and make room for another cup of sugar. My doctor says my body has a craving that my brain can't stop. Anyway, I'm working on it. I am searching the boards for ideas too!

My strong advice is treat this as a new life and say you have new rules. Just don't start. It's a trigger.

Also, I can't do the sugar alcohols. They taste really weird to me, almost like oil? but Halo ice cream crap causes pain and has no enjoyment. If you're looking for ideas, try a brownie batter hummus. Delighted by Hummus is in my King Soopers grocery store and whole foods.

Delighted By Hummus

They have snickerdoodle too. I know it's weird, but it has protein! High fats, but I can manage them with no trouble. If you use strawberries or apples to dip, it's going to meet your cravings but give you some nutrition too.

Have you tried the protein peanut butters? They have flavored ones. I know the Sprouts vanilla one is amazing. A smear of PB on fruit as lunch hits the spot! Oatmeal hasn't worked well for me. I don't feel full but I do try the peanut butter powder in steal cut oats and add a few chopped figs or chocolate chips.

Good Luck!

Wow, thank you for your reply. This could easily be be me. I was/am a sugar addict as well - my vices were candy bars and ice cream. While I was an equal opportunity carb eater, I preferred salty items. I have gone off plan about 4 times over the last year with chips, popcorn and crackers. I was shocked that I did not get full, then came more cravings...

Normally, I only eat protein and very small amounts of cheese or veggies. No fruit, nuts, nut butters or oatmeal. I have tried Halo top and I really liked it but don't buy anymore as I can't stop and I will make myself sick - slippery slope. I have learned to get creative with my coffee (SF syrups and spices), it seems to give me a sweet something that satisfies me.

My curiosity about everyone's sugar experience was not to decide whether I should have it, but how I can stay the course avoiding it - learning from everyone. Thank you for your story!

I am 10 years post-op RNY. My first dumping was a single normal bite (I took two baby bites) of pumpkin pie filling at Christmas, which was just 4 months post op. I had a bite of some with no problem at Thanksgiving, but at Christmas it was a Marie Callendar pie which has an incredible amount of sugar. I didn't dump again until I was about a year out. I haven't dumped for several years.

I have only had 3 dumping experiences in 10 years and they were all in the first 2 years. I do not have RH, but I have regular hypoglycemia, which has gotten worse since my RNY. I have to eat a combination of protein, carbs, and fat about every 4 hours or my boood sugar tanks.

Now, I do dump, but it takes a lot of sugar to make it happen. I can eat snack sized candy bars or half a regular candy bar with no problem. I don't know if I could eat a whole one, but I probably could. I can eat a whole glazed doughnut if I eat it slowly. (I don't know if eating it at a normal pace would make any difference... I was eating slowly to try to keep from getting ill... if you eat slowly, you can catch the dumping when the first signs of shakiness or nausea begin). I can eat almost half a cup of regular Haagen Dazs (full sugar full fat**** cream before I start to get dumping symptoms.

Yes, many of those things are a **** load of calories for such a small treat. I would rather have a 1/4 - 1/2 cup of Haagen Dazs, though, than a whole cup of some chemical laden ice cream substitute that cannot come anywhere close to the craziness of the real thing... and anyone who syas that chocolate or "brownie" protein bars taste almost like a real brownie have clearly not had a real brownie in a long time.

So... you asked... there it is from a 10 year post-op.

Lora

Thank you for sharing your experience. Interesting, for dumping it didn't occur that the amount of sugar or the timing would change the reaction. I just assumed a person either dumped or didn't. Again, thank you.