Moving Forward

Oct 13, 2011

Last night I was in the bathroom for HOURS....TMI I know LOL.  But I am going to look at it as a positive and NOT a negative.  I woke up this morning and honestly felt better, less bloated, lighter....the scale didn't seem to think so as it read 188.6....but even that is ok too!  For breakfast I had an egg over easy and a few slivers of onion.  I tried to pay attention to chewing better and counting to at least 20 between bites (which is something that I struggle with every day). I felt pretty good.  But all that bathroom action had me feeling drowsy so I stopped and bought a 5 Hour Energy.....instant bloat.  Now I am sitting at work miserable in my tight size 11-12 pants wishing I had wore something different....wanting nothing more than to unbutton these darn things and release the jaws of life grip that they have around my stomach.
While occuping the bathroom last night I did quite a lot of reading on my phone about IBS, dumping syndrome, bloating, RNY issues, and then this morning I read up on gluten intolerance.   I guess I never realized that dumping syndrome consists of MORE than just vomiting.  You can have early stage and late stage symptoms of dumping syndrome.  I think I might be experiencing some late stage dumping syndrome symptoms.  I paid close attention to what was going on last night as I ate some sugar free chocolate covered almonds.  About 30 mins after I ate them I got this super hot flush feeling over my face, neck, arms.  A fatigue feeling, uncomfortable.  Then my stomach started rumbling, the tightness returned....and then I rushed to the bathroom (again).  Looking back these are the symptoms that I get A LOT!  Especially the hot feeling and the rumbling of my stomach.  It literally sounds like waterfalls or something of that nature.  It is very strange.  But when that happens I know that I need to high tail it to the nearest bathroom.  What is strange is that you can have the EXACT same symptoms from dumping syndrome, IBS, and a gluten intolerance.  About 20 mins after eating the almonds my stomach bloated up again was super extended and the pressure pain was there.  It is really strange.
So...my first "note to self" stay away from 5 Hour Energy drinks....this is going to be something hard to do because I wake up every morning feeling like dog poo.  I don't think I am sleeping as good or as long as I should be.  There is simply not enough hours in the night!  Second plan of action "note to self' stay away from Gluten products.  Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, malt.  Gluten can also be added to foods as a thickening agent (Dextrin).  Dumping is caused when the contents of the stomach are "dumped" into the small intestine too quickly.  Foods to avoid include sweets, sweetened drinks, candy, cakes, cookies.  But some articles have stated that people "dump" off different things.  So while it MAY be sweets for me it could be regular bread for someone else.  I read that taking Fiber suplements can help...this is something I have not been doing.  Drinking lots of water....something I plan on doing right now, and keeping a log of what foods affect you and what foods dont.  My list is pretty short right now....5 Hour Energy drinks, and chocolate covered almonds are on the DO NOT eat list for right now.  I am on my first 20 fl. oz. bottle of water and plan on drinking at least 2 more while I am at work.  For lunch I was going to have a salad....but with the salad dressing, cheese, veggies, meat there is a lot going on.  So instead I am going to go to Fresh Market and get some olive and cheese mixture.  It is basically....olives and either feta or mozz cheese mixed together.  Simple tasty and not a lot of ingredients....and good on the wallet.   I also brought some cottage cheese for a snack....we will see how that goes.  And I plan on drinking at least one maybe two cups of hot tea.  Hot tea always seems to calm my stomach....and right now the way these pants are cutting me in half I need something to make the bloat go down and stay down.
Still no reply from my surgeon's office or my email to the NUT....although that is not shocking to me at all.  Honestly I probably will NOT hear from them at all.  I am going to check with my job today on when we will have insurance so I can find a PCP and start addressing issues like this with them.
So....just so I can put it out there--Foods I am Going To Avoid:
Potatos, breads, pastas, rice, fatty foods, fried foods, processed foods

Foods I am Going To have More of:
Cheese, lean meats, fresh fruits, veggies, cottage cheese (maybe), low fat dressings/toppings for salads, some lettuce (lettuce sometimes upsets my tummy).  I am going to try the Boca Burgers, Tofu, and different veggie dishes as well.  Might as well try a little bit of everything while I am experimenting with what makes my tummy happy....and meets my protein needs.
I have not been drinking any protein shakes as when I was I was having the same bloating run to the bathroom issues.  But maybe I need to add them back in there, a sugar free flavor and see how that works.

Well ITS FRIDAY!!!!  And I CANNOT wait till 5:30!!!!!!!

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