Trying new foods shortly after surgery

I am about 4 days Post op from my RNY. I have been trying little bits of food here and there just to see if I was going to be experiencing dumping syndrome from sweets or anything like that. I also have been managing to get all of my protein and water goals since about day 3 so I'm not forgoing my necessities just to test myself. I was wondering if I needed to hold off on trying these things or if it was the tolerance of these things that was the problem in the first place. I have had basically no issues except the pain meds they gave me were a bit too much. I just want to know if anyone else has experienced something like this where they basically could eat anything from the get-go and had no physical restrictions on the content of their diet.

Slow down. It's normal not to feel restriction at first because you're still healing.

Didn't your surgeon's office give you a food plan to follow? You should be just starting on puréed foods...usually for about two weeks. Go to Eggface's blog for puréed foods information and recipes.

Why are you eating sweets? They are not on any surgeon's food plan. What got you in trouble in the first place? Probably carbs and sweets. If you want to succeed with your weight loss, eat what you're supposed to eat. Generally, once you're off puréed foods, your losing program is:

Protein - at least 65 grams

Calories - up to 800

Carbs - no more than 40 grams

Liquids - at the very least, 64 ozs., but preferably 100-120 ozs.

Use the road map provided by your surgeon... you're bound to succeed. Don't go off the path, or you'll be disappointed with the results.

Best of luck to you.

In almost 12 years I have dumped twice. Both times from eating candy on an empty stomach The first time it was probably about 30 miniature Tootsie Rolls, the other time about 10 starburst candies. I was five years out from surgery the first time it happened, seven years out the second time.

If you really want to test your dumping, you will need to eat a very large amount of sugar on an empty stomach. A few tastes will not do the trick.

It will take about six weeks to start having restriction that you can feel. That is because the nerves that were cut will have to heal. In the meantime, you can do a lot of damage to your new pouch if you eat more than the amount you are supposed to be eating.

I know several people who were taken back to surgery to repair the damage when they overate after surgery and tore the stitches out of the pouch. They only operated on your stomach and intestines. Your brain is still the same and will still tell you to eat what you want.

Dumping is a miserable experience where my heart races, I feel dizzy and disoriented, and then is followed by explosive diarrhea. You will not die from it, but feel like you are. If you are going to do that to yourself, I suggest you do it at home and hopefully have someone to help you if you pass out on the floor.

I hope you don't get an urge to see what Russian Roulette is like.

I am wondering why you would want to experiment with inappropriate food choices just four days out from a very serious surgery.

Your profile lists your BMI as 69.4.

If that is correct, I'm pretty sure you know what you'll experience from sweets or "anything like that".

Dumping syndrome, etc is just the fine print in such a striking bottom line. I'm not weight shaming. I am venturing a guess that you are not happy at that size and that's why you chose bariatric surgery. Quite bluntly if you don't make up your mind to follow directions for a very short period of time post op, just as all of us have to, you won't have any choices left to make.

It's ok to choose poorly sometimes. This is not one of them. Shake yourself up, dust yourself off, and start again immediately to follow your surgeon's plan. Right now. Sip some water and move. Do it again in 20 or 30 minutes.

FWIW, you'd probably be best off if you called and told your surgeon's office exactly what you're eating and why. They can help you with your eating progression but only if they know you are struggling and testing.

I want you to succeed. I want to be congratulating you on your one year surgiversary post, not reading your obituary. We get those here too.

Is some stupid piece of food worth your life?

Seriously ?!?

I am six years out from a revision to RNY and I am asking myself if replying To a troll is worth it..So for all the non trolls reading this post, please stick to your post-op plan for more than four days and don't experiment with non plan foods.

Its so much better for your future health to assume you dump, assume you need to stay away from sweets, carbs, etc. than to test things and know you can push that limit, IMO. Regain is real, and most of that comes from knowing 2 cookies won't put you on the floor...

At six years out and still 20 pounds under goal, I think I have that figured out and my best advice is to not test stuff. Assume th wiser and believe it. Turn a new page and go with it!

From my personal experience - the more and more often I "try" sweets, starchy carby foods, the least sensitive my pouch becomes to them. For many years eating 1/2 banana would make me dump. 1/2 scoop of ice cream could cause misery for hours. That was in year 2-9. Jn my first year, as I was losing, I was trying to maximize my weight loss and avoided foods like that until well in year 2. In year 2 I became too skinny, with a very low key fat %, but even when I tried to add some "healthier " carbs (like fruits - i.e 1/2 banana) I would dump and dump badly.

In year 9 and 10, I had more issues with foods and to make myself eat more I started adding some fruits, and even simple sugars like little bit of honey, or maple syrup. Within a year I stopped being very sensitive to most carbs. Now I can eat a whole banana,sone french fries, or hard candies without having any abdominal issues. Once in a while I may experience reactive hypoglycemia app 1-2 hours after carby snack.

For 9 years I avoided carbs and sweets, because they could make me seriously ill. Now I avoid them because they no long do. The first 9 years - it was much easier than it now.

I am pretty confident, that if I started trying sweets in my first year post op RNY - I wouldn't developed sensitivity to them.

I still tell myself I dump and dump badly.

I really appreciate your thorough posts. I read so many posts from what I consider fresh post ops talking about how great life is. I really think we need long term perspective in order to be successful once many of us could find ourselves in a deep hole if we allow ourselves to make poor choices once we no longer consider ourselves bariatric patients. I definitely am seeing a trend with those who are even posting on these support forums at 3 years or beyond. Thank you for sharing this.