Question:
I am not sure if I just dumped, or if it was something else...
Ok, first of all I want to appologize for the nature of this question... Tonight, for dinner, I had some thin deli turkey, two bites of pizza topping, (I know I know), and a bite of a canned peach. I can usually eat more than this but started feeling uncomfortable so I stopped. I had a TUMS. I think I ate too fast to tell you the truth. BUT, at work tonight, I felt nautious off and on for hours. Until about 4 hours after I ate the dinner, I went to the bathroom and threw up. Odd thing is, it was PINK. Now, I am hoping this was the Tums but the Tums I had was purple, not pink. I haven't had a pink thing in lord knows how long. Anyhow, when I threw up last time, I felt better instantly. This time, I did feel better, no pain in my chest. But, I did still feel nautious. Plus I had a headache to boot. Also, when I was throwing up, it was like it was sooo hard to get it up and out. Like it was getting caught on something so an extra few heaves was needed. When it came up, there weren't any large pieces either. So I was wondering, did I throw up cause I ate too fast, or had dumping say cause too much fat? Just need to know for future reference. :) By the way, I am 4 weeks post op Lap Rny. Thank you Thank you so very much for any responses, Annie — Annie R. (posted on September 7, 2001)
September 7, 2001
I don't know for sure but I don't think you experienced dumping. Your food
choices probably would not have caused you to dump. The pizza topping
should not have been a problem. Cheese, a little sauce and even meat or
veggie are just protein and complex carbs so you should have been fine with
that. There could not have been that much fat in two bites. The one time I
dumped it happened very soon after I ate - maybe after about 10 to 20 mins,
definitely not hours. I had cold and hot sweats and felt weak and clammy in
addition to the nausea and vomiting. It seems like you could have eaten too
fast or maybe didn't chew your food well enough and it sat in your tummy
because it could not be digested and had to eventually come back up. I'm
almost 5 months post-op and still have trouble with deli turkey - it's very
dry and hard to digest. Other meats are a problem too unless moistened with
sauce or gravy or mustard, etc. Not to be gross but when I eat too fast or
don't chew well enough I get mucus in my stomach that HAS to come up. The
food doesn't come up, just the 'gunk'. Maybe that's what you experienced.
Just a suggestion. Best of luck to you.
— [Anonymous]
September 7, 2001
I think a lot of us get confused about what dumping actually is. As the
previous post explained it is more than just nausea and/or vomiting. It may
not even include those. It is that weak, light headed cold and clammy
feeling. I had a reminder just this morning, when I dumped on cough syrup
taken on an empty stomache. Oh man, I felt like a bowl of jello. Awful.
Turkey breast gives me a lot of trouble too, no matter how well I chew it.
Early post op I had a lot of trouble with that kind of thing, until I
learned to go slower and chew until is was liquid. It is hard to learn new
habits, but it will become second nature soon.
— blank first name B.
September 8, 2001
From your description you did not experience dumping. Dumping results from
the intake of concentrated sugar or fats. <br>
"Dumping Syndrome - one of the key features that helps a patient
control calorie intake after Gastric Bypass is the fact that food leaves
the tiny stomach pouch only into a section of the small intestine called
the jejunum. This pathway for the food is the "Roux-en-Y" part
of the full name for the procedure, and it matters because the jejunum is
simply not made to handle concentrated calories, especially refined sugar.
The effect of this is that if a person consumes sugar after a gastric
bypass (such as ice cream, chocolate candy, or a soda) the presence of the
sugar in this segment of intestine will create a reaction called dumping
syndrome that affects the whole body. An episode of dumping shows up as
palpitations (heart racing), a sweaty and clammy feeling, cramping
abdominal pain, diarrhea, and then a feeling of weakness during which the
person simply must lay down for an hour or so until it passes. Dumping
syndrome is not dangerous, but it feels awful. It is not exactly a side
effect, in the sense that works in a beneficial way by steering patients
away from that type of food."
<br> I found this description of dumping syndrome at :
http://www.sabariatric.com/side_effects.htm I had lap RNY this year and I
have experienced vomiting several times after meals. I think what happened
is that some food was stuck at your anastomosis (the opening from your
pouch to the intestine). This is caused by not "chew, chew,
chewing" our food enough and usually results in vomiting. Also eating
too fast seems to cause me a problem. You usually feel better after
throwing up. I've found that I usually don't see any "chunks". I
don't have much problem with meats, but any kind of fruit skin seems to get
stuck. LOL:-)
— Jonathan M.
September 8, 2001
Hmmm..at 4 weeks post op my surgeon still has us on pureed foods up to 6
weeks, so maybe you are eating "heavy" solid foods too early.
Might try eating pureed food for awhile..Best of luck to you!!
— [Anonymous]
September 8, 2001
Just as a sidenote.....Tums does not work in RNY because we have no stomach
acid to "activate" it. I believe that we shouldn't ever have
heartburn either if the pouch is intact. We have no stomach acids just
enzymes in our saliva from chewing. Just out of curiousity, why were you
taking Tums?
— Marilyn C.
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