Sweet eaters - what was your story with gastric bypass?

[salubrino 8]

Hi!

I´m about to get a revision from vertical gastric banding to gastric bypass in a couple of months. When I got the band my main food problem was regular food - Pasta, meats & junk food stuff.

After a while with the band that changed and I went into slider foods likes sweets and ice cream instead. My band is not functioning now due to ruptured staple lines, a technical failure of the original operation method. (old, 19 years ago)

My question now is what can i expect with the GB beeing a sweet eater. I know about dumping but also read that many GB-patients don´t get it at all. What is your experiences when it comes to this? If you didn´t get the dumping syndrome how did you go about to control the sweet cravings?

Any tips on how to prepare or what to do to control it after the GB would be highly appreciated.

Thanks - glad I found this place to be get some real knowledge before the surgery. That was a major shortage back in -96 with the first surgery - getting the peer input!

[SkinnyDown 409]

Before surgery, I did almost a year of therapy on my own (twice a month). To address my food addiction issues, and the reasons I got fat to begin with. I'm still in therapy, still working on it, and as most addictions go, will always be in recovery. There really is no easy way if a person has serious food addiction issues. It has to be addressed. Or I think we'd be setting ourselves up to fail. I could mess up at any time, and I'm well aware of it, but I have some tools now to help me, which I didn't have before. Tools I learned from my therapist. Ways of coping I didn't have before. It's made a big difference for me.

Hope this helped. I wish you luck!

[salubrino 8]

Thanks for your sharing your thoughts Carolm1965!

I have been in therapy a long time because of my own food issues. Not at the monent though but I feel that I´ve come a long way. I am at a much better place when it comes to my food issues compared to when I had the band 19 years ago. At that time I was quite young and very much in denial and totally unable to handle to psychologal issues of the whole thing.

This is something I want to change this time around and I have decided to be totally open about med having the revision surgery to everyone and that food is a problematic area for me. Posting this post is also a a part of me preparing, I want to hear you other sweet eaters story so I can learn from them in my own process.

Today I am still overweight (340 pounds to my 6´2.8 , was 410 when I had the band and has been so low as 245 a couple of years after the first surgery but since my wheight has crept upwards. This in part to me adressing my food issues (working on a good routine instead of dieting all the time) but also due to the techical issues with my band (ruptured staple lines) .

The poorly functioning band makes it hard to maintain a healthy diet (difficulties to eat Fiber, meat etc but simple to eat carb rich sweet stuff). This is the major reason I want to change to GB, since I understand it its generallt easier to eat a more varied diet with that procedure.

My worry now is that It will be hard to break the sugar habit if I´m among those who don´t get dumping syndrome.

Any more sweet eaters out there who want to share their story? Both those with and those without the dumping syndrome are very welcome to post.

Thanks!

[dhrguru 1,238]

I was a dreadfully addicted sweet eater. I was the one who would call a pop tart and soda lunch. And I need something sweet to end every meal... Donut in the am, Cookies at lunch and who knows what at night/for snack. I could finish a box of hostess or entanmanns cake within a day.

I'm 9 weeks post op and my sweet cravings aren't nearly as bad as they were. (I think pre op diet riding me od carbs helped). Not only do I have the fear of dumping to literally help me keep my hand out the cookie jar, the surgery seems to have changed my desire for sweets. And knowing what I need nutritionally makes me put those foods first, and there's not much room for more.

So far I don't dump, but I also havent tested it to the extent of my pre surgery sugar addiction days. (I don't plan to either)

[goodnuff 239]

Prior to surgery 75% of my diet was processed/sugar filled foods. Initially after surgery I had intense head hunger but stuck to the plan outlined for me. At 6 weeks I was instructed to focus on lean Protein and Water and that I could have all things in moderation. I didn't have a craving for sweet like I did pre-op and I listened to my body. I was afraid of dumping but more afraid I wouldn't get it as I had not had any problems with eating at that point. At 10 weeks I made a very conscious decision to share a dessert while out to eat. I had three bites, it was delicious and I was completely satisfied without feeling deprived or like it was an effort not to eat the whole thing. It was a phenomenal feeling. However, over the course of my four day vacation I had a few bites of foods that lacked any nutritional value; fries, a tator tot, an onion ring and some dark chocolate. All together it was about 12 small bites of food over 4 days. Two days after vacation I woke up thinking about the rest of the chocolate bar in the fridge. For 10 weeks I was not obsessed, nor did I feel deprived for not having processed sweets. Suddenly it was a challenge to pass them up. It was a miserable feeling that lasted about 4 more days before I wasn't craving/thinking about it constantly. So, the moral is be careful when you do decide to allow sugar in your life because it is very easy to slip back into old habits. The worst part was how I felt about myself, I don't want any food to make me feel like I'm good or bad for choosing it..it's just food. I had been seeing a therapist prior to surgery but after that incident I decided to work with someone that works specifically in the field of eating psychology. Ultimately my goal is to make healthy choices 90% of the time and to thoroughly enjoy that along with the 10% that isn't chosen based on nutrition.

I didn't dump with 10 grams of processed sugar (the amount in the chocolate I ate) or 20 grams of natural sugar (the amount in my fruit added smoothie). A friend dumps with around 5 grams of either and it looks miserable. Be careful what you wish for.

[Djmohr 6,965]

I had bypass 9 months ago and prior to surgery sugar was critical in my life. Following the pre op and post op liquid requirements I broke that sugar habit. If I even smelled it would make me shy away.

At first I told myself that sugar would make me dump but over time I learned that I get very very mild symptoms from dumping only if I over indulge. I am also very sensitive to artificial sweeteners of any kind so I use regular sugar and/or honey. This means I have to be extra careful or the sugar monster craving will come back for me.

If I am truly having a craving for something sweet I will make sure that I have a bite or two but only after I have had my Protein and veggies. Then, there is little room and a bite of two satisfies me. I don't make a habit of it but every once in a while I will have a few bite of ice cream. I have also had a small piece of dark chocolate or a single cookie but for the most part it is rare. In 9 months I would say I have done this maybe 4 times for special occasions.

I do eat pudding on a regular basis. Non sf, full fat in the small cups. If I need something sweet that is my go to and it does the trick.

I have even baked for my husband and children/grandchildren. It just doesn't pull me in anymore. I would rather have some nice meat and veggies.

[Dub 10,070]

Great question.

The only answer I have is that I'm approaching it like I did the cigarettes I quit 15 years ago and the alcohol I quit 3 months ago.

candy and sugary junk foods are killers (for me at least) just like the smoking and drinking.

I suppose I'll always crave them to some degree.....but the cravings will become less severe the longer I'm not indulging in them.

It'll be a harder battle, I suppose because of the nature of the beast. I have to eat to live. I don't have to smoke or drink. It's going to be easier to let that junk food back into my life.

Gaining control over this stuff now is crucial. I sure don't want to be fighting these urges post op...when I'm limited into my intake and it needs to be 100% spot on.

[salubrino 8]

I know there aren´t any easy fixes and that GB is "just a tool" but I must admit I´ve was a bit disappointed to realize that not all GB-patients got the dumping syndrome (I know that @goodnuf told me to be careful what I wish for). I sort of had hoped for that easy fix.....

Sugar is hard to break with - it is everywhere and it tastes so good.

I actually managed though to break my Coke-habit two years ago (Coca Cola, not cocaine...) and noticed that my taste for sugar changed when I got less of it in my system. So I´ll do my best to wean off sugar when in the liquid- and soft food phase.

And to tell myself that I´ve got the dumping syndrome after the surgery and not eat to test if it´s true or not like you wrote Djmohr.

[enjoyinglife 313]

• I do not get dumping syndrome and I eat whatever I want. (sweets included) I stay very active and I use my food scale to measure out my portions. On weeks where I feel a little bit out of control I go back to counting calories. I also still weigh myself every Monday morning. I give myself a 5 pound swing either way from my goal weight.

All the best!!!

[Sajijoma 1,324]

Great question.

The only answer I have is that I'm approaching it like I did the cigarettes I quit 15 years ago and the alcohol I quit 3 months ago.

candy and sugary junk foods are killers (for me at least) just like the smoking and drinking.

This I can really relate to. I quit smoking literally overnight with no problems. Same with alcohol, but for me, sugar and junk food, especially salty chips, are really my addiction. I salivate just thinking about it. If I get nothing else out of surgery, but some mastery over that painful hollow hunger feeling that hits when I'm about to "go off the wagon" then that will be well worth it.

[Indieflickers 298]

I'm kind of glad to hear that other people were disappointed that they hadn't experienced dumping. I was actually kind of hoping to because it would be a really effective deterrent - I'm a glutton, not a masochist. But I've tried really hard to stay away from anything over about 10 grams of sugar. The only exception is my Protein shake which I put a whole banana in, which, depending on the size of the banana can have as much as 20 grams of sugar in it.

Like @@Djmohr, I also can't do artificial sweetener, or at least, I can tolerate only a very small amount. The only time I've experienced anything close top dumping was when I tried a sugar free maple Syrup from Whole Foods that was made with Maltitol (a sugar alcohol). I was in the bathroom for an hour! I use about a teaspoon of SweetLeaf stevia in my tea in the morning and I've discovered I really enjoy the Enlightened ice cream bars which have Eryithritol in them, but that's really it. I do sometimes put dark chocolate chunks in my plain greek yogurt but the total never exceeds 10g of sugar. I also made a really good pumpkin zucchini bread with unflavored Protein powder and I used dark chocolate and honey in it. A slice had 10.9 grams of sugar in it.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Indieflickers

[viv57 6]

Hi

I've not had my bypass yet however I have laided down the sugar for some time now, once you stay away from it you lose the physical craving, after that it's the mental craving you need to work out.