Fruit & Bypass

[Bypass2Freedom 711]

Happy Friday everyone! 😁 Hope we are all doing well!

It is bloody hot in the UK today so I am doing my best not to melt in my office 😩

My bariatric nurse has flat out told me I need to be eating more, and I am really struggling to get on top of this. She tells me to aim for 20 mouthfuls per meal 😥

I will keep pushing myself by eating more frequently, but I would love to introduce more fruit into my diet.

Are there any fruits which I should stay away from to avoid dumping with the bypass? I know berries are like the gold standard, but I am a bit nervous about other fruits!

So far I have only had some raspberries and kiwis 🤣

[toodlerue 452]

Hello from hot Arizona!

Everyone is so different as to what makes them dump. I’m over 6 years out & can eat almost anything. fruit can be tricky because of all the natural sugar. I just finished eating 3.5oz of watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberry & grapes. I make little portion cups up with just a couple of bites of each fruit & keep them ready in the fridge for a late night snack.
You just gotta start off slow to see what your body will tolerate & just because something makes you dump this week doesn’t mean that it is always gonna be that way the next time.
Good luck

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,598]

I eat strawberries, blueberries, avocado, sometimes a pear, and every once in a while, an apple. I stay away from grapes (little sugar bombs), bananas, oranges (mostly because of the acid), pineapple (hard to digest still), and peaches (just don't like them). Absolutely LOVE watermelon. I don't eat cantaloupe or honeydew melon because I just don't like them. Blackberries and raspberries are excellent for bypass patients, but I don't like them so I don't eat them.

[Bypass2Freedom 711]

48 minutes ago, toodlerue said:

Hello from hot Arizona!

Everyone is so different as to what makes them dump. I’m over 6 years out & can eat almost anything. fruit can be tricky because of all the natural sugar. I just finished eating 3.5oz of watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberry & grapes. I make little portion cups up with just a couple of bites of each fruit & keep them ready in the fridge for a late night snack.
You just gotta start off slow to see what your body will tolerate & just because something makes you dump this week doesn’t mean that it is always gonna be that way the next time.
Good luck

I don't think I could deal with the heat there 😨

Very true - I do think it is sometimes a process of trial and error! I am just nervous about dumping as I haven't experienced it yet! I am very strict on sugars, and I don't eat anything that has over 7g of sugar per 100g/ml.

I will definitely try introducing some of these things slowly - preferably whilst I am safe at home 😂

[Bypass2Freedom 711]

20 minutes ago, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

I eat strawberries, blueberries, avocado, sometimes a pear, and every once in a while, an apple. I stay away from grapes (little sugar bombs), bananas, oranges (mostly because of the acid), pineapple (hard to digest still), and peaches (just don't like them). Absolutely LOVE watermelon. I don't eat cantaloupe or honeydew melon because I just don't like them. Blackberries and raspberries are excellent for bypass patients, but I don't like them so I don't eat them.

I am definitely not a melon fan - could perhaps branch out to some watermelon though. Grapes & bananas...I can let them go 🤣

I shall try some strawberries & blueberries I think...I do have avocado on toast sometimes which is nice!

Seems like I will be on the berry hype!

[NickelChip 1,211]

Dumping is fairly uncommon, like 30% of patients I believe, so odds are in your favor it won't happen to you. I've had my heart race for several minutes from what could probably count as dumping, but that was admittedly after having something very high in refined sugar that I had no business eating in the first place. fruit has never been an issue in that way, but it can be an issue for me with the skin or texture as my stomach can be very picky about that. I have been sick from a peach with the skin on, as well as from a piece of thawed frozen mango that was a bit tough. But honestly, you just have to give it a try and remember that dumping is something that, while it could be a little unpleasant, isn't really bad enough to be nervous about for the vast majority of people.

[Bypass2Freedom 711]

3 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

Dumping is fairly uncommon, like 30% of patients I believe, so odds are in your favor it won't happen to you. I've had my heart race for several minutes from what could probably count as dumping, but that was admittedly after having something very high in refined sugar that I had no business eating in the first place. fruit has never been an issue in that way, but it can be an issue for me with the skin or texture as my stomach can be very picky about that. I have been sick from a peach with the skin on, as well as from a piece of thawed frozen mango that was a bit tough. But honestly, you just have to give it a try and remember that dumping is something that, while it could be a little unpleasant, isn't really bad enough to be nervous about for the vast majority of people.

Oh okay this is really interesting - I never knew that! From how frequently it is spoken about, I genuinely thought it was extremely common!

I definitely need to get out of my head about it, it really does make me anxious, especially when I am eating out in restaurants and I can't see the nutritional value of each meal!

I will take your advice on and just bite the bullet! Thank you

[NickelChip 1,211]

27 minutes ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

From how frequently it is spoken about, I genuinely thought it was extremely common!

Yeah, there's a definite bias of information (unintentionally, of course) when you frequent bariatric spaces. I've been on this board almost a year, and I really enjoy it, but at five months post-op, one thing I've noticed is the vast majority of people who were posting regularly a year ago, or even 3-6 months ago, are not here any more. That's a lot of diverse experience that goes away, and I would guess that the people who remain are a combination of those who are the most dedicated (possibly to the extreme), those who get the most out of social interactions, and those who experience the most complications in their journeys, along with people who return after several years to get back on track because of significant regain or needing revisions.

The people who are hitting their goals easily, losing weight at an average pace, eating and exercising in a way that isn't particularly noteworthy, maintaining within a reasonable weight range, and generally living life without stressing about bariatric issues, quickly become underrepresented voices. So it's easy to start thinking that the average person struggles a lot at every stage, can barely eat or drink for months, exercises like they're training for the olympics, tracks every bite of food and never strays from their macros every day of their life, experiences all the most severe complications regularly, and will gain back all their weight plus some if they even dare to glance at a piece of bread or a dessert on someone else's plate let alone allow a bite to pass their lips.

It's easy to become very obsessive about it (raises hand: yes, that's me). And in a situation like after surgery where a lot of things change at once, sometimes it feels like the more you can control and anticipate, the better. At least it does for me. But my advice would be, especially when you are feeling particularly anxious about something, to think about whether there are perspectives you aren't getting that might reduce your anxieties if you were able to hear from them. Like, if there were 20-30 people who used to post in your surgery month group and now you're down to 4 or 5, what might those other people say if you asked them about the thing that is worrying you? My guess is, if they're not posting anymore, it's usually not because they're suffering in silence.

[Bypass2Freedom 711]

@NickelChip I genuinely think that this is one of the most useful and altogether grounding pieces of advice I have had on this site, thank you so much.

You are right - it is so easy to think that everything we read on here is the 'norm' but most people tend to come on here to see if the issues they are having are the same as others out there, and you don't really see too many of the successes! ...perhaps there is room for a specific thread just around general successes, or things that are going well right now!

I will definitely use that when I next get anxious, because you are right when you say that - not everyone is suffering! And this surgery is common enough that so many people go on to live happy and healthy lives.

I think with my Autism I can get really caught up in the small things and I end up going around in circles! But your advice has genuinely brought me back down to Earth.

[NickelChip 1,211]

I'm so glad it helped! It's the same thing I have to keep telling myself all the time.

[JennyBeez 287]

2 hours ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

Oh okay this is really interesting - I never knew that! From how frequently it is spoken about, I genuinely thought it was extremely common!

--- It could be that a lot of people (like meeeee) may have been attributing symptoms to dumping syndrome when it was foamies, IBS, food intolerances, etc.

But also just from a social-stats standpoint, people are more likely to complain about their bad times than come Celebrate when things are just progressing normally/fine/ok.


As for fruits, my personal experience would caution that as you're introducing new fruits to your diet, eat them with a Protein you already know you tolerate well. The protein could help the fruit's sugars from just hitting your stomach straight up. And at first at least, maybe lean more towards fruits with good fibre content? I had a lot more luck with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries at first than other options. Even now, I can eat black cherries if they're mixed into some greek yogurt, but if I try to eat them on their own or with oatmeal it's just too much on my system (at this stage).

(And just FYI: blueberries with natural Peanut Butter? So fricking satisfying. On it's own, or on a cracker / toast if you want that bit of crunch)

[summerseeker 2,138]

I can eat all fruits but still struggle with skins. Grape skins especially give me the foamies. I also peel apples, tomatoes and peaches/nectarines. TBH skin really scares me, I have had so many vomiting episodes.

The first fruits I tried were raspberries and watermelon and are still my most favourites. I eat fruit with my yogurt in a morning and as an afternoon snack, watermelon or a low cal berry. Some evenings I have a peeled and cored apple with cheese.

[catwoman7 11,212]

like someone else said, only 30% of bypass patients dump, and it's not common to dump on fruit, even though it contains sugar. People who dump tend to dump on things like ice cream, cake, etc (and often they can eat SOME ice cream, etc - like maybe a few bites - but just not a lot)

I'm several years out. The first few months I really only ate berries (once I was able to, that is - anything with seeds I was supposed to avoid the first few weeks post-op). I've been able to eat pretty much any fruit ever since - although sometimes acidic fruits like pineapple and citrus fruits irritate my stomach. I still eat them occasionally, though.

P.S. I do know someone who dumped on pineapple once, so it IS possible to dump on fruit - but that was the only time I've ever heard of anyone dumping on fruit - so I think it's pretty uncommon.

Edited July 19 by catwoman7

[The Greater Fool 2,023]

I am one of the lucky ones that dumps. I dump on both sugars and fats. It turned out to be quite the educator, and honestly, something I hoped for pre-op. Back when I had surgery, dumping was more of a 50/50 proposition because bypasses were often more distal than today.

I dumped more early post-op because a small serving of fruit was quite a bit compared to the small amount of anything else I ate. As I was able to eat more toward my plan, along with experience, dumping decreased.

All these years later dumping is now just part of the joy of being me.

Good luck,

Tek

[Bypass2Freedom 711]

Thank you all for your advice - it has been really eye-opening to see that dumping isn't actually all that common in bypass patients.

I remember in a leaflet given to me by my surgical team, it listed dumping as a 'common' side effect, so I was fully expecting it!

I am going to introduce things slowly, with Protein as suggested.

And as @The Greater Fool has said, I do think sometimes it could pose as a bit of an educational experience for me if it happens!