To answer a few questions...

I thought I would take this opportunity to answer some questions that everyone has been asking. There have been a lot of good ones! Keep them coming!

First question is what is dumping. Dumping is a condition where ingested foods bypass the stomach too rapidly and enter the small intestine largely undigested.  "Early" dumping begins concurrently or immediately succeeding a meal. Symptoms of early dumping include nausea, vomiting, bloating, cramping, diarrhea, dizziness and fatigue. "Late" dumping happens 1 to 3 hours after eating. Symptoms of late dumping include weakness, sweating, and dizziness. Many people have both types. So if I eat too fast, or something I shouldn't, I barf and feel crappy. I have been more conscientious of chewing, looking at labels and keeping my sugar levels below 20 grams per day.

Second question was about restrictions on food. After surgery my stomach became the size of an egg, average persons stomach hold between a litre and a litre and half, and my stomach holds approximately 3/4 of a cup. So it is important to eat the protein enriched foods first! Bread is difficult to digest, it expands when you eat it, so I have, for the first time since December, switched to rye bread, and can only eat about 3/4 of a slice at a time. I have also not attempted to eat rice, it makes me feel like dumping when I eat it. But I am loving the couscous (the food so nice they named it twice!)

It is very important for me to be mindful of what I eat. Like I said it is important to take smaller bites and chew, the opening at the bottom of the stomach is the size of a dime. Also food that have large amounts of fats and/or sugars cause dumping. I am just starting to reintroduce roughage, raw veggies, etc. It is tricky, they have to be super small and I have to chew. Every bite, I count to 30 :) lol!

I am not a fan at this point of homeopathic remedies. Reason being, I haven't had enough time to research things. Also, I am feeling that with the issue (feminine) that I have been having, I am going to stick with the western medicine for now to see how I fare out. I can only swallow medication the size of an m&m, I use to take echinecha and it was a big pill. So for now, I will stick with what I know. Once things get back online with my issues, I will be looking into alternatives! Especially once I find out if I can swallow them! Some medications make feel nauseous now, which didn't before. Midol make me throw up! I can't take any ibuprofen or naproxin based pain relievers because they are hard on the stomach. Also the issues with pill size, I have to check with the pharmacist to make sure I am able to get the medication out the bottom of my stomach. So I do have to be careful.

I use a website call sparkspeople.com. It is great! I also have the app on my phone. Recipes, journaling, etc. It helps me keep track of what I have eaten in a day, and then I can see what I need to eat more of!

Keep the questions coming!!!