Diet After Gastric Bypass
What kind of diet will I have after gastric bypass?
After Gastric Bypass, I don't really consider it a diet. A patient can eat whatever they like to eat, within a very few things that are restricted. But they have to eat slowly, otherwise their going to become miserable. They're going to vomit, because we have a very small pouch that they have to fill in. I tell all of my patients that "I'm going to give you the simplest thing in the world to do, you have to remember one thing to make this successful, and that is to eat slowly.” Also, you have to eat a varied diet, not just sweets, but you have to eat slowly. And I also tell them “I'm giving you the hardest thing in the world to do, and that is to eat slowly.” Who eats slowly today? Nobody. Anybody who has a teenager today knows that a whole hamburger is one bite and they're out the door. So, I'm giving them back their ability to eat whatever foods they like, but they have to eat it slowly. But that's a difficult thing to do.
How much food can I eat after gastric bypass?
After the gastric bypass the patient needs to eat slowly. It is not the quantity of food they are eating but in what time they are eating it. I tell the patients they have to try to eat one bite every ten minutes, a half a sandwich over an hour. If they do that they won't stretch their pouch. They won't feel nauseous. They won't get dumping syndrome. They will be able to eat relatively normally. They just have to eat slowly. So the example is four ounces over an hour.
What types of food are off-limits after gastric bypass?
There are a few food which I ask the patients to stay away from after Gastric Bypass, one is carbonated beverages. When you pour a glass of soda you have all the fizz come out and it is going to stretch the palp. So we try to have them stay away from carbonated beverages. Caffeine, which can increase acid and cause ulcers, I am not sure that is 100% true, but we ask the patients to stay away from that. Most of them find that they can't, they want their coffee, and if they are having ulcer problems we demand that they stay away from that. Very fibrous products, celery, persimmons, which I don't think anybody eats anymore. Are about the only things I will restrict them from eating, I will say patients find what agrees with them and what doesn't agree with them. Just like everyone else, so I have patients who say I cannot eat meat but they can eat fish, so my simple answer to them is stay away from meat and eat fish. You have to learn what your body is going to be adjusting to with the procedure and eat that.
Will there be problems taking oral medications after gastric bypass?
I have found that there are almost no problems. If pills are very big I ask the patient to break them up. Most people know what a Centrum vitamin pill looks like. That size pill you can take after the procedure. Anything bigger than that we would ask them to break up. It's funny you ask the question because when I first started doing this I was really worried about how patients were going to take their medications, have them absolved, be the right concentration in the blood stream. And I found over the years that there was no problem with that, that the primary care physicians and myself, if I am the only one taking care of the patient, adjust their medications just as you would if the patient didn't have the gastric bypass. So, I don't worry about that any more. The only thing is that make sure the patient is seeing their physician and adjusting the medications as the dosage is needed.
