Dumping syndrome?

Itis all very subtle and abstract but irritable bowel can do that and can be present soon after surgery due to a sensitive stomach. Don't worry about it too much, just do some lateral thining when and if it comes up. I was sleeved just over a year ago as well.

Hi ladies,

Dumping sounds awful. I knew it happened with the bypass but not the sleeve, fore-warned is fore-armed I suppose

I don't have a gall bladder Didles but I have definitely experienced dumping syndrome many, many times. It is one of those things where the experts squabble over whether or not it's a real medical condition. Whilst they have firm opinions, be it one side of the fence or the other, I am in agony, sweating,feeling nauseated, abdominal cramping and bloating and then diarrhoea, all within 90 minutes of eating (for me dairy is the trigger). It started day 1 post surgery and I have NEVER had it before the surgery. Time has not helped. I get it as bad now as I did right after surgery, which was done a year ago. It is wise food choices that eliminates it, for me.



I'm happy to leave the argument to the "experts", however for those sleevers who do experience the same issue, please know that you are not alone

I thought it was that but it was my gall bladder, my Doctor said dumping didn't happen with sleeve patients I wasn't really listening to the rest but maybe get an ultrasound to check it out?

Yes, it can sneak up on you when you least expect it. Bad luck, but it does get better.

Oh dear! I was in the middle of a conversation with Mum last week, I had just made us lunch, I had some prawn omelet (Mum's favourite) It was nice, I was talking, next thing, the saliva starts, I had to RUN to a bathroom!

I ate too quickly, even though it was a small (1/2 a cup) amount. When will I EVER learn?

You can get dumping with a sleeve, especially in the early stages. It is the dumping of insulin, (correct me if am incorrect anyone) when a food is eaten that your stomach/body has trouble coping with it. Hot chocolate, does it for me, if i have too much i.e. more than 1 cup.

Just do some lateral thinking, observe what trips your body into this state. Your tummy is a baby again.

yep - I got it badly even on hosp food cos I ate what was delivered, I'd have my tasteless porridge and some juice and have to lie down for an hour to get over it
... couldn't work out what it was until my surgeon a few weeks later said that was what it was
... only time it's happened since was when I had supper - all of half a cup - and then had a choccy icecream..... never, ever again will I have desert... I felt soooo bad!
eat little, and get to know your tollerances, it'll get better with time promise


Pippa

5rugrats wrote:

OK, I just went to read that thread that Janette recommended. Obviously there are some differing opinions out there about whether dumping is possible with the sleeve.

I don't think there is much to be gained by people with huge chips on their shoulders telling us it dosen't exist when our own surgeons, and our own bodies, are telling us it most definately does exist.

My body tells me that dumping syndrome definitely exists. It took me months to figure out what was the cause as it happened on day 1 of my surgery and daily thereafter. Any dairy will do it for me and because I continued to take protein drinks, opti, up and go, yoghurt, cappuccino, etc on a daily basis I was under the awful impression that this was my new life. It was dreadful. Running to the toilet with no warning. Then I realised that it was the dairy. If I have a dairy latte I know that 90 minutes later I had better be near a toilet! My surgeon seemed to think that it was not completely the dairy that was causing it but more of a mechanical issue post surgery, perhaps triggered more acutely from dairy. He could be right. A year on I have changed my diet to soy and the reaction is sometimes unpredictable but usually not so dramatic. Soy has helped.

For me, it was dairy, fat, or sugar.

Now I hardly ever get it, and it's only very fatty foods (which I almost never have) or large amounts of sugar (pity small amounts don't still trigger it - it was a helluva deterrent!).

Just take note of the things that cause it for you, and stay off them for a while. When you try them again, do it gradually.

Good luck!

It does get less over time, especially after the first few months, when your tummy starts emptying normally again (think it's called periostolasis or something similar...). Basically when you are first sleeved your tummy just empties by suddenly opening the valve at the bottom when it registers fullness. A normal tummy has muscle contractions and massages the food through while you're eating (the p word thing) and that starts up again once your tummy is healed, so not as much gets thrown into the intestine at one time - it's more gradual. It also helps you have a bit more leeway between feeling fine and painfully full.

That said, it's still possible to get those dumping symptoms if your tummy takes a dislike to something. I used to get it with fatty foods (had some home fried fish once and wow), but now I have no problems - the surgeon said my body was just in shock cos I hadn't fed it anything full of fat or sugar for several months at that stage...

I've heard some drs don't even believe it exists... but in all honesty, I think it exists and I think it can occur to anyone who's messed around with that part of their body.

I get it, but I got it after having my gallbladder out. There's no specific food that does it - what causes it one day will be fine another.

Hi 5rugrats,


thankyou so much for your detailed responses to me! My mum was sleeved a year ago and she told me she gets these attacks sometimes but couldnt tell me what she thought triggered them or how to prevent them. I had a feeling it was dumping syndrome, I have read about it a little in the past because I was thinking of having a bypass.

Im on struggle street with food at the moment, everything tastes horribly different and trying to force myself to eat something because I feel so tired and need some energy.

so once again thankyou so much for taking the time in your obviously busy day to help me!

kind regards

Kate x

OK, I just went to read that thread that Janette recommended. Obviously there are some differing opinions out there about whether dumping is possible with the sleeve.

My surgeon said that although we have not had our stomachs as radically altered as a bypass patient, dumping is still possible, particularly with liquids or saucy foods that are high in sugar, or fat, or carbohydrates. We don't have the normally shaped tummy where the food sits in digestive juice before being passed along the system. It can wash quite quickly through and hit the small intestine without being diluted much by stomach digestive juices.

I don't think there is much to be gained by people with huge chips on their shoulders telling us it dosen't exist when our own surgeons, and our own bodies, are telling us it most definately does exist.

I had never even contemplated this syndrome until I told the doctor my symptoms and he immediately knew what it was. When I got home and googled it, the symptoms matched mine exactly. I was relieved to know what it was, and have been able to avoid getting it so badly again. Knowledge is power!

Hi Kate. I had my sleeve 4 weeks ago and also experienced this first about a week afterwards. It was so horrible and felt like I was going to pass out. Here is a post I wrote on it in September sleevers. I still get it if I'm not careful but always less than the first few times now that I know what my triggers are. I got it a little today as I went to Macdonalds (for kids end of holiday treat) and there was nothing I could eat so I had a few sips of my daughter's thickshake. Bad mistake. Ended up having to park the car for an emergency dash to the toilet. My doctor said high carbohydrates could trigger it - so maybe it was that with the pasta?

I saw my surgeon today and found out what the weird sweating, nausea, dizziness etc that I have experienced a few times in varying degrees, is. It is called Gastric Dumping Syndrome or Rapid Emptying Syndrome. I actually did see it on Oprah years ago but it was in relation to the stomach bypass, not sleeve. But as I found out today, it also happens with the sleeve. I guess I am more susceptible than most but I thought I'd post this definition in case anyone else experiences it.

Gastric dumping syndrome, or rapid gastric emptying, happens when the lower end of the small intestine, the jejunum, fills too quickly with undigested food from the stomach. "Early" dumping begins during or right after 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.

It is speculated that "early" dumping is associated with difficulty digesting fats while "late" dumping is associated with carbohydrates.[citation needed]

In addition, people with this syndrome often suffer from low blood sugar, or Hypoglycemia , because the rapid "dumping" of food triggers the The Pancreas to release excessive amounts of insulin into the bloodstream. This type of hypoglycemia is referred to as "alimentary hypoglycemia".

It happened to me twice with icecream and once with up n go, and smaller reactions a couple of other times with up n go. It is really awful. I felt like I was going to pass out!

There is a lot of info already in the forum on dumping.

Here is the link to one of them...............

http://www.gastricsleevesupport.com/t724-dumping-syndrome?highlight=dumping+syndrome#25202

Hi, im nearly two weeks out from being sleeved. Quite often when I have eaten something within minutes I start sweating, get dizzy, feel nauseated and sometimes may need a bathroom quickly. I cant pinpoint exactly what foods it is, I know anything with sugar, but this afternoon I had a bite of very soft pasta and it happened again??? Is this 'dumping' syndrome? Any ideas on how to prevent it.