What is Gastric Dumping Syndrome
What is gastric dumping syndrome? Dumping syndrome, or rapid gastric emptying is described as an alarm that occurrs after eating an overly large meal, a meal high in fat, or sugar. The meal is then "dumped" rapidly by the stomach and dropped into the small intestines. The results of this can be very unpleasant with symtoms of having cold sweats, nausea, stomach gas, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps and rapid heartbeat. This can last for a half hour or up to an hour, and then again two to 3 hours after sleeping.
I asked my best friend Patty who has had bariatric surgery how this effects her, and this is her description. "This is what I experience when I dump: shortly after eating a food that I cannot tolerate (sugar, milk, and starchy carbs) I begin to feel bit confused, maybe you can call it dizzy, and then I feel a panic coming over my mind and body. I then start to sweating, and I sweat so bad that my hair and clothes get soaked, it just drips off. During my state of sweaty painic, I feel like I am out of control. A few times during extremely dramatic dumping episodes, I literally thought it was going to kill me.
At this point during my dumping episode, I have learned that it helps to lie down on my side, and just let nature do its thing. The body is effectively, painfully, correcting a chemical balance in my cell system. It takes a lot of control to calm my nerves and lay down, but I know I have to do this to feel better.
I know that my dumping event is passing when the panic is replaces with sheer exhaustion, and cold chills instead of profusely sweating. There have been occasions when I have suffered from diarrhea at this point. If it is convenient, I will try to take a nap, or go to bed after dumping. If it is evening, then I will just sleep through the night, but I always wake up feeling like I had just been run over by a train.
After the dump passes, I start to ask myself what I did to cause this dump? Patty says she has dumped on yogurt, sugar cookies, orange sorbet and one margarita. She remembers one really bad dump after feasting on a piece of chocolate carmel pie."
She claims that potato chips knock her down faster than Mohammed Ali. She confesses that in most of the cases, she has dumped because she ate the wrong kinds of food. She now tries to avoid the foods that cause her to dump.
Patty says that her first reaction when she knows dumping is about to happen is to make it stop. She says she feels absolutely helpless, and she feels it is like trying to rope a tornado to stop it. She says she has tried eating herself out of it. She has trying drinking a ton of water to flush it. She has tried to walk it out. She has had no success during this time. She has come to the conclusion that she has to live with the consequences that is about to happen.
Suggestions to Avoid Dumping
The most efficient ways to avoid dumping is to follow the strict bariatric surgery diet and:
- Avoid snacking
- Avoid sugar like cookies, cakes, candy, soda's, ice cream, and sorbet.
- Sip water throughout the day. Limit fluids during mealtime.
- Drink liquids 30 to 45 minutes before eating and an hour after eating rather than with meals.
- Avoid very hot or cold foods or liquids.
When you follow these simple rules your blood sugar will not change, and this will prevent you from gastric dump syndrome. Most individuals who crave something sweet have learned that they can eat a bite of friut at the end of a meal. You just need to proceed with caution, and see what works for you.
In Conclusion
It is important to note that the gastric dumping syndrome varies from person to person. Some will have a really horrible experience while others have mild experiences. You will also notice that the dumping also differs by incident. No two people will dump the same, and no two dumps are alike.
The sad part about all of this is, gastric dumping syndrome is a fact of life after weight loss surgery. When we eat to fuel our bodies, we will experience some sort of dumping. Faithfulness to following the weight loss surgery diet will prevent dumping most times. Although, every now and then we will be blindsided by a dump by some food we wouldn't of suspected.
Remember to keep a list of badly tolerated foods, and this will help you avoid them. The intensely powerful epsode of dumping is a credible motivator to following the rules, and avoiding the foods that have triggered a gastric dumping episode. Good luck on your journey to a healthier body and lifestyle.
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