Dumping Syndrome is an umbrella term that encompasses a group of symptoms that primarily relates to gastrointestinal issues. The syndrome itself is not life-threatening, but the entire episode can be very dramatic and painful for the sufferer, and some can feel as if they are dying. But many people don’t understand what is dumping syndrome, including those who suffer from it.
This curious syndrome is common in a certain group of people, especially those who have undergone bariatric surgery and gastrectomy. Dumping syndrome is also common in people who have had other stomach surgery as well.
What is dumping syndrome?
Dumping syndrome refers to a condition where there are diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, and feeling lightheaded after having a meal. The symptoms are worse when the meal is carbohydrate-dense that includes food groups such as potatoes, dairy, bread, pasta, and dessert.
Based on the time interval for the symptoms to set in, dumping syndrome definition is of two types:
- Early dumping syndrome – Individuals with early dumping syndrome usually develop mild or severe stomach cramps within 30 minutes of consuming the meal.
- Late dumping syndrome – In this type of dumping syndrome, symptoms such as abdominal cramps start appearing after 3 hours of meal consumption.
Symptoms
Dumping syndrome symptoms vary depending on its type.
Symptoms of early dumping syndrome include:
- Feeling full after eating the smallest portion of the meal
- Sweating and redness in the facial skin
- Nausea usually occurs with vomiting
- Feeling extremely tired and lightheaded
- Abdominal cramps
- A rapid increase in heartbeat
- Diarrhea
- Growling or rumbling in the stomach
- Headache
- Fainting
Symptoms of late dumping syndrome include:
- Feeling weak and tired
- Irregular or fast heartbeat
- Shaking or feeling jittery
- Sweating
- Lightheadedness usually comes with fainting
- Trouble concentrating
Causes
There are several causes of dumping syndrome, which include:
- Hormones – Excess secretion of insulin from the pancreas causes the blood glucose to drop after some hours of taking a meal, resulting in late dumping syndrome.
- Abnormal movement of fluid – Fluid moves too quickly from the bloodstream to the small intestine; when the food moves rapidly from the stomach to the duodenum, it causes early dumping syndrome.
- Surgeries – A very common cause of dumping syndrome is stomach surgery. This includes gastrectomy, esophagectomy, and gastric bypass. In the first operation, a part of the stomach is removed, the second part of the esophagus is removed, and the third is where a hole is created in the stomach.
Since the surgeries involve reducing the size of the stomach, food stays in the stomach a lot shorter than normal, which results in dumping syndrome.
Treatment
Treatment for dumping syndrome primarily includes:
- Balanced nutrition – Typically, a balanced diet after stomach surgery is the recommended treatment to alleviate symptoms of dumping syndrome.
- Medication – For dumping syndrome sufferers who experience severe nausea and low blood sugar, medications are prescribed.
- Alternative drug therapy – Alternative medicine therapy is also used to treat dumping syndrome as it helps the food to move at a normal pace in the digestive tract.
- Surgery – Surgery for dumping syndrome is usually a last resort when all treatments fail to work. The surgery is mainly to reconstruct the stomach to its relatively normal size.
