What is Dumping?
Dumping can be many different things! Throwing up, diahreah (sp?), feeling faint, "foaming" at the mouth, quickened heart rate, feeling very sleepy. It is different for everyone, and different for many in certain situations. I know when I eat a little too much, of food that is good for me, I feel very sleepy and my heart tends to race. If I eat anything sugary, I get diahreah almost instantly. The only time I have thrown up, I ate something very high in fat and it made me very, very ill. As you can tell, I am not an expert, but these are things I have either experienced and or read about!! Good luck - I hope it never happens to you!!!!
Hi Richard!! I just found a really good explanation for dumping and thought I would post it for you to see.
When an RNY person eats a food that has too many grams of sugar (or sometimes fat or even a high density of carbohydrates) the problem food is quickly passed along by the stomach directly into the intestines... the intestines sense a problem and try to dilute the offending food. Water is sucked from the bloodstream, sending the blood pressure plummeting and blood sugar levels skyrocketing... the flood of liquid into the intestines causes severe cramping, gas, and immediate and explosive diarrhea. The rapid drawing of liquid from the bloodstream, causes, dizziness, fainting and nausea. NOW... just because you eat a piece of candy with a gram or two of sugar and none of this happens to you... doesnt mean you 'dont dump'. Sensitivity to dumping can vary... it is thought that 5-8 grams of sugar at one time is fairly safe for most of us... HOWEVER, some people can tolerate more and some cannot tolerate even less. This is not a license to find YOUR level. RNY surgery can be done without creating dumping syndrome as a side effect... the surgeons CHOOSE to create this for us to give us an added tool to use to avoid sweets. WHY DO SO MANY OF US TRY AND RUSH UP TO THE LINE WE HAVE BEEN TOLD TO AVOID? Use this great tool to your advantage, and avoid sugar.
I though this was very imformative. Hope it helps!
Love and hope to you!
Tera
Dumping is by no means a medical term. It is a slang term that is used to describe ANY severe reaction you may have to a certain food. Even though it CAN result in diarrhea, it can also be vomiting, frothing, heart rate going up, sweating, shakes, etc. Not everyone will "dump" on the same thing. Also, something that you can eat one day may cause a severe reaction, or "dumping" the next day. The reaction IS caused because your body can't process foods in the same way since your digestive system is re-routed. There may also be certain foods you will not ever be able to eat without a reaction. I had my surgery almost a year and a half ago and I still cannot drink milk or eat ice cream. Even the low carb type. It causes me to sweat, feel nauseated and my heart races. In other words.... I dump.