Dumping Syndrome

Hello, wondering if any of the vets (or others) could explain dumping syndrome? If it has happened to you, what precipitated it? I understand by the literature that foods high in sugar may cause this. I am wondering because I just had an episode of crampyness (sitting on the toilet) and also having dry heaves at the same time. However, I had nothing bu****er just before. I am on soft foods at this point (almost 4 weeks out) and honestly have not touched anything with sugar for almost 7 weeks. I don't know whether this was a true dumping syndrome or something else. I am feeling very weak and of course worried now too! Any advice, words of wisdom would be most appreciated. Thanks all!

I have not had the foods high in sugar so it certainly wasn't that that made me dump.

I've experienced dumping when I ate something too fast. When I didn't chew well enough. Or when I had just "one last" bite of something.

Just this past weekend, I dumped on baked ham. It was the 'one last bite' that was just too much for my new stomach and boy oh boy, I was a good 30 minutes before the tears stopped and I could breathe without feeling an elephant on my chest! The first time I dumped, I was a week out from surgery. My centre told me I could do scrambled eggs, so I tried one, but I overcooked it (it needed to be runnier and softer, easier to chew) and that was soooo uncomfortable! I truly thought it was going to come back up! Not fun at all.

When I dump, it's painful and feels like I'm going to throw up. I salivate profusely and I feel like something is stuck in my throat. Sometimes I'll dry heave for a bit, but nothing ever comes up. These are just my experiences of course. Your own may vary somewhat.

It's a learning process. Trying to figure out when the new stomach is full, or happy, and all that good stuff, but when it's not happy, we're definitely going to hear about it.

I've also learned that any burping, hiccuping or heaviness in my chest means I'm done eating and I push the plate away. This surgery is a fantastic tool and when I use it well, it works like a charm!

Good luck.

This happens to me if my stomach is empty.... if I have gone more than 5 hours without eating anything  WOW it's like a brick hitting the bottom of the pool and then it's dumps out as fast as it went in.......... I'm literally on the toilet holding a bowl and the pain and dizziness/ sweats will last 30 minutes or more.

Actually, Jiliana, what you are describing is not exactly dumping.

That's very close to The Foamies - the profuse salivation is the stomah's attempt to digest. If anyone find they are salivating a lot immediately after (or even during) a mea, stop eating - it is going to come out.

Take a minute to get rid of the food, rest a bit, and then finish your meal.

Actual Dumping is worse. Much worse. You truly feel like you're having a heart attack. Your pulse is racing, you are sweating like a pig, the wieght of Mount Everst is on your chest, your eyes are watering, and you can't decide whether diarrhea is going to be explosive or the vomiting will heave your toenails out. And sometimes both happens at once. I ended up on the tile floor in the bathroom beside the toilet (several times) beside my knees were so weak form the sheer explosiveness of it that I couldn't stay upright. The whole thing lasted just under two hours. Two times, I came very close to caling an ambulance (because I have had true heart attacks in the past and didn't want to miss it if this really was another) but both times it subsided.

In both cases, I don't know what caused it, but i suspect sugar ALCOHOL was the problem, not actual sugar. When I checked the nutritional information, that's the only number that was higher than expected.

I find that on this board many people confused dumping with other things. 

Dumping is not just diarrhea or throwing up. I see all the time that people confuse dumping with throwing up.  They are two different things. 

Dumping syndrome is the physical effect of eating too much sugar generally.  It is your body's inability to cope with the onslaught of sugar.  

It typically manifests as heart palpatations, severe cramps, sweating profusely, nausea and needing to lie down.  

It can be accompanied by diarrhea for some. 

Dawn

This is a pretty good description of what I went through with dumping. I liken it to rapid onset flu symptoms that last a couple of hours.
I've dumped over excess sugar, and tortilla chips. It's awful. If you do it once, you're prone to try to make it never happen again.

To me it doesn't sound like dumping. Dumping usually occurs within 20-30 minutes of eating. You could just be having gastro issues. 

Thanks for the reply's, very much appreciate hearing the experiences of others. Lisa

I was told that dumping is not only eating things that are too high in sugar but also things that are too high in fat.  Be careful of FAT and Sugar.