Dumping Syndrome

Dumping Syndrome occurs when food passes too quickly from the stomach into the small intestine. Because the pyloric sphincter is bypassed, the body is unable to regulate the release of sugary foods into the system, and thus adapt the body's natural insulin levels to counteract it.

When sugary foods are consumed, they pass through the bypass and into the lower part of the bowel. When the body senses there is a large amount of sugar suddenly in the lower bowel, it 'dumps' a supply of natural insulin into the system to counter act the sugar. This gives you all the symptoms of a hypoglycaemic event. Sweating, faintness, palpitations, nausea, vomiting, incoherence, feelings of panic, lethargy, bloatedness, diarrhoea are all common symptoms of dumping syndrome, to a lesser to fuller degree depending on the amount of sugar consumed. There is nothing you can do to make it stop any sooner, you just have to sit it out and wait until it passes. It can be half an hour or so and then it goes as suddenly as it comes. There is no better incentive not to have sugary substances than this horrid feeling.

I wear a medi alert bracelet in case I dump on something and am unable to tell someone in time what is happening. You become much more self aware post op though, and you will know what foods will push you over the top and you soon learn to avoid them. Sometimes a food or drink will take you off guard though, and you will soon sense what is happening and hopefully alert someone close by to you as to what is happening. It can be scary but it will pass, and you will soon feel better again.