Overview

Dumping syndrome is a condition that can develop after surgery to remove all or part of your stomach or after surgery to bypass your stomach to help you lose weight. The condition can also develop in people who have had esophageal surgery. Also called rapid gastric emptying, dumping syndrome occurs when food, especially sugar, moves from your stomach into your small bowel too quickly.

Most people with dumping syndrome develop signs and symptoms, such as abdominal cramps and diarrhea, 10 to 30 minutes after eating. Other people have symptoms one to three hours after eating, and still others have both early and late symptoms.

Generally, you can help prevent dumping syndrome by changing your diet after surgery. Changes might include eating smaller meals and limiting high-sugar foods. In more-serious cases of dumping syndrome, you may need medications or surgery.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of dumping syndrome generally occur right after eating, especially after a meal rich in table sugar (sucrose) or fruit sugar (fructose). Signs and symptoms might include:

• Feeling bloated or too full after eating
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal cramps
• Diarrhea
• Flushing
• Dizziness, lightheadedness
• Rapid heart rate

Late dumping syndrome starts one to three hours after you eat a high-sugar meal. The signs and symptoms develop that long after you eat because your body releases large amounts of insulin to absorb the sugars entering your small intestine. The result is low blood sugar.

Signs and symptoms of late dumping syndrome can include:

• Sweating
• Flushing
• Dizziness, lightheadedness
• Weakness
• Rapid heart rate

Some people have both early and late signs and symptoms. And dumping syndrome can develop years after surgery.

When to see a doctor

Contact your doctor if any of the following apply to you.

• You develop signs and symptoms that might be due to dumping syndrome, even if you haven't had surgery.
• Your symptoms are not controlled by dietary changes.
• You are losing large amounts of weight due to dumping syndrome. Your doctor may refer you to a registered dietitian to help you create an eating plan.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Causes

In dumping syndrome, food and gastric juices from your stomach move to your small intestine in an uncontrolled, abnormally fast manner. This is most often related to changes in your stomach associated with surgery.

Dumping syndrome can occur after any stomach surgery or major esophageal surgery, such as removal of the esophagus (esophagectomy).

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Diagnosis

Your doctor may use some of the following methods to determine if you have dumping syndrome.

• Medical history and evaluation. Your doctor can often diagnose dumping syndrome by taking a medical history, particularly if you've had stomach surgery, and evaluating your signs and symptoms.
• Blood sugar test. Because low blood sugar is sometimes associated with dumping syndrome, your doctor may order a test (oral glucose tolerance) to measure your blood sugar level at the peak time of your symptoms to help confirm the diagnosis.
• Gastric emptying test. A radioactive material is added to food to measure how quickly food moves through your stomach.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Alternative medicine

Some people use supplements such as pectin, guar gum, black psyllium and blond psyllium to thicken the digestive contents and slow its progress through the intestines. If you decide to try a supplement, discuss it with your doctor to learn about any potential side effects or interactions with other medications you're taking.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Lifestyle and home remedies

Here are some dietary strategies that can help maintain good nutrition and minimize your symptoms.

• Eat smaller meals. Try eating five or six small meals a day rather than three larger ones.
• Avoid fluids with meals. Drink liquids only between meals. Avoid liquids for a half-hour before eating and a half-hour after eating.

• Change your diet. Eat more protein — meat, poultry, creamy peanut butter and fish — and complex carbohydrates — oatmeal and other whole-grain foods high in fiber. Limit high-sugar foods, such as candy, table sugar, syrup, sodas and juices.

  The natural sugar in dairy products (lactose) might worsen your symptoms. Try small amounts at first, or eliminate them if you think they're causing problems. You might want to see a registered dietitian for more advice about what to eat.

• Increase fiber intake. Psyllium, guar gum and pectin in food or supplements can delay the absorption of carbohydrates in the small intestine.
• Check with your doctor about drinking alcohol.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Risk factors

Surgery that alters your stomach can increase your risk of dumping syndrome. These surgeries are most commonly performed to treat obesity, but are also part of treatment for stomach cancer, esophageal cancer and other conditions. These surgeries include:

• Gastrectomy, in which a portion or all of your stomach is removed.
• Gastric bypass surgery (Roux-en-Y operation), which is performed to treat morbid obesity. It surgically creates a stomach pouch smaller than the stomach, meaning that you're no longer able to eat as much as you once did. It connects the small intestine to this pouch in the form of a gastrojejunostomy.
• Esophagectomy, in which all or part of the tube between the mouth and the stomach is removed.