[DocSanae]

Since a "what is dumping?" Q came up in another thread, I am posting the explanation here, instead of the original thread, so anyone interested can read this outright, instead of discovering it only after reading a seemingly unrelated thread.

Many of you experiecne "dumping" post op with certain foods.
The symptoms are often abdominal pain, vomiting, feeling of nausea, weakness, dizziness, cold sweat, and palpitation among others.

Now, dumping is not unique to WLS patients. Actually it can happen to any person who has had gastroenterostomy--operation that removes part of one's stomach and reroutes the gut, be it because of repetitive or perforated ulcer, cancer, or as with you, WLS. (Okay, so you may say, hey, the stomach is not removed with WLS, but the pouch is separated from the rest of the stomach, resulting in a psuedo-stomach removal.)

This happens because food is passed directly from the stomach to the intestines all of a sudden--hence the term, "dumping" instead of being slowly passed through the stomach and the duodenum, while the rest of your digestive system prepares for the onslaught of nutrients that must be absorbed. The symptoms are actually a result of hypovolemia (reduction of blood volume), due to the difference in osmotic pressure that transfers the water of the plasma into the intestines. In other words, it is a form of hypovolemic shock, albeit low grade.

Another event that produces similar symptoms and is often confused with dumping, is hypoglycemia--low blood glucose. True hypoglycemia is defined as low blood glucose, 50mg/dl or under, with symptoms. However, reactive hypoglycemia occurs when there is a sudden drop in blood sugar level, even if the endpoint of the drop is higher than the medical definition along with the same symptoms as true hypoglycemia. This is also often seen in post-gastroenterostomy patients--and it can happen to WLS patients. The post-op reactive hypoglycemia takes place because carbs that are absorbed speedily raises the blood glucose level, which in turn induces the excretion of insulin to lower the glucose level, resulting in a sudden drop, and hypoglycemic symptoms.

Dumping can be avoided to a certain extent by avoiding foods that seem to cause it with regularity (what these are differs with the person) and chewing throughly, and eating slowly, so that food passes through slowly.
Reactive hypoglycemia can be avoided to a certain extent by avoiding food that contains easliy absorbed carbs--liquid sugar, high carb content foods, among others.
However, in both cases, it is going to be an ongoing learning experince, trial and error for all.

Just remember, your body is trying to teach you what is good for you!

[jilarie1]

hey doc! It's me again 3 years out girl, i have finished with my iron sucrolose drips, and here i am lookin' through the posts and I have this hypoglycemia reaction too. Once my blood suger was as low as 27, they were about to call me an ambulance my regular non wls doctor kept telling them to give me sugar(like a regular stomached person) and there it went down down down, now i have it pretty much under control, no straight sweets at all! I have gotten soooo much info from this sight. thanks! Jilarie