Dumping Syndrome

[chowchows 100]

Have any of you plixies (I'm going to borrow that Texas Diva, it's cute) experienced dumping syndrome? I know that it normally goes hand in hand with gastic bypass or DS, but I saw on the mayo clinic website that you can have it with fundoplication, which is what plication evolved from. I had a strange experience last night, and I'm curious now.

[Jenn 27]

Hmm I don't think I have had anything like dumping. I have eaten too fast or taken 1 bite too many and have had acid reflux. Nothing like dumping though.

[chowchows 100]

I'm thinking I may have a stomach bug or food poisoning, but it's not like any I have had before. It hit me suddenly, like a ton of bricks..I almost passed out in a public place...cold sweat, lightheaded, intense pain in a band around my midsection, nausea and stomach issues. I got better within about 1 hour, haven't felt 100% today, but much better. I ate a couple of bites tonight and now I feel bad again. (of course, I've never had the stomach bug or food poisoning with plication...can anyone here advise if they have...was it different from prior experiences?) Very strange. If I am not better in a day or so I am going to the doc.

[TijuanaPlication 87]

Hi chowchows, I've experienced dumping pre-surgery. I had it on holiday when I went a bit mad visiting the dessert cart. I didn't know about dumping at the time but looking back it was definitely that. I got diarrhea within an hour of eating but felt better straight after. This happened a few times in the evening following my trips to the dessert cart... I've been better behaved since my op and it's not happened since!

[chowchows 100]

That's interesting...I had been feeling somewhat under the weather the night before. I felt better the next day, but I did eat something sweet a couple of hours before it happened...I'm inclined to lean more towards stomach flu/food poisoning now, but it was bizarre the way I felt ok one second and thought I was dying the next, lol. Never had that happen before.

[TijuanaPlication 87]

I hope you're over it now.

That's interesting...I had been feeling somewhat under the weather the night before. I felt better the next day, but I did eat something sweet a couple of hours before it happened...I'm inclined to lean more towards stomach flu/food poisoning now, but it was bizarre the way I felt ok one second and thought I was dying the next, lol. Never had that happen before.

[chowchows 100]

I hope you're over it now.

Still not 100% over it, but feeling better. Thanks!

[mednar 26]

I think I had similar symptoms after drinking something with a lot of sugar in it after not having something like that for 4-6 weeks after surgery, but I don't think that qualifies as dumping syndrome as I understood it. I drank a beverage from Starbucks that had a lot of sugar in it, then about 15-30 min later felt cold, sweaty, my heartbeat increased rapidly, and generally felt like I might be sick. I actually never became vomited or had diarrhea though. It soon passed, and I assumed it was because I ate a lot of sugar after not having any for a prolonged period and it was my body saying "what have you done?"

I hope you're feeling better.

[chowchows 100]

I think I had similar symptoms after drinking something with a lot of sugar in it after not having something like that for 4-6 weeks after surgery, but I don't think that qualifies as dumping syndrome as I understood it. I drank a beverage from Starbucks that had a lot of sugar in it, then about 15-30 min later felt cold, sweaty, my heartbeat increased rapidly, and generally felt like I might be sick. I actually never became vomited or had diarrhea though. It soon passed, and I assumed it was because I ate a lot of sugar after not having any for a prolonged period and it was my body saying "what have you done?"

I hope you're feeling better.

I felt just like you described, except I also felt like someone had a corset around me and was squeezing it so tightly that I was having to pant and gasp. I think my friend was afraid I was dying...she kept asking me "does this happen a lot" (she knows about the surgery and is a doctor, although not for humans, lol) and I couldn't even talk to answer her. I never threw up, but I felt really nauseous. My main doubt that it was dumping was that it occurred at least 2 hours after I ate. I had not eaten all day because I felt kind of overall yucky (which isn't a normal thing and what made me think stomach flu) and I finally decided I had to eat something before I went to meet my friend. The only thing that sounded good was some Cookies (I know, poor choice, but everything else sounded unappetizing). I ate them and felt fine until I was waiting for my friend. I told my DH on the phone that all of a sudden I was hurting. He knows when I say that I am hurting that I am serious...I have a seriously high pain tolerance normally, so he said he knew right then something was really wrong. When my friend came we walked into the restaurant, and as soon as I felt the heat from the kitchen/smelled the food everything started going to a pinpoint of light and I felt like I was going to faint. I sat down and told her to call DH and have him come get me...it took me three tries to even be able to tell her DH's number where he was at. I felt like I couldn't breathe in fully and I was panting like a dog and unbuttoned my pants...I'm sure my friend was mortified and all the other patrons were staring ...lol, I don't care....probably won't be going back to that restaurant for awhile! I went and sat in the car and debated whether I was truly dying, and had my friend put the AC on full...that helped the most. She kept trying to quiz me down medically, but I couldn't even really talk for most of the time. After about 15 minutes it finally started to subside. DH showed up about then and took me home. I felt much better, but still not good that night and (TMI alert) did have diarrhea. Same for the next day, but now I am just sore.

I told DH that I think it may just be a strange reaction to stomach flu or food poisoning since my stomach has been altered so much. I am sure that when you have those things your stomach swells in reaction, and if it is restricted, wouldn't it make sense that it would hurt much more? I don't know.

[TijuanaPlication 87]

Sounds a lot like this youtube clip of someone experiencing dumping

[chowchows 100]

Sounds a lot like this youtube clip of someone experiencing dumping

It does sound like this. Like him, I was in so much pain I felt like I couldn't find the right words for things. I was just under the impression, until now, that we didn't get dumping; therefore I was so scared because I didn't really have a clue what was going on. I was going to go to the ER with my friend, the only thing that kept me from going is that the hospital nearby is absolutely worthless. I was going to have DH take me to a hospital 30 minutes away that has a bariatric dept (in case it was something going wrong), but by the time he arrived I was getting a little relief and decided to wait and see if it would continue to get better. For a brief second I even thought about dialing 911-boy wouldn't I have felt like a fool! It was scary and probably the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life!

Now that I know what it is, if it happens again I think it will be a little less intense because I know what to expect-the key is to do the things I need to do though to avoid it!

[TijuanaPlication 87]

Don't let me stop you seeking professional medical advice, but dumping does look like you're having a heart attack (an issue if you were to really have one I guess). It's more likely to occur when you've had your pyloric valve removed which happens with RNY, but as I mentioned earlier it can also happen to people that haven't had WLS.

It does sound like this. Like him, I was in so much pain I felt like I couldn't find the right words for things. I was just under the impression, until now, that we didn't get dumping; therefore I was so scared because I didn't really have a clue what was going on. I was going to go to the ER with my friend, the only thing that kept me from going is that the hospital nearby is absolutely worthless. I was going to have DH take me to a hospital 30 minutes away that has a bariatric dept (in case it was something going wrong), but by the time he arrived I was getting a little relief and decided to wait and see if it would continue to get better. For a brief second I even thought about dialing 911-boy wouldn't I have felt like a fool! It was scary and probably the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life!

Now that I know what it is, if it happens again I think it will be a little less intense because I know what to expect-the key is to do the things I need to do though to avoid it!

[mednar 26]

Huh. It does sound like dumping syndrome. I don't think I had a good idea of what it was when I posted.

[eurogirl40 35]

I don't know but be carefull ,and please go see a Doctor.It sounds scary,

[chowchows 100]

I have an appt with a brand new gastro (per Lena's great advice), but not till early Oct because he is supposed to be 'that good' and he is booked until then. I have always heard marvelous things about him, but didn't want to wait that long when I went the gastro doc last year for my hernia and LES. Lets hope he's worth the wait, lol!