Unlike animals, humans eat not only for satiety, but also for pleasure. However, sometimes after the meal, all our enjoyment is spoiled. Many annoying symptoms such as bloating, fatigue, burning, rapid heart palpitations can occur after eating due to different ailments. One of the disorders that cause these symptoms is called dumping syndrome by experts.
Dumping syndrome is a feeling of discomfort after eating. The main reason is that the food that goes from our mouth to our stomach goes down to the intestines much faster than normal. It is generally seen in people who have had stomach surgery and people who have an unhealthy diet. Let’s take a closer look at what dumping syndrome is and see the symptoms and treatment methods.
Let’s start by explaining briefly; What is dumping syndrome?
Dumping syndrome is a type of stomach condition. In general, symptoms appear 10 to 30 minutes or 1 to 3 hours after eating. Dumping syndrome, also called gastric emptying, is often considered a condition that occurs in people who have had stomach surgery or esophageal surgery. Table sugar called sucrose or fruit sugar called fructose has a much higher risk of developing dumping syndrome after a meal.
Good, but what causes dumping syndrome, who gets it?
You put the food in your mouth, chew it and send it to your stomach, the stomach breaks them down with acid and sends them to the intestine, performing intestinal absorption and finally expelling the pulp. While this natural process takes place, a certain amount of time passes. However, in dumping syndrome, the descent of food and acid from the stomach to the intestine occurs at an abnormal rate, causing discomfort to the person.
In general, people with dumping syndrome have previously had gastric surgery called gastrectomy, bariatric surgery called gastric bypass, or esophageal surgery called esophagectomy. People who do not have this type of surgery may also experience symptoms of dumping syndrome, although it is not very common.
What are the obvious dumping syndrome symptoms?
- Bloating after eating
- Abnormal feeling of fullness
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- abdominal cramp
- body rashes
- dizziness
- Weakness
- Sweating
- feeling tired
- mental confusion
- loss of concentration
- Fainting
- Shake
These are the most common symptoms that occur in people with dumping syndrome in general. Some of these symptoms may appear 10 to 30 minutes after eating, while others may appear 1 to 3 hours later. These symptoms will become evident after a meal, especially after consuming table sugar called scarose or fruit sugar called fructose.
How is dumping syndrome diagnosed?
When you go to the doctor with the complaint that you frequently experience the symptoms mentioned above, first of all, your surgery history is checked. Since low blood sugar may also be associated with this condition, a blood sugar test may be requested. Endoscopy is also one of the tests used to diagnose dumping syndrome. Feeding a radioactive substance to the patient and watching him with special imaging tools is also among the diagnostic methods of dumping syndrome.
So how is dumping syndrome treated?
If you are experiencing dumping syndrome after an operation, under normal conditions, this discomfort will go away on its own within 7 to 12 weeks. Dietary recommendations or medication can be given to help the patient get through this process in the easiest way possible. If the problem persists and the patient has started to lose weight, surgical methods can be applied. With the special surgical methods applied, the stomach is emptied more slowly.
There are mitigation measures you can take on your own:
- Be sure to chew food thoroughly before swallowing.
- Do not lie down for half an hour after a meal.
- Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day between meals, not during meals.
- Eat six small meals, not three large meals.
Here are some of the measures that people with dumping syndrome can take on their own to reduce the discomfort they experience. When we look at these measures, we see that there are measures that will be good for many different stomach ailments as well as dumping syndrome.
Foods that people with dumping syndrome should avoid:
- Pasta
- Rice
- White bread
- Milk
- Dairy products
- table sugar
- Syrupy drinks
- carbonated drinks
- Fruit juice
- Prepared foods
- Spirits
In this way, it is possible to increase the foods that people with dumping syndrome should avoid. Since sugar is the basis of this ailment, it is possible to add all kinds of foods that are high in sugar to this list.
Recommended foods for people with dumping syndrome:
- High fiber foods
- Protein foods
- Egg
- Fish
- Oat
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- White meat
- Red meat
- peanut butter
- complex carbohydrates
- Vegetable
In this way, it is possible to increase the recommended foods for people with dumping syndrome. The aim in this disorder is to prefer foods that will pass from the stomach to the intestine more slowly. Foods high in fiber and protein-rich foods will pass from the stomach to the intestine much more slowly. Exercises that are not too heavy will also be good for dumping syndrome.
When should you go to the doctor?
If you have had a stomach or esophagus surgery and you see such symptoms, be sure to tell about this during your routine check-ups. If the measures you take yourself do not work and the intensity of dumping syndrome symptoms continues to increase, you should definitely go to the nearest health institution.
We answered questions such as what is dumping syndrome, the feeling of discomfort after meals, which occurs in those who have stomach surgery in general, and what are the symptoms. What we describe is for informational purposes only. Do not forget that you should get the most accurate and specific information about dumping syndrome from a specialist physician, as in all health issues.