Overview
Dumping syndrome is a condition in which food moves from the stomach into the small intestine too quickly after eating, more commonly seen after certain surgeries. It's sometimes called rapid gastric emptying. Dumping syndrome most often happens after surgery on the stomach or esophagus.
Most people with dumping syndrome develop symptoms, such as stomach cramps and diarrhea, 10 to 30 minutes after eating. Other people have symptoms 1 to 3 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 medicines or surgery.
Symptoms
Symptoms of dumping syndrome generally start within minutes after eating, especially after a meal rich in table sugar or fruit sugar. They include:
- Feeling bloated or too full after eating.
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- Stomach cramps.
- Diarrhea.
- Flushing.
- Dizziness or lightheadedness.
- Rapid heart rate.
Late dumping syndrome starts 1 to 3 hours after you eat a high-sugar meal. It takes time for symptoms to develop. This is because after you eat, your body releases large amounts of insulin to absorb the sugars entering your small intestine. The result is low blood sugar.
Symptoms of late dumping syndrome can include:
- Sweating.
- Flushing.
- Dizziness or lightheadedness.
- Weakness.
- Rapid heart rate.
Some people have both early and late symptoms. And dumping syndrome can develop years after surgery.
When to see a doctor
Contact a healthcare professional if any of the following apply to you:
- You develop 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. You may be referred to a registered dietitian to help you create an eating plan.
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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. This includes any stomach surgery or major esophageal surgery, such as removal of the esophagus, called esophagectomy. But in rare cases, dumping syndrome can develop without a history of surgery or other obvious causes.
Stomach and pyloric valve
The stomach is a muscular sac about the size of a small melon. When eating or drinking, it expands to hold as much as a gallon of food or liquid. Once the stomach pulverizes the food, strong muscular contractions called peristaltic waves push the food toward the pyloric valve. Food then moves into the upper portion of the small intestine, called the duodenum.
Risk factors
Surgery that alters the stomach can increase the risk of dumping syndrome. These surgeries are most commonly done to treat obesity, but also are part of treatment for stomach cancer, esophageal cancer and other conditions. These surgeries include:
- Bariatric surgery, especially gastric bypass surgery (Roux-en-Y operation) or sleeve gastrectomy, which is performed to treat morbid obesity.
- Gastrectomy, in which a portion or all of the stomach is removed.
- Esophagectomy, in which all or part of the tube between the mouth and the stomach is removed.
- Fundoplication, a procedure used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hiatal hernia.
- Vagotomy, a type of surgery to treat stomach ulcers.
- Pyloroplasty, which is done to widen the valve to the stomach (pylorus), allowing food to pass through.
Gastric bypass surgery
Before gastric bypass, food (see arrows) enters the stomach and passes into the small intestine. After surgery, the amount of food a person can eat is reduced due to the smaller stomach pouch. Food is also redirected so that it bypasses most of the stomach and the first section of the small intestine (duodenum). Instead, food flows directly into the middle section of the small intestine (jejunum), limiting the absorption of calories.
