Dumping: I don't want to depress anyone... - Oesophageal & Gas...

Oesophageal & Gastric Cancer

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Dumping

patchworker profile image
28 Replies

I don't want to depress anyone, but I have, by accident, discovered a way to help prevent dumping.

If you only eat food you don't enjoy, or better still really dislike, then you're not tempted to take that one more mouthful that starts you dumping. . . .

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patchworker profile image
patchworker
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28 Replies
SteveJ profile image
SteveJ

At Last a cure, I knew somebody would stumble across it one day. I suppose we could stop eating altogether, that would do the trick. Nice one Patchworker it's good to have a laugh about these things sometimes.

Magpuss profile image
Magpuss

Oh no, I can't think of anything worse than not enjoying the little that I do eat 😮😖

Mark4 profile image
Mark4

Dumping is a pain for sure and you are right not eating does help! Also try eating very slowly and little. I have been taking Creon tablets, a digestive enzyme, and that really does help. Have you tried that?

Mcmittens profile image
Mcmittens in reply toMark4

Hello Mark, would you please explain what dumping is? my partner is due to have his op around xmas time, ivor lewis proc so am on here to gather as much info as i can.

Regards, H

in reply toMcmittens

Ha,I have only just noticed that you have posted as well.Cx

Mark4 profile image
Mark4 in reply toMcmittens

Dumping is a vague imprecise term which I believe is used to describe stomach aches after eating in those that have had stomach ( and maybe bowel I don't know) surgery. It is probably due to inadequate digestion caused by the disturbance surgery has caused. Enzyme/ pancreatic insufficiency is one potential cause of this pain ( ie dumping). Creon tablets provide the stomach with digestive enzymes extracted from pigs and can help.

Mcmittens profile image
Mcmittens in reply toMark4

Thank you Mark , my partner has esophageal cancer and is due for his op around xmas time, ivor Lewis. I had read lots of comments about dumping but was unsure what it actually was.

gutlesswonder profile image
gutlesswonder in reply toMark4

Sorry but this is misleading nonsense

patchworker profile image
patchworker in reply toMark4

Hi Mark,

I haven't heard of Creon tablets, but I'll definitely find out more about them.

I do eat little and slowly, I also find hot food starts me dumping, so everything has to be cool. Cool gravy is yucky!

I am sorry to show my ignorance but l just have just recently been diagnosed with a Hiatus Hernia which is being treated with lansoprazole but l am still in a lot of discomfort.

With the reference to dumping does it mean that when you've eaten you need to find a loo quickly.I just wondered because I have a bowel condition also.

Regards,

Carol.

Mcmittens profile image
Mcmittens in reply to

Hi Carol, my partner is due to have his op just before xmas, ive found so much information from this site but also I am ignorant to what dumping is? hopefully someone will educate us. Best wishes x

in reply toMcmittens

Hi,thank you for your response- someone will come up with the answer soon I am sure.

Fingers crossed that all goes well for your partner.

Carolx

patchworker profile image
patchworker in reply to

Dumping does involve the loo, but it's much more complicated than that.

It's mostly people who've had esophageal and stomach surgery who get it.

It's when undigested food gets beyond the stomach into the small intestines, and that sets off a reaction involving insulin and low blood sugar - and a nasty tummy ache.

Hopefully Alan will explain it all? Or Google it?

in reply topatchworker

Thank you patchwork...I appreciate your reply.C

Mcmittens profile image
Mcmittens in reply topatchworker

Thank you for that x

Mark4 profile image
Mark4 in reply to

Dumping is poor digestion food going through too slowly or fast leading to stomach aches. Pancreatic insufficiency is also a cause and Creon can help. It is nothing to with needing a loo quickly !

patchworker profile image
patchworker in reply toMark4

Mark,

What you say about dumping being food going through too fast is partly correct.

When you say it has nothing to do with the loo, that is completely incorrect.

A loo is urgently needed.

Where do you think the food, that is passing through so fast, is going?

Mark4 profile image
Mark4 in reply topatchworker

Yes you are right I've looked this up and rapid passing of food can lead as you say to urgent loo needs. My dumping doesn't sorry to mislead. My dumping is simply nausea whenever I eat and I control it by eating little and Creon seems to help as well. Not great other than for a slimmer line! A gastroenterologist friend of mine tells me that no one really understands dumping thus my comment earlier about it being a vague imprecise term. Maybe that comment was unhelpful if so sorry.

in reply toMark4

Thank you Mark.C

gutlesswonder profile image
gutlesswonder in reply toMark4

Sorry but this is misleading nonsense.

Also if you have a normally functioning gallbladder the last thing you should take is Creon.

For Dumping/Hypo see :-

healthunlocked.com/oesophag...

patchworker profile image
patchworker in reply togutlesswonder

I had my gallbladder removed years ago, but I won't be taking Creon. I'm told it comes from pigs, and I'm vegetarian.

gutlesswonder profile image
gutlesswonder in reply topatchworker

The problem for us Cholecystectomy patients is that our bile is dilute and flows continuously rather that being stored in the G Bladder where it is concentrated,matured and then released on demand when fats are detected entering the duodenum from the stomach after a meal.

That's a double whammy if you have also had a partial/complete gastro-eosophagectomy.

Do you suffer from Diarrhea?

This is the most common side effect as the hepatoportal circulation of cholesterol is disrupted which in turn inhibits uptake of water by the colon leading to a liquid stool.

patchworker profile image
patchworker in reply togutlesswonder

Yes I do have very liquid stools, and bouts of painful diarrhea (I'm glad you showed me how to spell that)

and being veggie and Dumping Syndrome don't help.

Thank you for explaining it.

gutlesswonder profile image
gutlesswonder in reply topatchworker

Hi patchworker

There is a sure remedy which I take -- before passing this on to you I will try to locate the definitive medical research paper backing up this not cure but palliative.

lonestray profile image
lonestray

I'm pleased to report that I no longer suffer with dumping or reflux for the past month. In fact I'm eating more now than before and I'm loving my food. It's taken five years and two months to reach this stage after my T/G. Of course I've changed my diet and take no medication. But then I've never put my faith in medication.

Can't complain as I've passed my 84 birthday and continue to ignore boundaries with improvements in my morning run. It's long taken me half an hour to complete the course, now it take me 29 minuets.

I'm still trying to discover how I can regain weight. Before my operation I was a lean fit ten stone. Now I'm just short of nine stone. My B12 injections are every 12 weeks.

The trouble is that our taste buds are often geared towards sweet stuff! But taste and appetite do change over time.

The morning run sounds really good, lonestray! I would not worry about the lost stone if you are as healthy and as fit as that. As we get older we lose a bit of height anyway so the ideal weight should come down too!

chris_usa profile image
chris_usa

There appear to be several people sincerely questioning what dumping syndrome is in basic terms. I will try to do so, and I hope that this will help.

In a normal upper GI system, the stomach holds and processes food with acid and enzymes, and slowly releases this into the small intestines. Even after a large meal the stomach expands to hold it, but the food trickles into the small bowel.

After major esophageal or gastric surgery (anything which disrupts the valve between stomach and small intestines), the stomach isn't capable of slowly releasing food into the small bowel. Everything that goes into the stomach "dumps" right into the small bowel. The larger the meal, the more minimally processed food goes right into the duodenum.

This large amount (much larger than intended by nature) causes several problems. The primary problem involves sugar. This minimally processed food is irritating to the intestines, and the larger the amount the more the irritation. The body pours water into the GI tract to dilute this irritating food. This can cause a drop in blood pressure and is the source of the symptoms of early dumping, which involves abdominal pain, dizziness, and diarrhea. When large amounts of sugar dump into the small bowel, it is absorbed pretty quickly into the blood. This causes a rapid increase in blood sugar. The body releases insulin to lower the blood sugar. Because of the quickness of the dumping and the rapid rise of blood sugar level, the insulin works too well. The blood sugar then falls to low levels, causing late dumping. Symptoms of this are light-headedness, dizziness, and even passing out. It can be a dangerous situation.

Other nutrients such as fats can also cause lower GI symptoms when dumped into the small bowel. Creon is a mixture of pancreatic enzymes which serve to break down fats and proteins, thus allowing better absorption and less GI side effects.

This is a basic rendering and is not intended as complete. It is merely a starting point for understanding. \wc

stubbornspark profile image
stubbornspark

Two years postop, my partner's dumping has been getting worse. He is seeing his doc this afternoon so ask he can about how to get hold of this. Thanks for the info. :-)

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