Dumping

I've been dumping quite a bit.  Three times this week. 

It hits me in the middle of the night.  I haven't eating anything in hours. 

What can I do to help stop it?

Are you taking a PPI like Nexium or Prilosec?

What are you eating before these episodes?
What are you drinking?

Its not really dumping if its not hitting you pretty much right after you eat.  Dumping (roughly) has to do with food hitting the small intestine, and that shouldn't be happening in the middle of the night hours after you eat.

What symptoms are you having?

I'd probably put a call into your Dr.

What are your symptoms?? I used to have attacks during the night. But, it was because my esophagus was so raw and needed help healing from all the acid!! Took them awhile to figure it out, but, they gotter after awhile!!

Hugs

Donna

Dumping is NOT just throwing up.  By posting a title like that, you can easily scare off newbies, who think you are really "dumping".

You are not.  Most likely, you are having acid reflux attacks, because you are either not on a good PPI, or are not taking them regularly (I know several people that didn't take them because they thought they didn't need them any more).

First of all, I am NOT THROWING UP.

Second, dumping can be a real part of VGS.  If this "scares off newbies" then perhaps they aren't ready for the surgery to begin with.

I have no reflux.  I take omeprazole twice a day.  I have had not one incident of reflux since I was sleeved. 

Ask questions before you get out your guns and start shooting.  Geez.

Here are my real symptoms.  Since you didn't ask for them in the first place....

Diarrhea, rapid heart beat, nausea (but NO VOMITING), paleness, shakiness, dizziness, fatigue.

I've done my research.  Those are all the calling cards of dumping.  However, what is strange, is that I am not eating/drinking for hours before it happens. 

Yes, those are symptoms of dumping, but the timing is off.  Here is a definition of gastric dumping, from wikipedia (I know, not the best source, but the definition matches others I've read):

Gastric dumping syndrome, or rapid gastric emptying is a condition where ingested foods bypass the stomach too rapidly and enter the small intestine largely undigested. It happens when the upper end of the small intestine, the duodenum, expands too quickly due to the presence of hyperosmolar (substances with increased osmolarity) food from the stomach. "Early" dumping begins concurrently or immediately succeeding a meal. Symptoms of early dumping include nausea, vomiting, bloating, cramping, diarrhea, dizziness and fatigue. "Late" dumping happens 1 to 3 hours after eating. Symptoms of late dumping include weakness, sweating, and dizziness. Many people have both types. The syndrome is most often associated with gastric surgery.

It is speculated that "early" dumping is associated with difficulty digesting fats while "late" dumping is associated with carbohydrates.

So if you are having these symptoms literally in the middle of the night, there could be something else going on.  That's why I'd check with your Dr. 

You can also try to pin down if certain foods eaten at night cause it.

Or try to chew as thoroughly as possible, because food entering the duodenum not well digested in the stomach can cause dumping symptoms too.  Chewing to mush helps prevent this.

Exactly this.  You could also be suffering from low blood sugar but, to be safe, check with your physician.  What is certain is that you are not experiencing true dumping syndrome.  Good luck!

I also took Omeprazole for 6 months post op and it would wake me up frequently at night to use the bathroom (anywhere from 2-5 nights a week). I got nausea and diarrhea. I weaned myself off the omeprazole about 7 months post-op.  I would take one 40 mg capsule in the morning every other day for 2 weeks and then 1 every 2 day for 2 weeks and so on...once I got down to 1 pill about once a week, my night episodes stopped. I havent had any night episodes since I stopped taking the omeprazole...It may be the omeprazole. I never confirmed this with a doctor, he said it could be a coincidence that it happened like that but he also heard of other people who get "night eposides" because of the PPI....
that's just my experience.

also, when I know I'm going to have alcohol or mexican food (guarantee heartburn foods), I pop omeprazole that day. I also know that I will be in the bathroom that night...whether its the omeprazole or the mexican food? I dont know...but mexican or alcohol never made me have diarrhea pre-op...so I'm not sure.

 Hey Kat, 

Sorry you're going through this... it does sound like a gall bladder issue also?  Call Soriano and see what he says?  He'd probably tell you to come in.  Good luck, keep me posted. 

Jess