Dumping Syndrome

Dumping syndrome is a group of symptoms, such as diarrhea, nausea, and feeling light-headed or tired after a meal, that are caused by rapid gastric emptying. Rapid gastric emptying is a condition in which food moves too quickly from your stomach to your duodenum.

Symptoms of early dumping syndrome occur within 30 minutes after a meal, while symptoms of late dumping syndrome occur 1 to 3 hours after a meal. The most common cause of rapid gastric emptying and dumping syndrome is surgery of the stomach or esophagus.

Doctors typically diagnose dumping syndrome based on symptoms. Your doctor may also order tests, such as an oral glucose tolerance test or a gastric emptying scan, to confirm the diagnosis.

Doctors treat dumping syndrome by recommending changes to how and what you eat, medicines, and, in some cases, surgery. Many people with dumping syndrome have mild symptoms that improve over time with simple changes in eating and diet.

The first step in treating dumping syndrome is changing how and what you eat. Your doctor may recommend changes such as eating six small meals a day; lying down after you eat a meal; and eating more protein, fiber, and fat.

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