How do you get rid of dumping syndrome?
How do you get rid of dumping syndrome?
Most people can successfully manage dumping syndrome with dietary changes. When severe symptoms don’t respond to diet, medication may be an option. But medications can have side effects and aren’t ideal for long-term use. Rarely, when dumping syndrome results from surgery, and when all other treatments have failed, your healthcare provider might suggest another surgery to fix the problem.
Dietary guidelines
Healthcare providers recommend following these general guidelines to reduce symptoms:
- Eat smaller meals more frequently. Aim for six small meals instead of three. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly.
- Avoid simple sugars, carbohydrates and milk products. This will prevent rapid blood sugar shifts. Complex carbs, such as whole grains, are better (see below).
- Eat more protein and healthy fats to replace carbohydrates in your diet. Fats slow down digestion and provide a steadier form of energy.
- Eat more dietary fiber to add bulk to your meal and slow down its transit time. Fiber slows down sugar absorption in your digestive system.
- Lie down on your back for 30 minutes after eating. This may slow down gastric emptying and help maintain blood pressure during digestion.
- Don’t drink fluids within 30 minutes before or after eating. Fluids encourage motility.
Medications
Certain medications can help modify the symptoms of early and late dumping syndrome, including:
- Octreotide acetate. Octreotide inhibits certain hormones in your digestive system, which slows down gastric emptying and small intestinal transit time. It also suppresses insulin. This medicine is given as an injection, either daily (short-acting form) or monthly (long-acting form).
- Acarbose. This medicine controls blood sugar by slowing the rate at which your body absorbs carbohydrates. This has been shown to reduce hypoglycemia in late dumping syndrome.
Surgery
Surgery is rarely recommended for dumping syndrome. But if surgery was the original cause of your distress, surgery again might undo it. When nothing else has helped and dumping syndrome is severely affecting your quality of life, you might choose to undergo reconstructive surgery. This usually means:
- Reconstructing or modifying a part of your stomach that isn’t functioning well.
- Reversing or converting gastric bypass operations to a less severe alternative.