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Quadriplegic & Paraplegic Spinal Cord Injuries > Disabled Living & Spinal Cord Injuries > Spinal Cord Injury Health Issues > Bladder & Bowel
Irenec
My husband empties his bowels on alternate days. As soon as he eats a small meal at lunch time on the day he has had his bowels done his blood preasure drops really low. We cannot go out as he feels so bad.Has anyone eles experianced this?. What can he do about it?
Susi
Hi there
Often the most simplest and 'cheapest' solution is best. Because we pay for all our medications here instead of state help, my doctor suggested either sucking a peppermint when feeling light headed or the best for low blood pressure are liquorice (has to be pure) sweets. We get the German make here (Katje) and they the best as they do not have high contents of any additives and are also ideal for children.

I have done this now 6 years post rehab and I have had no problems. As always though check blood preessure issues through with your GP. As soon as I finish toiletting I suck a sweet, am right as rain after about 10minutes or so.
Good Luck
Izziwhizzi
Well I've never heard of the sweet sucking thing before, guess it's worth a try!

I always go at night, so I don't mess up my days!
Apparelyzed
Hi,

It sounds as though he is experiencing Gastric Dumping, where:

"the upper end of the small intestine, the jejunum, expands too quickly due to the presence of hyperosmolar[jargon] 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.[citation needed]

Rapid loading of the small intestine with hypertonic stomach contents can lead to rapid entry of water into the intestinal lumen. Osmotic diarrhea, distension of the small bowel (leading to crampy abdominal pain), and hypovolemia can result.

In addition, people with this syndrome often suffer from low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, because the rapid "dumping" of food triggers the pancreas to release excessive amounts of insulin into the bloodstream. This type of hypoglycemia is referred to as "alimentary hypoglycemia"."

Regards

Simon

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastric_dumping_syndrome
megatrig
You know Simon as sad as this sounds your knowledge seems to exceed most help you can get from a spinal injuries center!

I mean that as a compliment to you if you can work it out!

I guess it is a sad yet true indictment of Spinal units and Doctors!
Irenec
QUOTE (Apparelyzed @ Nov 20 2009, 02:08 PM) *
Hi,

It sounds as though he is experiencing Gastric Dumping, where:

"the upper end of the small intestine, the jejunum, expands too quickly due to the presence of hyperosmolar[jargon] 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.[citation needed]

Rapid loading of the small intestine with hypertonic stomach contents can lead to rapid entry of water into the intestinal lumen. Osmotic diarrhea, distension of the small bowel (leading to crampy abdominal pain), and hypovolemia can result.

In addition, people with this syndrome often suffer from low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, because the rapid "dumping" of food triggers the pancreas to release excessive amounts of insulin into the bloodstream. This type of hypoglycemia is referred to as "alimentary hypoglycemia"."

Regards

Simon

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastric_dumping_syndrome

Thankyou so much Simon. What do you suggest to help this problem?
Irenec
qbounce
Yeah,
I was thinking the same thing. But it seems, just not eating those fatty foods and cutting down on sweets will help.

I was even told milk is an issue, so I switched to soy with my cereal.
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