WARNING! The following is very definitely TOO MUCH INFORMATION. It's only useful if you have abnormal effects from sweet/carbohydrate food and want to know what to do about it.
2nd Warning. I am not any kind of doctor. I do not have a formal diagnosis of Dumping Syndrome. My only formal diagnosis in 45 years of consulting doctors about my symptoms is "you don't have diabetes and you seem to manage your diet OK. Whatever it is, it's not serious.". The friend who suggested Dumping Syndrome is a doctor however - a consultant in a teaching hospital.
I struggled with blackouts, dizziness and other symptoms from early childhood. One of my earliest memories is a trip to Barnsley hospital for a blood test for anaemia. I was booted out of school for bad performance at 16, due to blackouts and dizziness that always occurred after lunch. The GP said I should go to bed earlier (I had insomnia, nightmares and night sweats quite a bit as well).
I also struggled with mood regulation in the early evening - obvious blood sugar problems like being irritable, weepy and clumsy. Cold sweats were occasionally a thing, but not often enough to be obvious.
I finally started to understand what was going on when I started training in my late 30s for long runs, particularly off road marathons. When I ate anything sweet, almost immediately after I would get symptoms. These symptoms could vary but included:
- nausea
- bloating and stomach cramps
- wind
- dizziness
- prolific cold sweats (followed by appalling chafing)
- clumsiness and disorientation.
- explosive diarrhoea (you do not want explosive diarrhoea on an ultramarathon...)
The penny finally dropped when I ran home from work along the canal - 23 miles of boring, pancake flat running. I put a couple of dextrose tablets in my water to keep my energy up. Until 18 miles I made good time, and I looked like being around 3 hours 30.
At 18 miles I realised I was thirsty and took a massive drink, probably 250ml in one go. So that's about 1 dextrose tablet.
Within a mile I was doubled over with excruciating stomach cramps. These didn't pass, but they eased off intermittently and gradually they got less acute. My legs were like lead, I had no energy or motivation, I was freezing cold but sweat was pouring down me and I was on the verge of tears for no obvious reason. It took another 3 hours to do the 5 miles home. By the end I was crying and felt like just stopping and lying down.
Obviously the problem was sugar.
A couple of weeks later I did the same run again. No food after lunchtime, plain water only.
3 hours 20 minutes, finished feeling fine.
So that was OK, because I just trained up to run to marathon distance without eating. Simples.
Until I started doing ultras.
The story doesn't go on much further beyond that point. Ever since then I try things, they work (or not). Peanut butter in a baby food pouch works well. Malt loaf works surprisingly well, especially with peanut butter. Cheese fixes a lot of things and is good generally. Pitta mini pizzas looked promising but are just 'ok', a good additional option but not a standard staple. Toast is OK-ish, un-toasted bread is a complete no no. Wholemeal is better, but still has to be toasted. Anything more than a small quantity of pasta is a bad idea.
There's no easy answer, it's just a constraint I have to work within.
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