MELROSE PARK, Ill. - While promoting his new book describing his improved life thanks to bariatric surgery, broadcast personality Al Roker says that he thought he was passing gas during a White House event with George Bush. Instead he soiled his pants, which led him to change out of his undergarments and “go commando.” Bipan Chand, MD, director Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery & Bariatric Care, explains Roker’s bariatric surgery treatment and why this happened to him.
“The phenomenon is known as "dumping" and has two different manifestations. One may be a gastrointestinal process that includes consumption of a high sugar load, which leads to intestinal influx of fluid,” said Chand, who has performed more than 2,000 bariatric procedures, including the Roux-en-Y treatment. “This can lead to diarrhea as well as vomiting and can occur in many post-Roux-en-Y gastric bypass patients but does not occur in all of them.” Chand did not perform Roker’s procedure.
Chand said “dumping” acted like a negative feedback mechanism for patients. “If diarrhea or vomiting due to improper eating occurs on a frequent basis, patients self-correct their behavior and refrain from consuming those foods that cause the undesirable symptoms."
The other manifestation of “dumping” may include a glucose imbalance. “An overestimation of the amount of insulin the body needs to process the same sugar load will not lead to intestinal symptoms but to rapid fluctuations in blood sugar,” Chand said. “The blood sugar may go up rapidly after the consumption and then bottom out. This may lead to feelings of rapid heart rate and sweating."
Chand added: “The bottom line is that after intestinal surgery for weight loss, patients must remain focused on all aspects of health including dietary discretion, dietary supplementation and physical activity."
At Loyola, an integrated team of medical professionals, including a bariatric-focused psychologist, internal medicine physician, surgeon, nutritionist and exercise physiologist, care for weight-loss patients. Surgical and nonsurgical interventions are available at Loyola. To learn more about medical and surgical weight loss at Loyola, or to sign up for a free information session, please call (800) 504-1397 or visit http://www.loyolamedicine.com/bariatrics/