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August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month
Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis means paralysis of the stomach. It’s a functional disorder affecting your stomach nerves and muscles. It weakens and slows your stomach muscle contractions, which are needed to digest your food and pass it to your intestines. This leads to food sitting in your stomach for too long.
Gastroparesis interferes with the muscle activity (peristalsis) that moves food through your stomach and into your small intestine. When your stomach muscles and nerves can’t activate correctly, your stomach can’t process food or empty itself as it should. This holds up your whole digestive process.
People with gastroparesis have uncomfortable symptoms during digestion and they can also have longer-lasting side effects. They might have low appetite and trouble meeting their nutritional needs or trouble controlling their blood sugar. When food does finally pass from the stomach, it may not pass completely and may leave some behind. This can develop into a hardened, solid mass called a bezoar.
Diabetes is the most common single cause of gastroparesis. Around one-third of cases are diagnosed as diabetes-related. Common symptoms include:
- Indigestion
- Bloated stomach
- Feeling full very quickly and/or for a long time
- Upper abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Regurgitating (spitting up) whole pieces of undigested food
- Loss of appetite
- Acid reflux and heartburn
- Blood sugar fluctuations
- Constipation
When your stomach muscles aren’t working right, food sits in your stomach for a long time after you eat it. You may feel full almost immediately and for a long time after eating. You may have a stomach ache, feel nauseous or throw up. Your stomach may feel bloated or distended (stretched) and you may have acid reflux as a side effect. Known causes include:
- Diabetes
- Surgery
- Infections
- Autoimmune Disease
- Drugs
The first step is having imaging tests to rule out an obstruction as the cause of your symptoms. These tests could include:
For more information on gastroparesis, read here.
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