Gastric paresis: what is the cause?

[emily7sean]

This discussion is related to Gastroparesis specialists, where?.


I had gallbladder surgery in July of 2006.  In Sept. I was diagnosed with gastricparesis.  I'm not a diabetic or narcotic user.  Could the surgeon that did my surgery damage my vague nerve?

[CalGal]

It's possible a branch of your vagus could have been impacted, but gastroparesis can often pop up out of nowhere, unfortuantely.

[VincentVols]

I too had my gallbladder removed in Aug. 07 and was recently diagnosed with gastroparesis.  I have been trying to research the connection and have yet to have any luck, but their definatley has to be one.  It may be that the gastroparesis (that we never knew we had) caused our gallbladder to quit working. (I did not have stones, only poor function).
OR - did the surgery cause the diagnosis?
There are too many people posting on this form that had the surgery connection.

I would definatley like to find out more if this is possible.

[gnorb]

Gastroparesis can be caused by a number of things, and if you've received that diagnosis it's a fair bet that you'll be tested for other things which might be the root cause. (Diabetes and MS come to mind, though you've mentioned you don't have diabetes. Note that diabetic cases account for about 20% of all gastroparesis cases; 50% are what's called idiopathic, meaning they have no known root cause.) There might be a connection between your gallbladder removal and the gastroparesis, but it's not very likely (and also not impossible). It may also have been caused by a viral infection that impacted your vagus nerve, the nerve which tells the stomach to pump. If this is the case then I have good news: your gastroparesis CAN get better over time. Doesn't mean it will, but there's a chance. If you're young (I haven't looked at your profile) and it's suspected to have a viral cause, then you've got a fairly good chance, at least in comparison to the alternatives.

Depending on how severe your gastroparesis is, you'll want to look carefully at your treatment options. Are you yet on any drugs for it? (Regalan, I think, is the name of a popular one, but it tends to have rather nasty side-effects.) Or is your doctor treating it with lifestyle modifications (low fat, low fiber meals)? If the former, then it's imperative that you work with your doctor to get the best care you can, even if that means looking for a new doctor who better understands the condition. If the later, then while you still want to make sure you get the best care, the most important thing for you will be to keep a close eye on your nutrition: do liquid or pureed meals whenever you can, make sure you're not eating anything which will slow digestion (like fatty meals or high-fiber meals). You may also want to talk to a nutritionist (and likely an integrative medicine physician) about supplementation. I've heard that something called "DigestGold" and "Nux Vomita" could help, but this is information I've learned second hand, and with Gastroparesis, what works for one person may well not work for another: it is a very individual condition.

I recommend you find a support group, online if there's not one near. (Yahoo Groups tends to be good for this kind of stuff, and they do have a gastroparesis group.) Depending on the severity of this condition it can go from annoying to down-right life threatening.

The fact is that your gastroparesis is something you'll have to deal with for a while, possibly (likely, from what I hear) for the rest of your life. Still, a lot of research is being made out there for the condition, and treatments will get better over time.

I always recommend checking out options like acupuncture, chiropractic, and aryuvedic medicine. Just because western medicine hasn't found a solution to something yet, doesn't mean that other forms of medicine haven't, even if they don't exactly understand why, or can't put it into terms readily understood. I'm a fan of acupuncture for what it's done for me: I've never had gastroparesis, but I have had other digestive conditions (hiatal hernia being the biggest) and the acupuncture has helped immensely. SInce that particular form of medicine works very closely with the nervous system, and since gastroparesis is usually a nerve related condition (whether it be because of the vagus nerve or because of the stomach muscle's pumping mechanism being awry) it may offer a good level of help.

Good luck.

[VincentVols]

Thanks for the helpful information.