Gastroparesis, forever?

[fightin4ever]

Hello, I am a walking medical issue!!! :O)  Early last year I became very ill.  I was nauseated all the time.  Had vomiting and diarrhea.  No appetite.  I didnt eat for 2 weeks.  My stomach always felt like when you over eat and it feels painfully bloated.  By the end of the two weeks I wasnt vomiting anymore which seemed to relieve the "full" feeling I had.  I was sent to a gastro Dr. and he did an upper endoscope with normal results.  Put me on Zofran for the nausea and said wait and see.

I was admitted into the hospital for 2 weeks where I had a colonoscopy, Lower GI barium series and a gastric emptying study.  The emptying study showed significant delay.  All other test were normal.  I also had a tube up my nose to empty my stomach.  Food intake was just the "see through" stuff. Easier to pump I guess!!

In the end my Gastro Dr. said I had gotten a viral IBS that initiated Gastroparesis.  He used a disease named after a person that I cannot remember.  Anyway, I am still on Zofran for nausea and Lyrica to "jump start" my stomach.  I am digesting now but I do have flare ups now and then.  He also said my stomach shrank during this whole thing.  Is that possible?  Is Gastroparesis a permanant thing?  Is there a disease that causes this paresis?  I am so in the dark about this.  I was very sick in the hospital and just wanted to rest.  I retained some of the things my Dr. said but lost some of it too.  If anyone knows anything about  this problem or suffers it as well I would really like to hear about it.

Fightin4ever (literally!!!) :o)

[Annetta Giambruno]

Hi I am a Mom with a 11 year old that has severe gasteoparesis - and her delayed gastric emptying test (when last taken) was showing her stomach was almost non functioning - she has been able to get by with this disease and we have found that 1 medicine helps but at times nothing helps - she also has dismotility issues - Pseudo Obstruction - We have been dealing with this since she was 2 but she works thru her pain Biofeeback worked real well for her for a while .... classical music - etc -- visualization - meditation

The other thing that helps is when "she can feel it in her throat" she cuts out foods and liquids - for a rest - but that can be a double edged sword - because she seems when she is in an episode she dehydrates in hours .... she has a g tube in her stomach - a permanent Bard which helps with decompression - hydration and full flushing of her system when she gets a blockage .....

She also deals with what we call wrong signals - she can be in a full episode and she has the constant feeling of being starving  - we explain it that her brain is giving her stomach the wrong signal -

WE have a great Pedi Gi in San Francisco who can only give direction and moral support because there is no cure and we are happy that she is able to live a normal life -Cheerleader - Volleyball Player - Snow Ski's goes to sleep over camp - for 2 weeks every summer ...

Our Dr thinks we should go to Kansas and see Dr Paul Hyman to see if he has any tricks -

Any thoughts - Any comments

[debaser23]

The GI suspected I had gastroparesis once, and suggested that it would, in time, heal itself.  He thought it may have been caused by nerve damage resulting from an episode in which I was violently ill for several hours.

My emptying exam came back okay, but I thought you might like to know what my doctor said about it.  More specifically, he told me it might take a couple of years as nerves are slow to regenerate, but it would heal in time.  And in the interim it could be treated with medication.

Good luck.

[kharaa]

This is a large amount of information on gastro paresis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroparesis

it looks like there is no cure, but there is a few options to manage symptoms.