stomach issues

[newsector]

Hi, I was diagnosed 2 yrs ago with gastroparesis after going through a few tests such as upper gi, ultrasound to rule out appendix or gall bladder, scope procedure and the last one was a nucleur study after eating eggs toast and being watched while it digested to see how long it was taking. It was determined that my stomach was slow to digest and that it was the gastroparesis. The symptoms I had with it was naseau, diarrhea, constant tenderness in my upper stomach. I had to change alot of my diet and not eat salads, raw veggies, corn, fried foods and sometimes things that were mildly spicy would bother me. Just recently I started having problems again and after eating dinner would get naseau and diarrhea that lasted a couple of days. Now I am being very careful to not eat anything that seems risky, so I'm eating a lot of animal crackers, cereal, breads and some chicken seems to be ok. I just went for a Hida Scan yesterday to check the gall bladder, after getting back from that test I ate 1/2 of a grilled cheese and within 10 min I had cramping and diarrhea. What could be the problem and what could I try to take and correct the problem or at least make it better?  It's so frustrating to already be on a limited eating regimen and I weigh 104 so I really can't afford to lose more weight. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[patient915]

I assume you don't have diabetes?  A lot of gastroenterologists don't know very much about gastroparesis, especially idiopathic gastroparesis (as opposed to diabetic gastroparesis).  Yes, the symptoms of gastroparesis can get worse (as they did in my case) but they can also improve or disappear completely.  I would recommend talking to your doctor (as well as the surgeon) "how" abnormal your results were and the risks/benefits of having your gallbladder removed.  Having your gallbladder removed can cause problems, but it can also help your symptoms.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat by mouth again.  I've tried basically every medication that's out there to help gastroparesis/nausea (mainly off-label uses).  There is the gastric pacemaker, which treats nausea and vomiting (not stomach emptying pace), but that has risks and I have some small bowel motility problems, which makes it less likely to help.  There are also a variety of surgeries that can help but they are even more risky and small bowel motility problems make them less likely to happen too.  However, my stomach might improve with time.

[newsector]

Wow!! That's terrible what you have had to go through!! You are to young for such an ordeal. I asked my gastroenterologist if my symptoms would get worse and she said no. I don't think I believe that now after reading your situation. This has completely changed your life. I can't imagine how frustrated you feel, I know for me it's very annoying and I am very mild compared to you. I got the results of my Hida Scan yesterday and they said that my test came back mildly abnormal and my dr is going to consult a surgeon to discuss further.
Are there any other options for you down the road to make it possible to eat again or this is how you need to treat it indefinately?

[patient915]

At first, my lifestyle didn't change much, I just watched what I ate and took medications.  Then about a year ago, my stomach basically stopped working completely all of a sudden.  I was hospitalized for 3 1/2 months and I got a GJ tube and I am fed 100% through the J portion 24 hours a day and I also get meds through the J.  I also had a PICC line to get IV fluids and IV magnesium.  I now have a tunneled IJ line to get IV magnesium because for some reason I have very low magnesium and my intestines don't work well enough to absorb the magnesium I take through my J tube.  The only thing I "eat" is hard candy.  This has definitely made life tough but I'm planning on starting college in the fall (in a different state) after having to take two years off after high school.

[newsector]

Thank you for your suggestion, I will make sure it's completely gluten free.
How has gastroparesis changed your lifestyle? I find it to be something that I always worry will act up when I am on vacation or away from home for a period of time. I have a young family with children I want to be able to keep up with and we do alot of outdoor things like camping, kayaking,trips, and other things, I try really hard to stick with the things I know are on my safe list but sometimes those things will cause problems for me as well and I need to take a day or two to get myself back to a normal feeling, which usually involves not eating anything for at least a day. So it would be great to hear from someone else who has the same thing and how they are dealing with it and to what degree they have it.

[patient915]

Make sure that when you test for gluten intolerances, you have been eating gluten, as not eating gluten can give you a false negative.  I also have gastroparesis so let me know if you have any questions.

[newsector]

One of my thoughts was the Gluten allergy. I should be hearing today or tomorrow the results from the hida scan so if that is negative we will be looking to get other testing done and I am going to ask about the Gluten. What I am also thinking of doing is starting a gluten free diet for a couple weeks to see if it makes a difference, and based on the results I get from that I will let my dr know. My dr has been good about  setting up testing so I think that she will be on board with me asking her to test for those things. Thank you so much for your feedback.

[Goolsby50]

It sounds like you may be allergic to a lot of different foods, maybe it could be gluten or purely food allergies. Have your doctors run any tests to find out what foods you are allergic too? You sure sound like you are miserable. Don't stop making them run more tests, stay aggressive with this and positive also. Things will end up working out okay.