Anyone else get gastroparesis with an attack?

[maxthecat9196]

This will be my first course of IVSM.  I can't walk, and my stomach has stopped emptying.  There are other things, but those are the big ones.  Is this a common one?  

[maxthecat9196]

I guess I ate too much at my final meal yesterday (4pm). It's still there in spite of steroid treatment.  I guess I should buy a book about how to modify my diet.  

At any rate, I should finally be able to lose weight.  No willpower needed!

Tammy

[maxthecat9196]

It was a good idea, but my gallbladder has been gone for almost two years. I remember that misery!   This seems to be something different. The solumedrol is working, but the back of my throat feels burned.  I wonder if that is a common reaction?

Tammy

[jumpinjiminy]

Have they checked your gallbladder? I had that nauseous thing for quite some time at the same time as the delayed emptying years ago. It was so bad, I got down to 95 lbs and nearly went vegetarian. Anything greasy made me nauseous, and like you say, just the thought of certain foods made me nauseous, especially dairy, meat and eggs. I've recently had it out and feel quite a bit better with it gone. I suffered with that diseased organ for 20 years. It was time for it to go.

I still get nauseous (this summer from heat exposures and headaches that came with them), but not nearly as often, and not over greasy foods like before.

[Dagun]

You too, it is great that you are eating again, because you were not eating anything! In my "attack" I eated very little and always fellt full, but you were much worse.
My best,
Dagun

[maxthecat9196]

I don't know.  I just stopped eating.  I had absolutely no appetite, no desire to drink either- but I forced that.  When I tried to eat, I would be full and bloated after a couple of bites- and the bloating would last all day.  It felt like my small amount of food was actually going bad in my stomach.  It went like this:
Thursday morning- still too bloated and nauseous from Wednesday dinner.- no breakfast.
2:00- lite lunch
no dinner

Friday no breakfast
3:00- lite lunch
no dinner

Saturday no breakfast
12:00 -1/2 my lunch
no dinner

Sunday 11:30- three bites of breakfast
no lunch or dinner

Monday no breakfast or lunch
IV Solumedrol
6:30pm- I was finally able to eat

Tuesday- I seem to be eating and drinking normally so far...

I only felt cramping and nausea if there was actually food in my stomach, that had been sitting there too long; and when my husband would try to get me interested in eating- the smell/thought of it made me feel vaguely nauseated.  

I'm glad yours was just that one day.  I hope it doesn't come back for you.  There are lots of other people on this forum who are a lot wiser than I am about this kind of thing.

Best of luck to you though...
-Tammy

[maxthecat9196]

I wondered about that as an affect of the proton pump inhibitors... I asked my primary care doc about that yesterday.  They want me to stay on them because the lining of my stomach is always irritated- to the point of polyps needing that had to be removed earlier this year.  That feeling of hitting the wall, gonna be sick if you eat another bite- I've had that as long as I can remember.  
The problems I've had for the last several days are somewhat different, but I wonder if the omeprazole will make my digestion more difficult after the solumedrol wears off.  I will ask today.  

Thanks!
Tammy

[jumpinjiminy]

My GP and I suspect I may have some trouble with this from time to time, and it does come with a flare up sometimes. It depends on where the episode is occurring. I tend to get this delayed stomach emptying problem when I get the diaphragm spasms. In my early 20s, this problem was a running joke with my family and friends because I would just all of a sudden stop eating. If I took another bite, it felt like I would throw up. They called it 'hitting the wall' and we all got a jolly laugh out of it. It lasted for years and then got better.

But it's still there quietly waiting in the background. It happened last winter around Christmastime. Then again a few weeks back when I came down with the flu, there it was again. My GP questioned me about some CT scan results I got after a surgery that said my stomach was distended with food particles. He said that's not normal for someone who had been NPO for over 12 hours. He ordered a gastric emptying study, but it cleared up again, so I haven't scheduled the test.

As a side note, he prescribed proton pump inhibitors in case the diaphragm spasm pain was from ulcers or reflux. When I took those, it really slowed things down and I had the worst reflux of my life. I normally don't reflux at all, except during these episodes.

[Dagun]

Hi again, I do not need that because I don't usually have this acid reflux and the gastro said my stomach was well closed, when he looked at it. My husband has that problem and takes Omeprazole. This was just this one night for me and I am thinking it had to do with nerves/muscles not working to close the stomach, I think it was a part of attack. Like the gastroparesis you have, this is simular with the muscles not working right.
Hope you feel better.
My best,
Dagun  

[maxthecat9196]

Hi, I'm sorry for all the trouble you've been having.  I take a proton pump inhibitor everyday for acid reflux (you had the right words, I completely understood you).  The medicine I take is a generic, so it costs less.  I use Omeprazole 40mg, by prescription.  There are drawbacks to using a proton pump inhibitor, so just be sure your gastro doctor explains it all to you.  

Good luck, this is an awful problem for you- especially at night!
-Tammy

[maxthecat9196]

Thanks Sumandevii,

I am trying to get in to see him earlier.  My current appt is not until the end of December.  His office is close by the place where I am getting my IVSM today.  I will drop by and try to talk to his assistant beforehand.  I'm very glad to know that there are other options to look at.  However, I am unhappy to note that it sounds like the problem may indeed return.  

Oh well, maybe I will finally loose some weight!
Tammy

[Dagun]

Hi Tammy,

I am not dx, but I was seeing a gastro (doctor, not sure of English word) because, few days ago I was having symptoms like maybe from the Vagus nerve, difficulty swallowing, could hardly sleep one night because it was like I had been eating to late in the evening and I got heartburn (is it the right word) from the stomach, and I was always feeling full without eating.

So when I googled I thought of gastroparesis and went to that doctor to see if he would see anything. He did, the camera down to the stomach, thing :) and did not see anything wrong. Because at that time my stomach was starting to feel normal again and he was emptying. My thinking is that when I could not sleep, the nerves controlling the muscles beneath and at the top of the stomach were not working like they should. The stomach was to full (to closed at the bottom) and open at the top? I am going to ask my Neuro when I meet him.
My best,
Dagun  

[Sumanadevii]

I think there is a bunch of things to try for gastroparesis before needing a tube.  Talk to your neuro.  I wish I had.  It will save you from a lot of needless pain.  

[maxthecat9196]

I've also got right severe right sided weakness, though not paralysis- and of course all the left sided problems from before are back.  I had my first day of IV solumedrol today, and it already is helping.  I was actually able to eat this evening.  

This is my main fear:  is this type of symptom- gastroparesis, likely to return the way my left sided weakness/numbness always seems to?  If so, this could potentially lead to a tube in my stomach couldn't it?  

I'm sorry, I know with ms speculation is no good.  It's just that I am getting to know how 'my body' behaves, and that's what scares me.  
Is there another kind of med to help with this?  Also, since I now have left sided and right sided issues- weakness/ trouble lifting at the hip, etc- would Ampyra help?

Thanks in advance.
Tammy