Gastroparesis Explained?

Hello all you lovely people,

So, Gastroparesis - what is it you may ask? Don not panic, I'm going to tell you all.

Gastroparesis is when your stomach takes its sweet time to empty. So, in doctor terms it's known as 'Delayed gastric emptying'. It means that when you eat, instead of moving food along it let's the food sit and have a party in your stomach. Believe me though, it doesn't feel like a party. Gastroparesis is when the nerves to the stomach are damaged or stop working and causes the stomach to be paralysed. The Vagus nerve to be precise! The VAGUS nerve not VEGAS, though I'd more than love to be there right about now :) It can happen to anyone of any age, though does seem to be more common in females. WHY? I have no idea though I wish I did! 

• Being Diabetic
• Damage to the nerve during an operation
• Parkinson's Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis 
• After pregnancy
• A virus 'leaving its mark'

Or, the most common cause is completely unknown. Otherwise known as 'Idiopathic Gastroparesis' which is what I have. That basically means for us people who don't do doctor talk, they have no idea why you have it... you just do so deal with it.

There is NO CURE to this condition, only ways in which you can try to manage it. Symptoms of this condition can vary between sufferers but they can include things such as:

• Feeling full early when eating
• Bloating
• Pain and discomfort in the tummy
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Weight loss or in some cases weight gain

I WANT TO STRESS THAT EVERYONE GETS DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS AND OF DIFFERENT LEVELS! And everyday is very different. One day you can be relatively ok, and the next, you are curled up in pain and can't even tolerate a sip of water.

I'm going to try and explain to you how this feels 24 hours a day 7 days a week the best I can. Remember when you last had a really bad case of the flu or a virus. Remember how you were feeling sick and being sick all the time, weak, tired, achey, couldn't get out of bed and just generally feeling like absolute poop with no energy from not eating or keeping it down? Imagine that all day everyday with added pain in the stomach and feeling like you are starving to death but can't do anything about because if you eat, you either throw it straight back up and/or end up with even more excruciating pain. Well that my friends... is Gastroparesis.  Only, it doesn't go away after a few days and we have to try and get on with every day activities and well... LIFE! I've been told that the pain is worse than giving birth but I have no kids so I can neither confirm or deny that, all I know is it is freaking painful haha :) I just want to make it perfectly clear that Gastroparesis sufferers want nothing more than to eat and keep it down, hence get rather upset when told it's a choice or that it's anorexia or attention seeking or all in our head etc.

A diagram I thought might help?

There is no cure for this illness and not many people have even heard of it. Medications can sometimes control the symptoms and others it can't. Many of us sufferers need different types of feeding tubes such as Nasojejunal Tubes, PEGJ Tubes, JEJ Tubes, Hickman Line and many more in order to have nutrition inside of us, ultimately keeping us alive and saving our lives. These tubes go into our small intestine, avoiding our stomach and putting it where it's meant to go.

The Pacemaker

The newest form of treatment that isn't always successful and isn't always funded on the NHS here in the UK is the Enterra Device. Otherwise known as 'the tummy pacemaker'. It does exactly what a heart one does and sends pulses into the stomach, making it contract and move the food through rather than sitting and rotting. It is primarily to help the nausea and vomiting. I can confirm it does very little to nothing for the pain from what I've experienced. Again, this is NOT a cure, simply a way to manage the condition.

This condition needs more awareness and more research done on it so be sure to spread the word!! 

I don't want to bore you so I will leave it there for this post and end with some pictures of me over the past 2 years. For more information on Gastroparesis, check out the Gastroparesis UK website - www.gastroparesisuk.org

Nasojejunal Tube 

Gastroparesis is life changing and stays with you for life. Learning ways to deal with it is the way forward and the more support we get from friends and family, the easier it will be!! 

PEG J Tube & after Pacemaker Surgery

Stay Strong 

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