Gastroparesis – this is a disorder that occurs when your stomach muscles are NOT working properly. Sometimes, this condition is also called as “Delayed Gastric Emptying”. Usually, after you swallow your food, your stomach muscles get to work right away: it starts squeezing and tightening…movements that are better known as contractions.
These movements or contractions of the stomach muscles crush the food and move it to the small intestines…moving on to the next step of the digestive process. Now, when you are suffering from Gastroparesis, your stomach muscles don’t move or contract properly. This means the process of crushing food and moving it to the small intestines is delayed…or sometimes even prevented!
Without a doubt, things could get inconvenient when you are suffering from Gastroparesis.
Gastroparesis – The Symptoms
The symptoms and tell tale signs of Gastroparesis can be mild or severe. It could include the following: (A) Heartburn as well as stomach pain (B) Nausea (C) Vomiting…most especially, vomiting bits and pieces of undigested food (D) lack of appetite and feeling full only after a couple of bites of food (E) surprising and unintended weight loss (F) fluctuating and unstable levels of blood sugar, and those are just to name a few!
Just in case you haven’t noticed, these symptoms could mean and suggest a lot of problems that are entirely different from Gastroparesis. With that in mind, diagnosing Gastroparesis is a very tricky business.
Gastroparesis – Curing The Disorder
Unfortunately, there is no cure for this digestive disorder. The treatment that the doctor would recommend would focus on treating the underlying problem which causes Gastroparesis while controlling your symptoms as well.
Usually, your doctor would ask you to stop taking drugs that could affect your digestive system. HOWEVER, don’t get ahead of your doctor. You should NOT stop taking any drugs (especially if it’s a part of a treatment for another condition) with talking to your doctor first.
Also, your physician might focus on treating eating disorders, curing infections, and dealing with other issues that may be causing Gastroparesis. You may also find probiotic supplements to be of great help. For those of you who don’t know it, aside from fighting the bad bacteria in your body (especially in your digestive system), probiotics, which are helpful and beneficial strains of bacteria, aid greatly in your digestion.
They make the process smoother and more efficient. With a better and healthier digestive system, you are a step closer to getting rid of Gastroparesis.
Dietary Changes: This is one of the most common recommendations of doctors when dealing with Gastroparesis. Since you are NOT able to eat normally, it is very crucial to make sure you are getting sufficient nutrients. Here are some steps you may need to take:
1. Instead of going for 2 to 3 large meals a day, go for several and smaller meals. As mentioned earlier, people suffering from Gastroparesis feel full only after a few bites.
2. Go for softer foods like vegetable and pasta, which are cooked more thoroughly to make digesting them a lot easier.
3. Go easy and limit fat – this can slow digestion. Also, steer clear from too much fiber since this can be hard to digest and can put your digestive system under stress.
4. Beef up your diet with nutrition drinks like Boost, Ensure, as well as solid food that have been pureed with the help of a blender.