How to Identify Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is otherwise known as paralysis of the stomach. It is a condition where stomach muscles become weak or do not function at all--impairing its ability to properly grind the food and propel it into the small intestines during digestion. In other words, with gastroparesis, the body is not able to digest well. Damage to the vagus nerve is the reason why stomach muscles malfunction. The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve that stretches from the brain stem down to the abdomen. This nerve plays a vital role in your digestive system. It stimulates stomach muscles to activate the peristaltic movement (the rhythmic contraction of stomach muscles to propel food contents). When this nerve is damaged, it hampers nerve signals on stomach muscles leading to gastroparesis. Factors that contribute to vagus nerve damage include: (a) faulty surgical procedure of the stomach, esophagus, or duoudenoum, (b) diabetes, (c) chemotherapy, (d) some narcotic pain medications (such as calcium channel blockers), some high blood pressure medications, and psychiatric drugs (lithium). Symptoms of gastroparesis are as follows.

Instructions

• 1

  Observe how quickly you feel full when you eat. Patients with gastroparesis usually experience early satiety (feeling of fullness) after only eating a few bites of food.

• 2

  Notice how often you feel the urge to vomit. Nausea and vomiting are among the prominent signs of gastroparesis. The urge to throw up often happens 1 to 3 hours after eating. Since the functions of stomach muscles are impaired, the stomach becomes overly distended due to accumulation of foods that are not properly digested, along with some natural stomach secretions. In serious cases, vomiting occurs even if the patient is not eating, due to abnormal accumulation of secretions in the stomach.

• 3

  Note if you feel any discomfort in your abdominal area. Due to spasmodic reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus, heart burn is often felt by gastroparesis patients. This is usually accompanied by bloating, excessive belching, and nagging upper abdominal pain.

• 4

  Notice changes in your appetite. Secondary to the impact of the symptoms mentioned above, the appetite of the patient will gradually reduce--leading to weight loss, low blood potassium level, dehydration, and eventually malnutrition.

• 5

  Visit the doctor to determine irregular changes in your blood glucose levels. This may be typical for gastroparesis patients, especially those who suffer diabetes at the same time.