August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month, making it a great time to talk about this widely unknown chronic medical condition. According to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD), an estimated five million people in the United States have gastroparesis, but many of them remain undiagnosed.
What is Gastroparesis?
Gastroparesis is a condition that affects the normal, spontaneous contractions of the stomach that propel food through the digestive tract. In a healthy person, the contractions quickly move food through the stomach and into the small intestine. For patients with gastroparesis, the normal contractions are slowed or absent, preventing the stomach from emptying properly.
What Causes Gastroparesis?
Although the cause of gastroparesis in the majority of patients is unknown, there is a number of conditions, procedures and medications that may increase your risk for gastroparesis, including:
- Diabetes, particularly if poorly controlled.
- Nerve damage from abdominal or esophageal surgery.
- Viruses impacting the nerves of the stomach.
- Other conditions, such as neurological diseases, connective tissue disorders and hypothyroidism.
- Medications that slow the rate of stomach emptying, including some allergy and high blood pressure medications, antidepressants, and narcotic pain relievers.
What are the Symptoms of Gastroparesis?
When the stomach doesn’t empty properly, food and liquids stay in the stomach for prolonged periods of time. This can result in a range of symptoms that can greatly impair quality of life. The signs and symptoms of gastroparesis include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Early satiety (feeling full after consuming a very small amount of food)
- Lack of appetite
- Bloating
- Abdominal pain
- Acid reflux
- Weight loss
- Malnutrition
- Blood sugar level changes
Diagnosis and Treatment of Gastroparesis
Getting a diagnosis is important even if symptoms are mild, as a potentially life-threatening complication can occur from gastroparesis. When undigested food stays in the stomach, it can harden into a solid mass called a bezoar, which prevents food from passing into the digestive tract.
Gastroparesis is diagnosed with the combination of an upper endoscopy and imaging studies in a gastric-emptying study. The good news is that gastroparesis can be treated with lifestyle and dietary changes, controlling blood sugar and with medication, if needed.
If you are experiencing symptoms of gastroparesis, are concerned about risk factors or have other gastrointestinal concerns, contact your doctor.
The team at GastroIntestinal Specialists, A.M.C., treats multiple conditions and diseases of the GI tract, including gastroparesis. Our Board-Certified physicians have over 150 years of combined experience in providing quality care that you can trust. To schedule an appointment, call our clinic at (318) 631-9121.