Gastroparesis

Lets imagine that just one a meal a day becomes sufficient for you and you do not want anymore, in fact how much ever you want, your stomach cant have it at all because your stomach is unable to empty the contents that it has already. Now that is all about Gastroparesis.

Gastroparesis is a condition of the stomach in which the stomach is paralyzed and it is fails to function properly. The muscles of the stomach become slow and weak therefore it takes long for it to empty its contents. Literally "Gastro" means "stomach and "paresis" means "weakness". His condition is not very unusual and it can cause many abdominal disorders. Since it is so common not much attention is given to it but then there are treatments that are possible and it is necessary to get it treated since it might turn up to become a severe problem.

Symptoms of Gastroparesis

Often the symptoms are vague and it is difficult to understand what is the actual reason. Most of the symptoms are related to the fullness of the stomach that happens as a result of the food not going to the small intestine. There are various symptoms of Gastroparesis that can be observed which are as follows:

• There is a feeling of nausea.
• Pain in the upper abdomen
• Vomiting
• Feeling of fullness
• Feeling of Heartburn
• Weight Loss
• Loss of Appetite
• Bloating of the stomach
• Abdominal Spasms
• Fluctuation in the glucose level

The symptoms have similarities with the other disorders but then if these are the symptoms and these continue for a long time, it is better to consult a physician.

What causes Gastroparesis?

The common cause of Gastroparesis is diabetes. High sugar level in the blood results to chemical changes in the nerves of human body and happens to damage the blood vessels of the body, which help to carry oxygen and nutrients to the nerves. It is a vicious cycle as Gastroparesis is caused by Diabetes that is aggravated by the former. Since Gastroparesis delays the process of digestion, the food remains undigested in the system and that leads to the rise in the blood sugar levels of the body. It can also be caused due to stomach surgery or viral infection. There are medications that can cause Gastroparesis like anticholinergics and narcotics that lead to the slow contractions of the intestinal muscles. It is also caused by muscle disorders such as Amyloidosis or Scleroderma and also due to nervous diseases like abdominal migraine or Parkinson’s disease. Most of the times the cause of this disease is unknown and cannot be discovered even after medical tests.

How to treat Gastroparesis?

The treatment of Gastroparesis is determined by the age, health, and tolerance to a certain medicine of the patient. The past medical reports are also checked and taken into consideration. Here are some methods of treatment that are followed:

• The treatment includes medications like Botulinum Toxin, which is supposed to treat Gastroparesis considerably when directly injected into the pyloric sphincter but before that it is always better to suggest simpler methods to treat the disorder like prescribing liquid meals and avoidance of high fiber and fatty food, which are difficult to digest.
• Surgery also is an option when the other approaches fail to have any considerable effect in which a feeding tube is inserted in the abdomen. This tube actually enters the small intestine and liquid nutrition is passed through that tube to the small intestine so that the body can absorb the nutrition directly.
• The method of parenteral nutrition is also adopted at times in which the nutrients are directly put into the bloodstream of the patients and the digestive system is not involved in the process at all.