Gastroparesis refers to a health disorder, in which your stomach empties at an extremely slow pace i.e. digestion of a meal takes place more than 4 hours (as contradictory to the digestion of meal in any health individual). Even in some case, a person requires days in emptying out the stomach in case he or she is suffering from gastroparesis.
The main cause of gastroparesis problem is not actually a blockage. Instead, it is a problem associated with muscles and nerves responsible to control the emptying of one’s stomach. Whenever vagus nerve of patients suffers damage in any way, it contracts their stomach to squeeze the intake food down further towards the digestive tract. In this way, malfunctioning of both stomach and intestinal muscles result in slowing down the food movement from your stomach to the anus.
Can Gastroparesis Symptoms Come and Go?
The symptoms related to the problem of gastroparesis often come and go, patients should essentially schedule appoint with a doctor, as Gastroparesis may result in many severe complications. These include the following-
- Dehydration due to consistent vomiting
- GERD i.e. gastroesophageal reflux disease, where acid from the stomach leaks out and reaches to the gullet
- Malnutrition i.e. your body fails to get nutrients in adequate amounts
- Unpredictable increase in your blood glucose or sugar levels.
Gastroparesis is a type of extreme rare condition and it affects only 10 persons out of 100,000 people. It often takes place because of infection, neuromuscular problems, autoimmune diseases and diabetes and radiation treatment. Anorexia and bulimia type of eating disorders may even cause this problem, but in such cases, digestive functions of an individual returns to normal state once an individual starts with normal food intake. Medication may lead to similar symptoms, but they are often of temporary type.
Diabetes is especially a huge risk factor related to Gastroparesis digestive condition. Long-term diabetes problem causes nervous system abnormalities, which manifest tingling and numbness in fingertips or affect the bowel movements and the nervous system as a whole. Along with this, diabetes involves the problem of high blood glucose, which eventually makes the vagus nerve of any diabetic patient extremely weak.
Key Aspects on Gastroparesis Symptoms
A majority of individuals suffer from the problem of Gastroparesis ask a common question that whether the symptoms associated with the mentioned health disorder are temporary type or permanent i.e. whether they come and go away easily.
Main Symptoms of Gastroparesis Problem
According to doctors, Gastroparesis has a few main symptoms, which may be anything from mild to severe ones, while may have the tendency to come and go away easily. These include-
- Vomiting sensation and feeling sick
- Feeling yourself as full even by having only a small meal
- Extreme and abnormal weight loss
- Stomach bloating
- Fluctuations in the blood sugar or glucose levels
- Appetite loss
- Heartburn
Ways to Reduce or Control Your Symptoms
Gastroparesis problem is an incurable one. However, dietary changes may help you to reduce your symptoms or let it go away and control your health condition. These measures are-
- Dietary Changes Tips
- If you are a Gastroparesis patient, you should opt to try six small meals in a day instead of three big meals. When there would be relatively less amount of food remains in your stomach, your digestive system may pass it easily and controls your system.
- Secondly, you should make your habit to have well-cooked i.e. soft and liquid food items, as your stomach may digest them in an easy way.
- Make sure chewing your food properly before you should swallow them.
- Gastroparesis patients should strictly have any type of non-carbonated liquid with each of the meals they intake.
- Finally, you should make your habit of sitting or walking for at least 2 hours following your meal instead of lying down directly.
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