When you have gastroparesis, your stomach takes a lot longer to empty. This delay can cause belly pain, bloating, and belching. It also can cause hiccups, heartburn, nausea or vomiting. You may not feel like eating. These symptoms may come and go. They most often occur during and after meals. You may feel full after only a few bites of food.
This condition occurs when the nerves or muscles to the stomach don't work properly. Diabetes is one of the most common causes of this nerve damage. Gastroparesis can make it harder to control your blood sugar levels. But keeping your blood sugar levels under control may help with your symptoms. Parkinson's disease, stroke, and some medicines can also cause this condition.
Home treatment can often help.
Gastroparesis is a disorder in which the stomach takes too long to empty after eating. The delay is caused by damage to the stomach nerves or muscles and results in bloating, heartburn, and belly pain.
Diabetes is one of the most common causes of gastroparesis. Other causes include some disorders of the nervous system, such as Parkinson's disease and stroke, and some medicines, such as tricyclic antidepressants, calcium channel blockers, and opioids.
Other common symptoms of gastroparesis are:
Symptoms range from mild to severe. Severe symptoms of gastroparesis may improve with treatment using medicines that help with nausea and vomiting (antiemetics) and medicines that help the stomach empty more quickly (motility agents). In very severe cases, a feeding tube placed in the small intestine may be needed.
The most common symptoms of gastroparesis are:
Gastroparesis may be suspected in a person with diabetes who has upper digestive tract symptoms or has blood sugar levels that are hard to control. Controlling blood sugar levels may reduce symptoms of gastroparesis.
You can make changes to your lifestyle to help relieve your symptoms of gastroparesis. Here are some things to try:
If you need help making changes to your diet, ask your doctor or a dietitian for help.
There are also medicines that can help with gastroparesis, including:
Changes to diet and medicines help most people who have gastroparesis. If that doesn't work, your doctor may have to try something else. At first, you may need to try a different medicine or take more than one medicine. Surgery to place a feeding tube in the small intestine may be needed for severe gastroparesis.
Your doctor will ask you questions about your symptoms and will do a physical exam. Your doctor may also need to do tests to check your stomach and digestion and to rule out other problems that may be causing your symptoms. Tests that may be done include:
After a meal, the stomach normally empties in 1½ to 2 hours. When you have gastroparesis, your stomach takes a lot longer to empty. The delay results in bothersome symptoms that may become more severe over time.
Bezoar is a fairly rare condition related to gastroparesis. In this condition, food stays in the stomach for a long time and forms a hard lump. This causes food to get stuck in the stomach.
Gastroparesis occurs when the nerves or muscles to the stomach are damaged or don't work. Diabetes is one of the most common causes. Other causes include some disorders of the nervous system, such as Parkinson's disease and stroke, and some medicines, such as tricyclic antidepressants, calcium channel blockers, and opioid pain relievers. This condition can also be a complication of gastric surgery.
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