5 Minute Read
Reviewed By: Dr. Natasha Mendez
Out of every 100,000 people, an estimated 10 men and 40 women have gastroparesis, a condition where problems with the stomach nerves and muscles cause food to remain in the stomach for too long. Gastroparesis can cause an array of symptoms that impact quality of life, but with treatment, the condition is usually manageable.
Causes of Gastroparesis
Typically, muscle contractions move food from your stomach into the small intestine, where most of the digestion process takes place. In people with gastroparesis, the stomach muscles or the nerves that control them don’t work properly, so food doesn’t empty from the stomach as it should.
Potential causes of gastroparesis include:
- Diabetes: Over time, uncontrolled high blood sugar can damage nerves that control stomach muscle contractions. Around one-third of people with diabetes develop gastroparesis.
- Surgery: Surgery performed on the esophagus, stomach, small intestines or surrounding areas may damage the vagus nerve that coordinates stomach contractions.
- Infections: Although researchers are still working to determine how, certain viral and bacterial infections can cause short- or long-term gastroparesis.
- Autoimmune and neurological diseases: Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, and neurological diseases like Parkinson’s disease, can cause nerve damage that results in gastroparesis.
- Drugs: Nicotine, marijuana and certain prescription medications may contribute to gastroparesis.
- Collagen-vascular diseases: Conditions like scleroderma and lupus can weaken stomach muscles, resulting in gastroparesis.
- Endocrine disorders: Thyroid disease, kidney disease and other endocrine disorders can lead to nerve damage.
Signs and Symptoms of Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis can cause a number of symptoms that range from mild to severe in intensity. Not everybody experiences all of the symptoms, which include:
- Indigestion: Many people with gastroparesis develop an upset stomach after eating due to the delay in digestion.
- Bloated stomach: The presence of food in your stomach can cause you to look or feel bloated.
- Feeling of fullness: When you eat, you may quickly feel full, or you may feel full for a long time after eating.
- Nausea and vomiting: Due to food sitting in the stomach, you may feel like you’re going to throw up, or you may actually experience vomiting. Chronic vomiting can lead to dehydration.
- Regurgitating: Food lingering in the stomach may escape into the esophagus, causing wet burps or spitting up already-eaten food
- Loss of appetite: Because food remains in your stomach for too long, you may not feel hungry at mealtimes.
- Heartburn: In some cases, stomach acid may back up into your esophagus, causing a burning sensation or pain in the chest.
- Constipation: When food doesn’t move through your body at a proper pace, you may have bowel movements less frequently, and they may be harder to pass.
- Unintended weight loss: You may lose weight without trying if you have no appetite or are unable to eat adequate portions.
- Fluctuations in blood sugar: Delayed digestion can cause unpredictable changes in blood sugar, making diabetes more difficult to manage.
- Nutritional deficiencies: Slower digestion may interfere with your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, leading to vitamin or mineral deficiencies that show up on blood work.
How is Gastroparesis Treated?
If your doctor diagnoses you with gastroparesis, they’ll help you explore treatment options, address nutritional deficiencies and create a plan to help you manage your symptoms. A treatment plan may include the following.
Medication
Your doctor may prescribe a variety of medications to treat gastroparesis, depending on its severity and your symptoms. These may include:
- Antiemetics to help ease nausea and prevent vomiting
- Acid reflux medication to help reduce heartburn associated with gastroparesis
- Over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers to help manage stomach pain
- Vitamins or supplements to address any nutritional deficiencies you have
- Metoclopramide, which causes the stomach muscles to contract, helping to move food along.
- The antibiotics erythromycin and azithromycin, which can help food move through the digestive system faster
- Prucalopride, tegaserod and other drugs commonly prescribed for constipation, which may be used to treat gastroparesis when other treatments don’t work or if you can’t safely take other medications for the condition
Dietary Changes
Making changes to your diet may help improve your digestion and reduce your symptoms. Diets for gastroparesis are often low in fiber and fat and may consist of several smaller meals rather than three large ones. Your doctor will likely have you meet with a dietitian to help you develop an eating plan that works with your food preferences and lifestyle.
Surgery
When other treatments don’t work, your doctor may recommend surgery. Surgeries for gastroparesis include pyloroplasty, which widens the lower part of the stomach to help food empty more quickly, and gastronomy, which involves inserting a tube into the stomach to prevent fluid and air from building up and help reduce severe nausea and vomiting.
Gastric Electrical Stimulation (GES)
GES is a newer treatment for gastroparesis that’s still under investigation. It involves implanting a device in the stomach to stimulate muscle contractions with a mild electrical current. So far, studies into the effectiveness of gastric electrical stimulation have yielded mixed results, but it may be beneficial for some people.
What to Do if You Have Symptoms of Gastroparesis
Around 25% of adults experience symptoms similar to gastroparesis — but only a small number actually have this condition. If you have symptoms that could be due to gastroparesis, make an appointment with your doctor, who can order tests and make a diagnosis.
Although there is no cure for gastroparesis, treatments can reduce symptoms. In the words of Dr. Natasha Mendez, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Broward Health Medical Center, “The earlier we can diagnose and manage, the better our outcomes.” Check out Dr. Medez’s recent video on gastroparesis to learn more about getting help for your symptoms.