Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis – General Information

Gastroparesis – Symptoms

Gastroparesis – Treatment

The main goal of the treatment used to treat Gastroparesis is to control the condition, usually diabetes that has caused the disease. The treatment options can include dietary changes, medications, used to increase the stomach contractions, and surgery. In some cases, the medication treatment causes severe side effects and is not always effective and that is why doctors try to apply less conventional treatments. In most cases, doctors recommend dietary changes to treat Gastroparesis. They can include smaller, more frequent meals, which helps to avoid the fullness sensation, low fiber products, which helps whisk the food through the intestinal tract, low fat products, pureed and liquid products, nutritional supplements, which can supply with the missing nutrients in the meals, water, because the vomiting from the disease can lead to dehydration. There are cases in which the patient can suffer from stomach problems and can not tolerate the liquid products, and the only way to consume them is by a jejunostomy tube placed in the small intestine. In most cases, this tube is inserted directly through the skin into the patient’s small intestine, but it can be used as a temporary nasal and oral tube. The jejunostomy tube is used in severe cases of Gastroparesis, in which the patient’s blood sugar levels can not be controlled by another treatment option.

The medication therapy, in most cases, includes two types of drugs such as anti emetics, which can be prescribed as prochlorperazine and are used to control the symptoms of nausea and vomiting, and prokinetics, which are used to stimulate the contraction of the stomach muscles. The main form of drug administration is the pill, but in some cases the capsules can not be absorbed and that is why doctors can prefer injecting them or administrating them in a liquid form. The most used prokinetic medicines can include Metoclopramide, erythromycin and cisapride. Metoclopramide is a prokinetic medicine that is used to lower the pressure threshold for the peristalsis reflex, to increase the strength and frequency of the muscle contractions and to relax the pyloric valve that allows the food to pass from the stomach to the patient’s small intestine. It is also used to control the symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Erythromycin medicine is not considered prokinetic, but it is rather used as an antibiotic which is applied to produce short bursts of the strong stomach contractions. The medicine is rarely used because it can cause several side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hearing loss. In some cases, the medicine can worsen the patient’s signs and symptoms. Cisapride is used in severe cases of Gastroparesis, and is usually contraindicated in patients who suffer from heart or kidney dysfunctions because it can cause fatal heart arrhythmias. There are cases in which the doctors can apply the surgical approach to treat Gastroparesis. The surgical procedure is made when the other treatment options failed to relieve the severe symptoms of nausea, vomiting or malnutrition. The procedure consists in removing the lower part of the patient’s stomach to improve the stomach emptying.