What is Gastroparesis?
Gastroparesis literally translates to stomach paralysis. It is a stomach disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from your stomach into your intestines because your stomach muscles work too slowly. It is a motility disorder, also known as delayed gastric emptying. On its own, gastroparesis is not life-threatening. However, in rare cases, it can cause life threatening complications.
The most common gastroparesis symptoms are bloating, nausea, vomiting, and feeling full very quickly after eating. Gastroparesis is a chronic condition, meaning that it lasts long term. While many people believe that chronic means that it will last forever, it really just means that it is long-lasting. In Canada, chronic conditions refer to ones that are expected to last at least one year. However, many people do have it for the rest of their lives. There is no cure for gastroparesis, and there are very few effective treatments. As such, it can cause life threatening complications.
The exact cause of gastroparesis is also often unknown, but there are some known risk factors. Sometimes it is a complication of another illness, medication, treatment, surgery, or infection. In many cases, it is believed to be caused by vagus nerve damage, the nerve that controls the stomach muscles. In my case, I developed gastroparesis from COVID-19. For many though, there is no known cause. This is called idiopathic gastroparesis. Idiopathic means a spontaneous condition with no known cause.
While gastroparesis is not deadly on its own, in very rare cases, often in combination with other illnesses, it can cause life threatening complications.
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My Experience with Gastroparesis:
I was diagnosed with gastroparesis last year after I stopped eating. Two days after testing positive for COVID-19, I just stopped feeling hungry. I really wasn’t hungry at all, and any time I tried to eat or drink something my stomach would start really hurting and I would throw up. I would feel super full after eating one or two crackers, and couldn’t even really drink water. My other symptoms of gastroparesis included being severely bloated and nauseous. Seriously, I often looked 5 months pregnant even though I hadn’t eaten anything in days. Over the next few weeks, my digestive symptoms continued to get worse, including severe abdominal pain, and I still wasn’t able to eat anything.
After trying all sorts of dietary changes, several medications, and treatments that didn’t help, I still wasn’t able to eat anything, even a really small meal. I also struggled with significant weight loss, and had really severe symptoms. So, I got a feeding tube in February 2023. A flexible tube was placed directly through my abdomen, bypassing my stomach, into my small intestine. A few weeks ago, I posted a whole series on feeding tubes.
Feeding Tubes and Life Threatening Conditions:
Feeding tubes are often only placed for life threatening conditions. They are considered a life saving measure and often used as a last resort. While I wouldn’t say that I was in a life threatening situation yet, I would have been soon but for the feeding tube. I now genuinely believe the feeding tube saved my life.
A year later, I still have the feeding tube, but I am slowly improving. I can now eat small amounts of food at a time – something that was impossible a year ago. For most people with gastroparesis, it will be a life-long condition. It can go through flares, and some patients describe themselves as being ‘in remission’, but for the most part, it will not ever fully go away. There is one exception, for people like me, who developed gastroparesis from an infection. For this group of people, it is possible to fully recover.
Dietary Changes:
The vast majority of people with this illness will have mild gastroparesis – they will only ever have mild symptoms that can be managed sufficiently with lifestyle changes such as diet changes or by addressing its underlying cause. In a previous post, I did a comprehensive dive into the gastroparesis diet, but here are some of the best suggestions for eating habits with gastroparesis:
- Instead of eating 3 large meals a day, eat 10-15 smaller meals throughout the day
- Avoid raw fruits and vegetables, opting for well-cooked, soft ones instead
- Avoid foods with a lot of fat and high-fiber foods – aim for a light meal instead
- Chew your food really well into tiny pieces
- It is easier to digest liquids rather than solid foods, so try soups, smoothies, and high-protein nutritional drinks
- Aim to drink 1-2 liters of water a day
- Go for a walk after each meal
- Eat plain foods like white bread, white rice, and white pasta
Life Threatening Complications:
Gastroparesis affects your whole digestive system. In almost all cases, gastroparesis only becomes life-threatening if you already have another medical condition, such as one that affects your blood glucose levels. But on its own, gastroparesis is not expected to reduce your life expectancy. Here are some of the side effects of gastroparesis that could turn deadly.
Malnutrition:
Many people with gastroparesis become malnourished as they cannot eat sufficient amounts of nutrition. If you aren’t eating enough, you and your health team may need to consider a feeding tube (enteral feeding) or IV-administered nutrition (TPN – total parenteral nutrition). These are both considered life-saving measures and are not taken lightly.
In very rare cases, a person’s body cannot handle either of these types of artificial nutrition. This type of complication can be life threatening.
Malabsorption:
Gastroparesis can affect how well your body can absorb nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and protein. In some people, this leads to difficulties absorbing medication as well. If you have another life-threatening illness that you rely on medication for, your body may no longer be able to absorb it properly, which may lead to life threatening complications.
Dehydration:
Many people with gastroparesis struggle with frequent vomiting. This can lead to severe dehydration, that many patients treat by getting IV fluids at a clinic or hospital if they are in the midst of a severe flare of symptoms. If left untreated, it is possible to die from severe dehydration.
Refeeding Syndrome:
Refeeding syndrome can be fatal. It can happen when someone who has been malnourished starts feeding again, either orally or via feeding tube. If food and nutrition is introduced back into the body too quickly, it can cause serious complications.
When you stop eating for a significant period of time, your metabolism – the way your body converts food into energy – changes. Instead of metabolizing the carbohydrates you normally get from food, your body switches to start metabolizing its own fat and muscle, and your metabolism slows down.
Refeeding syndrome is caused by low stores of electrolytes or micronutrients in your body. When you start feeding again, your body uses these electrolytes to metabolize food, causing a shift in your body chemistry. Because you don’t have enough electrolytes to do this, it leaves very low levels of them in your blood, leading to electrolyte deficiencies.
These deficiencies can cause life-threatening symptoms like trouble breathing, seizures, coma, cardiomyopathy (heart weakness), and organ failure.
Diabetes:
One of the most common causes of gastroparesis is diabetes. It can make diabetes worse because the delayed gastric emptying can cause unpredictable changes in blood sugar levels. Because food remains in the stomach for long periods of time, people’s blood sugar levels can drop, and then spike once the food finally empties into the intestines.
These highs and lows can lead to fluctuations that make it difficult to control blood sugar and manage diabetes. These diabetes complications can lead to heart attacks or damage to vital organs, which can be life threatening.
Intestinal Blockages:
Sometimes, when food sits in the stomach for too long, it can develop into a mass or block of undigested food. These masses are called bezoars and can cause a blockage of the intestines. If a bezoar is left untreated, it can lead to deadly infections.
Quality of Life:
Gastroparesis can significantly reduce your quality of life. You may need to make significant changes to your diet or get a feeding tube, which can make your life more complicated and more expensive. This can prevent you from participating in regular activities, like socializing at a bar or restaurant. Malnutrition can lead to fatigue, weakness, and brain fog. It can also affect your ability to work, leading to financial stress. These can all lead to social isolation, which increases your risk for stress, anxiety, and depression.
Additionally, the stress of not knowing how it was caused, the difficulty in getting a proper diagnosis, and the lack of effective treatments can all cause significant mental distress and desperation, which can also be life threatening if not addressed. Realistically, gastroparesis can be an incredibly difficult illness to live with.
Other Illnesses:
Many people with gastroparesis also struggle with other illnesses. Some of these illnesses may be life threatening or also have severe complications on their own. For example, if you cannot absorb the medications needed to manage these other illnesses, they could turn deadly. Additionally, some many illnesses and medications can lead to delayed gastric emptying, so they may make your gastroparesis worse. Many other illnesses also have similar symptoms to gastroparesis, so it can be difficult to diagnose if you already have another illness.
Some of these illnesses include:
- POTS
- Cancer
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- MALS
- Scleroderma
- Nervous system diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease or Multiple Sclerosis
On it’s own, gastroparesis is not deadly. However, in very rare cases, often in combination with other illnesses, it can cause life threatening complications. Additionally, it can have a severe impact on one’s quality of life, and the potential for complications should not be underestimated.
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