Gastroparesis is a digestive disorder where the stomach’s contraction to move food out is slowed down. Usually, the muscles in the stomach move in unison to push the food. In this case, the contractions become weak or random; hence food remains inside the stomach much longer than necessary.
The effects of gastroparesis include improper digestion, poor nutrition, and a decrease in overall well-being of the patient. The problem takes months before it is diagnosed due to its similarity to common digestive disorders. Therefore, to make an accurate diagnosis, one must understand how gastroparesis happens.
How does the Stomach Work Normally?
After eating, the stomach starts processing food into small pieces. Muscles in the stomach are responsible for mixing food with digestive juices, while nerves are in charge of timing and the amount of power of such movements. Vagus nerve plays a crucial role in controlling the contractions of the stomach.
If this nerve or the stomach muscles cannot function correctly, then the process of moving food out of the stomach is being slowed down.
The Main Causes of Gastroparesis
The development of gastroparesis is not caused by just one condition, rather by numerous medical illnesses and surgeries. The knowledge of gastroparesis causes doctors to develop the right treatment for gastroparesis regimen.
1. Diabetes
Among the main reasons for gastroparesis around the world is diabetes. Constantly high blood sugar levels may cause damage to the vagus nerve, which controls the stomach movements.
Poorly controlled diabetes may lead to the following symptoms:
- Feeling full after eating small portions
- Nausea
- Vomiting undigested food
- Bloating
- Problem with keeping the constant levels of blood sugar
The proper treatment of diabetes will help prevent further damage to the stomach nerves.
2. Surgery Damage
There are several types of surgeries that involve the stomach, esophagus, or upper part of abdomen and may cause the damage to the digestive nerves during the procedure. Even in case of successful surgery, scars and nerve damage may result in slowed stomach emptying.
Patients who had bariatric surgery may sometimes face delayed gastric emptying depending on the surgery type.
3. Viral Infections
Specific types of viral infections can disrupt the nerve signals involved in regulating stomach muscle functions. Patients develop gastroparesis following an infection of their stomach virus or any other kind of viral infection.
Most individuals with this condition will see improvement within several months even though recovery times differ for everyone.
4. Neurological Conditions
A few neurological conditions hinder the proper signaling between the brain and the digestive system. They include:
- Parkinson’s disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Stroke
- Disorders of the autonomic nerves
Since digestion relies a lot on nerve signals, neurological conditions are among the common causes of delayed stomach emptying.
5. Autoimmune Disorders
Autoimmune disorders are characterized by the failure of the immune system to recognize specific tissues as part of the body and thus attack them. In this case, the nerve responsible for the stomach muscle movements gets affected in certain patients.
Examples of the disorders that lead to gastroparesis include scleroderma and lupus among others.
6. Some Drugs
Some drugs cause a natural slowdown of the digestion processes as part of their effect on the body. These include opioids which are used in relieving pain and a few antidepressant drugs.
7. Hormonal and Metabolic Diseases
Certain health problems like hypothyroidism, disturbances in electrolytes, and metabolic disease may also impair the function of the stomach muscles. When the health problem is treated, there is an improvement in the condition of the stomach.
8. Idiopathic Gastroparesis
In some cases, no specific cause can be determined even with proper diagnosis. Such a case is termed idiopathic gastroparesis.
The actual reason is not known but it could be due to subtle injury to the nerves, viruses, and changes in the immune system.
Symptoms to Look Out For
Gastroparesis is a slow-developing disorder and its symptoms may be intermittent. Some people have mild symptoms while other suffer from severe problems with digestion.
Some common symptoms include:
- A feeling of fullness quickly
- Nausea
- Vomiting undigested food hours after eating
- Bloating of the abdomen
- Pain in upper abdomen
- Acid reflux
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
If the above-mentioned symptoms persist for more than a few weeks, then medical attention should be sought instead of using home treatments.
How Is Gastroparesis Diagnosed?
Since the symptoms are similar to those of acid reflux disease, ulcers, and indigestion, accurate diagnosis is very important.
A medical history and physical examination usually come first, followed by other tests depending on circumstances.
Many people have to take an endoscopy in Ahmedabad to exclude any obstruction, ulcers, and abnormalities within the stomach before determining delayed gastric emptying.
Some of the other tests that a person may have to take include gastric emptying studies, wireless motility capsules, and breath tests measuring food movement from the stomach.
Is It Possible To Treat Gastroparesis?
Despite the fact that it is impossible to cure all cases of gastroparesis, this condition can be successfully controlled.
A correct treatment of this disease depends on the cause and level of severity. Proper diet, adequate hydration, low glucose levels, and some other measures are effective for many people.
In cases where symptoms persist despite conservative treatment, advanced endoscopic methods might be considered. Third space endoscopy is a relatively new procedure that gives specialists an opportunity to conduct minimally invasive procedures through the lining of the digestive system in selected cases.
Diagnosis done at an early stage means better management of symptoms and prevention of the development of such complications as malnutrition, dehydration, and poor blood sugar levels.
Preventing Complications
All cases of gastroparesis cannot be prevented. However, there are some recommendations on how one can decrease the risk of developing symptoms.
Controlling diabetes, taking medical instructions after undergoing abdominal surgery, avoiding unnecessary medicines that affect the digestion process, and visiting a doctor in case of any gastrointestinal problems help maintain good health of the stomach.
If a person experiences constant nausea, vomiting, and unexplained weight loss, one needs to visit a doctor because it could be a sign of complications.
Final Thoughts
Gastroparesis is not just the normal indigestion process. This is a disease whereby the stomach fails to move food normally, and thus causing discomfort. Most of the time, it is caused by diabetes; however, surgery, infections, neurological problems, auto-immune diseases, medicines, and even unknown problems with the nerves may trigger this condition.
It is important for anyone suffering from gastroparesis to get to know their symptoms and get the right diagnosis. Through this, they will be in a position to lead a healthy life.