When it comes to disorders of the digestive tract, there are some conditions that are more dangerous than others. While some are not actually life-threatening, their symptoms can significantly affect the person’s quality of life and cause enough discomfort to make them seek medical aid.

Gastroparesis is a condition that isn’t particularly dangerous, but it can  cause significant discomfort in the patient, especially because it’s a lifelong condition. This disease negatively affects the muscle movement in the stomach, which is meant to propel the food downwards towards the intestines. Those who suffer from this condition have these muscle contractions slowed, or even stopped entirely, preventing the stomach from emptying properly. As a result, they may suffer from several symptoms, including vomiting, nausea, a feeling of fullness after eating a few bites, regurgitating undigested food, acid reflux, and abdominal bloating, among many others.

Evidently, gastroparesis will interfere with normal digestion. Its causes are unknown, though physicians theorize that it might appear as a complication of diabetes, or due to a coping mechanism in the body after surgery. As was mentioned above, this condition has no known cure. However, there are certain lifestyle habits that the patient may adopt, along with certain medications, to gain relief from the condition.

Causes

Despite appearing randomly in many individuals, physicians have linked this condition to damage to the vagus nerve, which controls the stomach muscles. This nerve plays a pivotal role in stomach function, as it gives the signals for the muscles to expand, contract, and push food downwards towards the intestines. When this structure becomes damaged, the signal is not entirely clear or not be given at all, causing food to remain in the stomach for longer, rather than being moved along into the small intestine.

There are many factors that can damage the vagus nerve, including diabetes, or as a result of a surgical procedure on the stomach or small intestine.

Risk Factors

That being said, there are many conditions that can contribute towards the development of this condition.

Aside from diabetes, a strong injury to the abdomen can cause damage to the vagus nerve and lead to gastroparesis if not treated properly. Furthermore, an untreated viral infection may spread and affect the stomach muscle or the vagus, also leading to the disease.

There are certain medications that can interfere with the proper functioning of the stomach muscles, including narcotic pain medicine, high blood pressure medication, some antidepressants, and even some allergy drugs. However, while some of these substances can create symptoms of gastroparesis, these should decrease once the treatment has stopped.

Lastly, women are more likely to develop this disease than men.

Complications

If left untreated, gastroparesis can lead to several complications, including severe dehydration due to ongoing vomiting. Malnutrition is also common because the person will suffer from reduced appetite, as well as poor nutrient absorption in the intestines since the food will take a long time to get there. This improper food absorption may lead to unpredictable changes in blood sugar, which can complicate a diabetic’s condition and reduce the person’s overall quality of life.

Lastly, the most dangerous complications of gastroparesis come in the form of bezoars, which are chunks of hardened food that accumulate in the stomach. They can also become life-threatening if they block other food from going into the small intestine.

Diagnosis

Luckily, gastroparesis is fairly simple to diagnose via several means. One of the most important ways is through a gastric emptying study. This test consists of the ingestion of a light meal, such as eggs and toast, to have a small amount of radioactive material. The material is then tracked with a scanner, which is placed over the abdomen, to study the rate at which the food leaves the patient’s stomach.

Other methods to diagnose gastroparesis are through an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, ultrasound test, or a series of X-rays called the upper gastrointestinal series.

Treatment
Since gastroparesis is a permanent condition, patients will have to learn how to coexist with their disease. Luckily, once the problematic foods have been identified, a nutritionist could issue a diet that will allow the patient to maintain adequate nutrition while avoiding the foods that can cause the most complications.

Besides planning a diet, a nutritionist could also give certain general tips to avoid complications, such as thoroughly chewing the food, eating smaller meals more frequently, eating well-cooked fruits and vegetables, avoiding starchy and fibrous fruits and vegetables, avoiding fatty foods, and adding more soups to their diet, among many others.

Patients may also experience improvements to their condition through the use of certain medications, such as metoclopramide and erythromycin, which help stimulate the stomach muscles. However, these two substances may lead to resistance, as well as a wide variety of side effects.

Other drugs that could help those who suffer from gastroparesis are prochlorperazine and diphenhydramine, which reduce and control nausea and vomiting.

Those who don’t respond well to medications or diets must resort to surgical procedures. In this case, doctors might suggest a feeding tube, which is placed in the small intestine, or a gastric venting tube to help relieve pressure from gastric contents.

Luckily, there are many other treatment options under investigation, including new drugs, as well as new surgical procedures to help address this disease. However, with a proper diet and regular visits to the physician, most patients should experience an improvement in their condition.