In Mount Washington and elsewhere around the United States, people will be observing August as Gastroparesis Awareness Month. This will be a time for calling attention to the diagnosis of previously undetected cases of gastroparesis and disseminating information about appropriate treatment and general education. Professionals involved in caregiving for seniors should understand the symptoms of the disease, so they can recognize it in their clients and take appropriate action. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the causes and symptoms of the disease, as well as the courses of action available to someone afflicted by the disease.
What exactly is gastroparesis?
Gastroparesis is a word that literally means stomach paralysis, and it’s a condition that has a huge impact on the muscles and nerves of the stomach. It disrupts the peristalsis action that causes food to be moved through your stomach on into the small intestine. Since stomach nerves and muscles aren’t working together appropriately, the stomach will not be able to process the food, and it won’t be able to empty itself out as it normally would.
It’s easy to see how this can disrupt the entire digestive process. People afflicted with gastroparesis are understandably uncomfortable much of the time because there’s usually a buildup of semi-processed food material in the digestive system. This can have long-term repercussions, including a much-reduced appetite, difficulty taking in adequate nutrition, and trouble managing blood sugar levels. When semi-processed food finally does pass through the stomach, it may not be completely eliminated, often leaving behind material that develops into a hardened solid mass that becomes very difficult to remove.
Causes of gastroparesis
There are quite a few things that can contribute to causing gastroparesis, all of them resulting in damage to the nerves and muscles of the stomach area. The result of this is that the churning action that advances food through the stomach and squeezes it out will not be working properly, and will cause semi-processed food to remain in your stomach indefinitely. These are some of the specific causes of gastroparesis:
- infections – some types of gastrointestinal infections can trigger gastroparesis, such as a viral infection or a bacterial infection. Anytime you have surgery on the stomach, it’s possible to injure the vagus nerve running through the stomach, and this is essential for proper digestion. There are several types of stomach surgery that carry the risk of gastroparesis, and it can happen either immediately or it can develop anytime post-surgery.
- diabetes – approximately 33% of all people who have diabetes will also develop gastroparesis. This is because diabetes causes damage to those nerves in the stomach and it also might damage blood vessels which typically carry oxygen to the tissues, nerves, and muscles in the stomach area.
- drugs – some types of medications can block the nerve signals associated with stomach muscles, and this could cause at least temporary gastroparesis.
- autoimmune disease – when your immune system sends antibodies to attack your own body cells, it’s because it mistakes them for an infection. Antibodies can cause damage to stomach nerves, and that can bring on a case of autoimmune gastroparesis.
- surgery – anytime you have surgery performed on your stomach, there’s a possibility that the vagus nerve will be damaged as a byproduct of surgery. This is a critical nerve that coordinates all stomach movements and runs the entire length of the stomach. If this gets damaged, you may have immediate gastroparesis or it can develop anytime after surgery, even years later.
Symptoms of gastroparesis
The most noticeable symptoms of gastroparesis include some or all of the following:
- acid reflux or heartburn
- constipation
- blood sugar fluctuations
- feeling full quickly or over a long period of time
- indigestion
- loss of appetite
- regurgitating undigested food
- nausea or vomiting
- stomach bloating.
If you notice any of these symptoms in your senior loved one, you should have them checked out at the family doctor immediately, because if gastroparesis proceeds unchecked, it can quickly develop into a very dangerous situation for a person.
Prevention of gastroparesis
It’s good to keep in mind that no one form of treatment works for all gastroparesis patients. Generally speaking, medication is the first line of defense against gastroparesis, while surgery is only undertaken for those individuals who can’t take the medication, or who don’t respond to drugs. It should also be noted that most of these treatments will carry at least some side effects, although these will generally be minimal in most cases. Here are some of the best prevention techniques against gastroparesis:
- medications – medications are effective because they can stimulate the nerves and muscles of the stomach lining to resume peristalsis and progress digested food out of the stomach area. Sometimes it’s necessary to take pain relievers for stomach pain, and some people require the use of proton pump inhibitors in order to deal with acid reflux. People who are bothered by nausea and vomiting may need to take antiemetics in order to achieve a stable state, while people who have been diagnosed with diabetes will need to continue taking their medications so that blood sugar stays at a manageable level.
- nutrition – sometimes a change of diet will at least help the gastroparesis situation and stimulate better digestion. One way to do this is to eat more fiber and less fat so that digestion becomes easier. If the doctor finds that the patient is missing important nutrients, it may be necessary to prescribe specific nutritional therapy in order to overcome this deficiency. The doctor might also recommend some type of dietary supplements, and possibly even IV fluids, so as to correct any imbalances of electrolytes and to rehydrate the patient.
- surgery – surgery is always the last resort when treating gastroparesis, and it’s only considered when all other treatments fail. In some cases, the lower stomach is no longer even functional, and this may indicate that a gastric bypass becomes necessary so as to eliminate the damaged part of the stomach from the digestive system.
