It's interesting to me to sit back and think how far I've come in making myself well with my diagnosis of gastroparesis over the years, sadly despite the lack of help from PCP & Specialists. I'm not giving myself a pat on the back just realizing how I've taken initiative of my own health.
On the night of Thanksgiving 2010 I became very ill with severe stomach pains and bloat. Now mind ya my mom ROCKs an awesome Thanksgiving dinner. I look forward to her creamed carrots (cooked carrots in cheese sauce) & her stuffing every year. That evening after dinner I really was in agony, it was more than the over stuffed turkey after a holiday meal feeling. By the next morning I was still miserable. As the days & weeks went on it only felt a tiny bit better. I still had severe bloat and gas, Yes gas! It was so embarrassing I didn't want to leave the house. (Seriously it was the worst you could ever imagine) I only could wear elastic waist pants to keep from adding to my already hurting rock hard and bloated stomach. I tried numerous OTC things. I went through a ton of pepto, gas-ex & Tums. Just when I thought it was subsiding it would flare right back up again with one bite of food. It didn't matter what it was I ate either.
I finally made an appointment with my PCP and he referred me to a gastroenterologist. Mind ya this is now March 2011. Yes months of pain and discomfort. When I saw the specialist she scheduled me for a series of tests; Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and a Gastric emptying scintigraphy.
An Upper GI involves using an endoscope to see what's going on inside the stomach area. The endoscope is fed down your esophagus and into the stomach and duodenum while you are under general anesthesia. There is a small camera on the endoscope that transmits a video image to a monitor which allows the doctor to examine your intestinal lining.
The Gastric emptying scintigraphy test involves you eating a small plain meal (mine was 1/2 egg sandwich) that contained a small amount of radioactive material. No anesthesia is needed for this test. An external camera scans the abdomen to show where the radioactive material is located. The radiologist is then able to measure the rate of gastric emptying in increments of an hour all the way to 4 hours after the meal has been eaten. If more than 10 percent of the meal is still in the stomach at the 4 hours, the diagnosis of gastroparesis is confirmed. For my experience I basically ate 1/2 sandwich, laid on a flat hard table for hours while a machine basically saw what was happening inside. Then a tech injected me half way through the session with an antibiotic. It wasn't much longer when I physically felt my stomached contract on its own which was allowing the food to finally pass through the digestive system.
The Gastric emptying test was my final test. It was only a couple of days later that the office called to say, you have Gastroparesis and the doctor prescribed you medication and it is at the pharmacy for you to pick up. Oh and you also have a hiatal hernia.
That's it! I have what!? What is this gastroparesis? Here's medicine you will need to take on a regular basis and have a nice day. SMH
So now I'm left with an unexplained disorder and medication. I got the medication and took it and had relief. Thankfully! It wasn't until I sat down and research what I actually had, how severe it could get and the medications I would be taken that I new I needed to do something about this.
I took the medications for a little over a month while I gathered information and camp up with a plan on what to do about this. This is where mashing my foods, sometimes pureeing them & the Whole30 came into my life. (Story of recovery to come soon) I was determined to turn this around, I was not going to be defeated.
Lessons learned:
Never give up!
Have FAITH!
(((Hugs))), Prayers & Well Wishes
Janine
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