Gastroparesis- What Is It?

Think back to the last time you had a stomach bug or food poisoning. It probably only lasted a few days at most; but felt like forever. Just stop and imagine- what if it DID last forever? For me and many others worldwide, that’s exactly what we’re facing. A lifetime ahead of feeling like we have food poisining. Every. Single. Day.

“Malnutrition is NOT a term I’d have expected to be used in regards to myself- surely that’s a term reserved for third world countries?

WRONG. I have a condition called Gastroparesis, which literally translates to ‘paralysed stomach.’ It basically means that your stomach doesn’t digest food properly- or in severe cases, at all.

What is Gastroparesis?

Kdhoffman1

A normal stomach has it’s muscles contract in order to break down food and move through your digestive system. With GP, food moves either very sluggishly or not at all. This means food can either sit and rot in your stomach for days on end or comes back up. The pain this causes is unbearable at the best of times- before diagnosis I could vomit up to 50 times a day! (now thats closer to around 20-25 times)

What are the Symptoms of Gastroparesis?

* Severe stomach pain

* Vomiting

* Nausea

* Fever

* Weight loss

* Weight gain

* Dehydration

* Hair loss

* Damage to teeth

* Dizziness

* Depression

* Malnutrition

And many more!

There are no cures and very few treatment options

One of the most devastating things for me was being told my disease was incurable and there isn’t much they can do as it is so rare. Sadly, this is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life. I survive off fortisip drinks and liquids as my stomach can’t tolerate solid food- oh what I would do to be able to eat a cheesy chip right now 😂

So, just because someone looks ‘healthy’ doesn’t mean to say they are!

I look ‘healthy’ at times, as do many others with Gastroparesis. Chances are, I look like a corpse under the makeup I have on! People often think GP is just a bit of a tummy bug; 99% of people I mention it to have never even heard of Gastroparesis! Hence why I wrote this (slightly messy) article- I want to raise awareness in the hope one day a cure can be found 💚