Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a condition that affects the normal spontaneous movement of the muscles (motility) in your stomach. Ordinarily, strong muscular contractions propel food through your digestive tract. However, if you have gastroparesis, your stomach's motility is slowed down or doesn't work at all, preventing your stomach from emptying properly. This delay in emptying can cause nausea, vomiting, a feeling of fullness shortly after starting a meal, and abdominal bloating. The most common cause is diabetes, which can damage the vagus nerve that controls the stomach muscles, though it can also occur post-surgery or as an idiopathic condition (of unknown cause).

Managing gastroparesis involves significant dietary adjustments, focusing on frequent, small meals that are low in fat and fiber, as these are easier for a sluggish stomach to process. In more severe cases, liquid diets may be necessary to ensure adequate nutrition. Medications like prokinetics can be prescribed to stimulate stomach contractions, and anti-emetics are used to control nausea. For patients who do not respond to conservative management, more advanced interventions like gastric electrical stimulation (a "stomach pacemaker") or surgical procedures to open the outlet of the stomach (pyloroplasty) may be considered.