My husband under went a colonic maker test to determine rate of colonic movement. As he has been experincing extream discomfort from nausea and constipation. The maker test reveiled that he indeed has colonic inertia. Our doctor perscribed a medicine called Zelnorm. The Zelnorm was to help with the nausea and consitpation after he took this med he felt even more nausea than before he then asked the pharmasist if this was normal and we found out that this medicine isn't safe or effective in men. Would anyone know another medication that would aid in nausea and conistapation as he's tried reglan which dosen't work either. The doctor has order a gastric stomach emptying test to cancel out gastropariese. Has anyone had any experince with gastroparises - what are the general symptoms/treatments/medication? Would any one have any infomation on colonic inertia?

I haven't personally ever suffered from gastroparesis, but I have learned about people that suffer from the illness.

Has your husband ever been tried on any of the motility drugs like domperidone? Zelnorm is a drug that, i would think, is more suited for irritable bowel syndrome, which I'm not sure that he has.

I've been diagnosed with gastroparesis for 2 years now and colinic inertia (constipation) is a norm for people with GP with lots of nausea, vomiting, pain, bloating early satiety (feeling full after eating only a small amount) and extreme loss of weight and now colonic inertia.

GP itself is like a paralysis of the stomach due to damage of the vagus nerve and slows down/stops the motility of the stomach. Because the vagus nerve runs through the entire intestinal tract it can also affect the bowel leading to colonic inertia.

I didn't used to be so bad with colonic inertia but since a pyloroplasty in February it's really bad and now need medication for this as well as fr the GP. Opiates such as morphine and tramadol can make it worse as they slow the gut down.Reglan is an anti-emetic that also helps speed up the movement through the stomach but it can cause anxiety depression; domperidone is also widely used but in US it's not been passed by the FDA so it has to be imported.

Other drugs include Zelnorm and Nexium (to reduce stomach acid). Some people suffer worse than others, some drugs work for some and not for others. Surgery is sometimes an option to insert a pacer but this isn't always successful and is really still in it's early days. Diet is very important and foods to avoid include fats, fibre and fruit with skins, seeds etc. A high protein high carb diet is best.


GP is difficult to treat and although it isn't life threatening it can alter life's quality. The unfortunate thing about it is that not that many Dr's understand it and its often misdiagnosed so it's good you've found a Dr that seems to know what he's doing.

Good luck !

I read that Zelnorm does not work that well on men.......don't ask me why but the makers of Zelnorm actually say that.
Now the thing I'd be wanting to know is what is it that is causing his problems. Does he take any other medication regularly such as narcotics, antidressants or even calcium? Many drugs can cause this problem. There are also some diseases like hypothyroidism, scleraderma, Ms, also over using laxatives in the past could make it happen. Also pelvic floor dysfunction. High fiber, and lots of water each day will greatly improve this problem but it sounds like medical testing should be done to try to find out the why of it all.

I'm a male and am about to try zelnorm for delayed gastric emptying... where did you read that it was not safe for men? I've heard it doesn't work well with men all the time... but it's unsafe?