I'm really confused about the slow stomach emptying. Getting a little desperate since I have lost over 70 pounds the past year without dieting. Got diagnosis : gastric paresis (sp?). Nothing has helped. I'm down to 2 final options, Botox shots in the stomach or a drug in Canada, Domperidone. I don't know how to get the Canada drug (not from there). Has anyone tried either of these?

I'm really confused about the slow stomach emptying. Getting a little desperate since I have lost over 70 pounds the past year without dieting. Got diagnosis : gastric paresis (sp?). Nothing has helped. I'm down to 2 final options, Botox shots in the stomach or a drug in Canada, Domperidone. I don't know how to get the Canada drug (not from there). Has anyone tried either of these?

I also have gastric pheresis. I take a drug that is supposed to help empty the stomach (I hope I can say it on here-Reglan). If I wait too long to eat, I am not hungry any longer because my stomach acid has worked it up and I feel sick to my stomach. I have not heard of the Botox shots in the stomach. This medication does not always help, some of the times I just have to wait it out and be miserable for a couple of days.

I also have gastric pheresis. I take a drug that is supposed to help empty the stomach (I hope I can say it on here-Reglan). If I wait too long to eat, I am not hungry any longer because my stomach acid has worked it up and I feel sick to my stomach. I have not heard of the Botox shots in the stomach. This medication does not always help, some of the times I just have to wait it out and be miserable for a couple of days.

Thank you for the reply. I already tried -- and failed with Reglan, Propulsid, Zelnorm. The Botox and the drug, Domperidone, are my last two offered by my physicians. I know that there are more than two of us who have this. Has anyone heard of any studies?

I have the same problem. I feel full even before I'm really starting to eat. I also can't deal with grease. I was told it was "diabetic gall bladder". Sometimes seem better than others

I also have gastroparesis....I use reglan (called metacloperomide in canada where I am) sometimes too. Sometimes have to resort to liquid meals for a couple of days. I also notice that symptoms are worse when sugars are high or when eating greasy foods. You may be able to find domperimide under the name "motillium" in the USA

You might be able to find domperidome by the name "motillium" in the USA

I personally know of one person who had great success at reversing gastroparesis by using ALA and GLA (alpha and gamma lipoic acids). Gastroparesis is actually a type of nerve damage, and ALA and GLA work to repair the nerves.

If you search this site for "neuropathy +alpha lipoic acid", I think you'll find an old thread where the actual doses were discussed.

You won't have immediate relief, so you'll still need to take whatever medication works for you, but after several months, you might be able to reduce or eliminate the medications.

Ruth

Okay, I just emailed my friend who had gastoparesis and asked her how much ALA she takes and how long it took for her to see results. When I hear from her, I'll post the information for you.

Ruth

Sorry this took so long, but I finally heard from my friend. She took 600mg per day (in two 300mg doses) of ALA. She claims she noticed some results within 3 weeks, and it kept improving, with complete reversal in about three months. It also reversed her peripheral neuropathy (numbness.tingling in feet).

She noted that you must take it AFTER you've eaten a full meal; otherwise it can upset your stomach (just what you don't need with gastroparesis!)

Someone else mentioned a brand called Jarrow, which is a sustained release ALA, and apparently some people do better on the sustained release type of ALA, but I believe it's more expensive.

Others also mentioned taking Evening Primrose Oil as well. You can find a full description of the ALA/Evening Primrose treatment in Chapter 15 of Dr. Bernstein's new book, "Revised and Updated Diabetes Solution."

Ruth

Domperidone is a great drug. I have used it for a number of years. It doesn't have the BP side effects that reglan does.

Some of my friends have used an over the counter preparation calle digestive enzyme to help them with their gastroparesis. Maybe you could try that too?

You must try to eat smaller meals frequently. When I had problems I stuck with liquids like soup, juice etc to get my nutrition.

I question the use of botox. Won't that make your stomach even more paralysed than it already is?

Good luck to you.'

Cora

Good luck to you.

Cora, Thank you SO much for the reply! Everything I have seen or heard about Botox just doesn't seem to have a lot of scientific proof that it has a good track record in response to this. I suppose, if weight loss continued even with the Domperidome to a point where weight loss bordered on life threatening, it would be worth a try. I have tried a digestive enzyme, and recently have begun to take a supplement, Superfood, that is full of nutrients and is in liquid form -- and it stays down! I live in the U.S., and access to Domperidome isn't available here. Canada is within 100 miles, but I'm not sure about the process to get a prescription. My doctor says he will be glad to write a script, but he is blocked by laws here to give me much more info about the process. His nurse called and said she thinks I can take my doctor's prescription to a Canadian doctor, who can then write a prescription for the drug. I found it available on the web from a manufacturer in a third world country, but I am concerned about manufacturing quality/oversight. Can you provide some insight? I really want to get this going so I can get my life back.

I just recently had an episode of this and got on the internet and had it pretty well diagnosed in a day. I now recall having had this a number of times in the past but for the most part it's been fairly mild and intermittant. What I found is it is nerve damage in most cases that are diabetic related. Approx. 40% of cases can be attributed to diabetes and the rest is really a mystery.

It's the motility (?) of getting the food to move from the upper stomach to the lower stomach and then on into the small intestines. For me, it explains the slow, continual weight loss..which has been a good thing since I had it to lose in the first place. Now, I'm down to my goal weight and wouldn't mind a few more but I can see where this could be pretty scary.

I ate a meal on Saturday that was high in fat...and milk/cream ..(I'm lactose intolerant)..meat and a very high fat sauce and creme brule for dessert (only a spoonful or so) since I was already pretty much miserable. I ate slowly and over a couple of hours really did it up. That was around 1-2 in the afternoon. By 9 that evening I was dying...I swear..I'd have done anything.. finally threw it all up and realized it was all pretty much undigested. Had serious pain in the sternum area and pain across the top of my stomach. If it had been a bit more to the left side I'd have thought I was having a heart attack.

My blood sugars have been all over the place. I have really serious lows at times and no matter what I eat..can't get them to come up..then, go high at weird times. Of course this all connects..If I don't get food into my intestines until 8-9 hrs. later my bs start rising in spite of eating nothing for that long. Have no appetite most of the time.

After doing a lot of surfing, found a diet that suggests clear liquids for the first 3 days or so..then gradually add smaller amounts of low fat stuff like cottage cheese and yogurt. I did that. Carefully following the diet settled my situation down..I was literally in bed the 2 days after that meal. I had my gallbladder out when I was 21 and would have thought this was an attack..except that it is gone. It felt like that though.

From what I have heard regarding the botox...it is more for relief from the nerve pain. I also forgot to mention I'm on high doses of fentanyl for other pain issues. Narcotics will cause the same reaction with the smooth tissues (lining of esophogus, intestines, etc.)..its why after surgery it takes a lot of time to get things moving..pain meds cause constipation..same issues.

It's awful..I'm glad mine settled down and I now know what not to do ever again..small, low low fat, more frequent meals..no broccali and fresh fruits and vegetables for awhile..hard to process...

Thanks so much for the insight. I have lost about 77 unnecessary pounds as a steady loss of 3-5 pounds per week. I use scopalimine patches for motion sickness, which enables me to keep food down. I did the radioactive egg test, and nothing happened the 4 hours I was being tested - I see their point re slow emptying. I don't understand how the motion sickness patch works with this, I just know it helps with one component of frustrations re this disease. I lived on chicken stock, pudding, sreamed brocolli and green beans for quite a while, but due to insight from you and others about broccoli, I have removed that item from my menu. I have Type 2 diabetes, and I thought because I got it from being overweight/heritage that once I lost the weight I would not need any medication. Apparently, this was not the case!

This information has been very helpful. I'm not a doctor, but I try to use the web to figure out how I can approach this body function. Somtimes it seems that physicians are more willing to prescribe more medication, which puts a "bandage" on the problem. I'm eating small meals, trying to include food low in carbs and fat - - and often in liquid form. I would rather address this issue with food/good habits in a more natural way, rather than add more pharmacy.

Thank you so much for the information. The Natural Food store has been a helpful resource as you suggested. I will keep working on gaining control of this and will post my progress.

Bumping this up for Pudden. Pudden...the info you want is on page two.

Ruth

I mentioned in a thread some time ago that I would post my progress re the slow-emptying stomach condition and its side affects. I have been fairly successful in the battle to keep food down and stabilize my weight loss, since I am careful about what I put into my stomach. I eat a lot of high fluid foods, and I have learned to eat only minimal amounts of red meat, since red meat can cause a lot of stomach pain and it doesn't seem to move through the digestive process well. I kept trying to eat food that sounded like it would feel good in my stomach, like toast, cheese, yogurt, oatmeal...but I found that too many milk products caused more discomfort. Too much of "comfort" foods were also high in carbs - - not a good idea for a diabetic. I track my food now. If something causes pain, I try it again. If it still does, I put it on my "caution" list. I also had gallbladder like pain as noted by a person in a previous thread, but no gallbladder. I take the generic form of Prilosec (the generic is covered by insurance - Prilosec isn't because it can be purchased over the counter, which is VERY expensive if you need to take it daily) for acid reflux disease, which can cause symptoms that appear to be a heart attack. (I found this out after two trips to the emergency room.) This must be why they refer to acid reflux as heartburn! I also discovered that I have some good damage to my esophagus because acid reflux wasn't treated and the vomiting from the gastric emptying problem caused more. I hope this info has been helpful. ( I have not been able to access Domperidine which is not sold in the states but is touted as a great solution by several sources.)