Gastroparesis Awareness Month

August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month! Gastroparesis is a form of Digestive Tract Paralysis(DTP). Gastroparesis literally means paralyzed stomach. It is a rare, and debilitating disease that causes the food you eat to sit in your stomach for hours in some cases even days. This causes nausea, pain, fullness, acid reflux, no appetite, and indigestion.

• Some interesting facts about Gastroparesis.
• Your Chances of getting Digestive Tract Paralysis are 1 in 25 but your chances of getting identity theft are only 1 in 200.
• Gastroparesis has few treatment options with no cure.
• 5 million Americans suffer from Gastroparesis.
•  Gastroparesis symptoms often imitate other GI disorders making diagnosis difficult.
• Tests used to diagnose Gastroparesis are: Gastric Emptying Scan, Endoscopy, Gastric Manometry, and Barium X-ray.

With Gastroparesis your body is literally starving itself. No matter how much you eat it all just sits there and doesn't move until you either vomit it up or your body decides to slowly move it out of there. The food doesn't digest so it can't break down the nutrition we need to live. Digestive Tract Paralysis feels like you have the stomach flu 24.7. It just does not go away! Those who have DTP battle nausea, vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, fatigue, malnutrition, and more.

This month I hope you educate those about Gastroparesis/Digestive Tract Paralysis. You never know how close to home it might hit! You can always say it won't happen to you but it could! Help us find a cure for this horrible disease so I can get my life back! Most of us survive of feeding tubes and iv nutrition to live. It isn't fair that this disease has taken the one simple thing from our lives...eating.