Hi Both,
I've only just joined here today, and was interested in the topic of Gastroparesis as i was diagnosed with it a little under 2 years ago and haven't yet had the opportunity to talk to anyone else who suffers it.
Thankyou for the link, i've just read through it and though i knew some of the info i found it very interesting and it has explained a few things for me that had been left unanswered since my diagnosis, so it was really useful - thanks!
One thing that wasn't mentioned in the article is a medication i take that i find helpful on a day-to-day basis, which is Omeprazole. It suppresses the production of acid in the stomach so that it prevents it building up and coming up. It was prescribed by my Gastroenterologist, who reassured me that it is safe to take on a daily basis and long term. It made quite a big difference to my nausea and acid reflux symptoms.
On the subject of diet, i started from my worst stage (complete stomach blockage and unable to keep anything down which contributed to me nearly losing my life, and my unborn baby) with a liquid food called EnsurePlus, which i was prescribed for a while but then bought over the pharmacy counter. Tt wasn't exactly haute cuisine but it gave me some valuable nutrients and a little more energy to get through another two weeks of pregnancy and i was gradually able to eat a few things, following a Low Residue diet of things like rice pudding, jelly, mashed potato and root vegetables mixed with gravy.
After my baby was born i continued with the low residue diet until i saw my Gastroenterologist. He told me that unfortunately the only way to find out what foods you can tolerate is by trial and error and advised me to start with my low-res diet i seemed okay with, then try introducing a "new" food, one thing at a time and keep a diary of the severity of the reaction, if any, which i did.
This is something i'm still doing now. In this time i have found i can eat almost anything unhealthy - ironic since i used to eat a very healthy and varied diet that the docs are always trying to get people to have!
I can't get away with many veggies, other than root veg (anything that can be smoothly mashed is easier to digest), salad ingredients other than beetroot and cucumber with the skin removed. Anything wholewheat or wholegrain and beans of any sort is a big no-no too.
At times when my Gastroparesis is particularly bad i revert back to the low-res diet for a couple of days or so, almost like a de-tox time i suppose, which tends to alleviate it quite well.
I hope some of this may be helpful to you!
Best wishes, Anni.
