@ginnyodie I am really sorry that the appeal has been denied and that you no longer have that option. I am not familiar with gastroparesis, what type of pain does it cause? I hope you are able to find some options that will help you.
JK

I'm so sorry ginnyodie, and I commiserate with you. I don't have gastroparesis (well not officially, but I have a defunct small intestine 🙂 ) , and have been dealing with horrific pain for 11 years, so I understand your 'pain'.. pun intended. You know, these programs all sound good, but honestly, I don't think anything works as well as a drug to block pain.. and there is NOTHING for us GI people. We can't even do opioids b/c they make us sick (I think that is generally true). Heck, all this political anti-opioid propaganda (can you tell I have an opinion 🙂 ) has done is keep people who legitimately need pain meds from getting them. I'm a PT and a friend just had a knew replacement and NO pain meds.. NONE! She's a 70 year old lady, doesn't even drink and is about as much at risk for becoming an addict as I am going to be the next President. She is suffering horribly, and can't do her rehab as she should. It's ridiculous. Unfortunately, the medical community has now swung away from meds. If you have GI pain you are expected to just suffer, I guess.

I've done physical therapy for my abdominal wall and pelvic floor, exercise, meditation (I studied for a year with a buddhist monk), bought self- hypnosis CD's, rested, gone to the therapist.. and none of it has changed the pain one bit. IMO, something is causing the pain, and until or if that can be remedied, nothing is going to help except lying down with a heating pad. (that's what I do), which doesn't take it away, but feels better temporarily.

I pray someday there will be help for us.. and for you. I feel like that is about all there is left to do.

HOWEVER! - that said, I know it sounds a little 'woo-woo' (as I call it), but there has been some actual research to show that hypnosis (done by someone specifically trained to do this for GI tract), has been helpful for people with IBS pain (which is G(, at least). I know our minds our powerful, but I can't seem to get mine to block out pain signals no matter how much I've tried. I was going to explore this. I know there is some place out east that does this.. I can't remember.. and they have a list of therapist around the country. I'll try to look for it. In the UK there is a center that is big on the hypnosis and self hypnosis, so if you can't find a practitioner, you might be able to get something you could listen to yourself.. as a second best. There is a therapist who is trained in my city so I think I may give it a try. It would be something you could do, at least, that can't hurt. I'm pretty sure no insurance company would pay for hypnosis, unless you got a savvy therapist who knows their way around the coding system :), but I'm sure it would be a lot cheaper than 50K. It's not long term, they get you set up and then I think it's something you continue on your own.