Has anyone else been diagnosed with Vagus Nerve Dysfunction?

I don't think I have the Vagus nerve disorder per se but I've had some of the symptoms you mention for 20+ years. I have found that eating 1/2 portions and drinking a lot of water about an hour later really helps.. Also taking something like Prevacid helps a lot too. The more I eat the longer it takes for my stomach to empty. Water does help even w that.

@bmont Did you finally get answers from the infectious disease physician? Was the initial thought that you had an ulcer?
I will be happy to share what I do that I found to be helpful.
The key is not to overload your stomach with food since there is a delay in digestion. I select foods that are easier to digest like plain yogurt, thick soups, and smoothies. I do take longer to chew foods. I eat frequent small meals(5). My main meals i.e. breakfast, lunch, and dinner are no more than 1.5 cups each. I avoid too much water in meals because water can make you feel full. I do drink in between to keep hydrated. I like to make my own foods for content control ( and maintain a low carb diet) including plain yogurt and dough for rolls and pizza. I found eating freshly made plain yogurt is not sour as the store bought. Yogurt is easier to digest because it doesn’t contain sugar. The added bacteria in the milk consumes the sugar for reproduction to become yogurt. I also eat boiled eggs. At times I make vegan desserts to keep my cholesterol level low. I limit fatty foods in a meal because fats tend to stay in your stomach longer. For pizza I use very little cheese. For peanut butter I use PB2, the powdered form without the oil. I try to make digestion easier on my body. For me I found chewing gum helpful too. I should add I eat mainly a plant based diet. I always have so that was not a big change for me.
I know this is a lot of information for changes. I included a few. Don’t be afraid to ask if you need more information. As you can see it is not easy to manage gastroparesis. My motivation is to feel better and avoid other health issues that may arise from gastroparesis. In other words, I try to have a better quality of life. I hope this is helpful to you. I learned all this on my own. A few years ago I was suspicious when some of the routine lab results were not my normal. The physician did not pick up on that because the results were within range but at the very end of the range. That was odd to me but now I know why. Next year I should have better lab results according to my normal. Wish you all the best.

Hi @marko82 I am glad you found a solution. Just because you have those symptoms doesn’t mean you have the Vagus Nerve Syndrome. In general it is gastroparesis. Your cause may not be known. I also have found exercising to help with emptying the stomach sooner. Have you tried that? Besides watching my diet I include exercise at least 3 times per week. I am limited due to my imbalance issues but I tolerate as much as I can. Managing gastroparesis is challenging. I do what is needed to feel better. I am glad prevacid has helped. I am assuming you are using prevacid an over the counter med. if you really want to know the cause of your condition or exact diagnosis you can always consult a GI physician. I decided at this time to combat my symptoms with the knowledge I have. I have tried antacids and laxatives but offered no help for me. Thanks for sharing and keep learning to help yourself. I will be glad to help answer any questions. Wish you well.

Hi,
TKX for the informative reply. I looked up gastroparisis: http://www.MayoClinic.org https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastroparesissymptoms-causes/syc-20355787 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastroparesis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355787 I have some of those problems. They started in the 90's. Eating 1/2 a normal meal was close to normal digestion. I became actively lactose intolerant in 2002 & cut out all dairy. Still had lactose belly problems until I began taking OTC multi-digestive enzymes. I now take two caps w each meal. Type II diabetes in 2012 so no or low carbs. The Metformin the Dr put me on gave me gastritis. Was put on omeprazole Rx. Prevacid is the same chemical. Now I am 100% diet-controlled diabetic -> A1c @ 5.6, 5.7 is almost normal. Exercise doesn't help my stomach. Drinking ~10oz of water an hour after I eat does. Another glass at 10PM stops leg and foot cramps caused by dehydration. We take our bodies for granted until things start going wrong. I joke that I used to have a cast iron stomach but now it is rusting. Good Luck to you too. I'm glad you've found that diet and exercise helps.
Marko82

@marko82 thanks for your reply. Now there are so many lactose free products available at the grocery store for you to enjoy. Does plain dairy yogurt bother you? It should not have lactose in it because it gets eaten by the bacteria. Anyways, you can find lactose free dairy milk. I never choose lactose free milk to make yogurt because the bacteria would never grow without the milk sugar, lactose. It would be good for a diabetic diet though. I like to eat the fudge bars made with yogurt. It is a liquid and therefore can be easily digested. There are many options using plant based yogurts today.
There is a higher risk for developing diabetes with the gastoparesis condition. You may have gained control of your digestive problems long before diabetes. That is excellent your diabetes is managed through diet. Exercise should help with that too because it burns more carbohydrates. My mother at 91 is a recent diabetic. She started on metformin with no health issues but was determined to lower her hemoglobin AIC. She now controls her blood sugar with diet and exercise only, no medications. I am not a diabetic but was concerned due to my gastroparesis. My hemoglobin AIC was normal. Now that I know I have this condition I am more aware of foods and their content. Glad you found relief. You are so right. We take our health for granted until we show problems. But somehow we manage our condition to keep going. Nice chatting with you.

I almost ended up in the hospital because I bought into the ACTIVA commercial yrs ago. Stupid me ate a whole container instead of one tspn to see how I reacted. My belly blew up from gas, then subsided with major diarrhea. I gave the other 5 containers to my neighbor. NO lactose products ever! Just not worth it. The enzymes keep the gas to a minimum so I'm socially acceptable. (Did you know the Swedes did a "gas" test yrs ago. People kept track of how many times a day they passed it. Average was 16x/day.) :O) When my husband was alive I bought soy milk - all they had on the market then - so I could eat the pancakes, etc I made for him. After he died, no more soy milk. Blech. Cabot makes lactose free cheddar and Jack cheese. I do use those IN MODERATION. Goat and sheep milk is lactose free. Sometimes I can buy non-cow feta. But at this point I don't really care. I've lived so long w/o dairy I don't miss it. I had stomach problems ~18 years before I was diagnosed with diabetes. No connection. I'm glad your Mom is off the Metformin. It is dreadful - has bad side effects. A friend had chronic diarrhea for yrs from it. I got gastroenteritis from it. Then went into hypoglycemia from the Glypizide she put me on & almost passed out from it. So NO more diabetes meds. That's why I'm diet controlled. I do take several supplements incl a sports mineral and electrolyte one for the internal vibrations that started at the beginning of the year (other people write about them on Connect). Getting old ain't for wimps. My Drs are DOs because they are less quick to hand out Rxs.
Marko82

@marko82 what a way to learn a lesson. I can understand wanting to be cautious with foods. Scary not knowing how the reaction might be. I am also cautious with foods and read the ingredients. Have you looked to see if there are other ingredients that might cause gas or bloating? I know fake or sugarless sweeteners can be a cause like sorbitol and erythritol. Those are alcohol sugars. If you don’t want to do more exploring then it is best to stick to what you know. I didn’t know about the Swedish studies. I would think the results would depend on the type of foods eaten, lol.
I agree meds have side effects. They may help with one thing but can cause another health problem. For that reason I do not like to take medications unless I have no other choice like with an antibiotic to cure an infection. My mother believes the same and has gotten herself off a few medications. She now is down to 2 medications but has to take those.
I have tried several non-dairy milks and creamers. I don’t like the taste of almond milk. My favorite is extra creamy oat milk. I use it in hot or cold cereal and for baking or making smoothies. Pancakes are a great idea. Instead of syrup I would place a small amount of fresh fruit on top as a sweetener such as banana. There are plant based banana flavored milks out there too. Cooking vegan has now become even easier with all the different products available at the grocery store. Anything is possible as long as the desire is there.

Hi,
I have never been a milk lover. In the 90's before I was lactose I used grape juice on my dry cereal and my coffee was black. 1st time the grape juice tasted funny. By the 2nd time it tasted good. :O) My husband had to have something different every day so there was always a variety of box cereals, omelets or pancakes/waffles on the weekends. I'm different. I can eat the same thing day after day and not get tired of it. I nuke 1/4c dry oatmeal with 2/3 c of water then added 1/3 c of frozen blueberries to cool it every morning since he died 16 yrs ago until a few mos ago. Also have a microwave poached egg and black coffee w it. When I finally went off the oats my A1c went up a little. Yrs ago an MD told me to stay away from anything "diet". He said the sweeteners were pure poison so I do agree with you about the sorbitol, etc.. I use Stevia/Truvia to bake and a tspn of dark agave syrup (calories but non-glycemic & tastes just like pancake syrup - You mom can have it) on a slice of Eziekiel bread (grocery freezer) w the egg and coffee. I recently made a recipe of bran muffins to see how they'd be w my belly. It's gone from one extreme to the other since Jan. Went to a Gastro in Feb. Had a CT and MRI. Nothing! Idiopathic. She said take fiber capsules and probiotics. With the quarantine I'm home 95% of the time. No social life at all. I'm a bridge player and jewelry artisan. I ruined my discs & lumbars with 45 years of pottery.. Have lost 3" in height. I think that's what messed up my GI too. All squashed. All of these chronic ailments may be annoying but we are handling them and are very lucky they are not major, painful and possibly terminal. Gotta put things in perspective.
Take care.
Marsh

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Hi,

  I have never been a milk lover.  In the 90's before I was lactose I used grape juice on my dry cereal and my coffee was black. 1st time the grape juice tasted funny.  By the 2nd time it tasted good.  :O)  My husband had to have something different every day so there was always a variety
of box cereals, omelets or pancakes/waffles on the weekends. I'm different. I can eat the same thing day after day and not get tired of it.  I nuke 1/4c dry oatmeal with 2/3 c of water then added 1/3 c of frozen blueberries to cool it every morning since he died 16 yrs ago until a few mos ago.  Also have a microwave poached egg and black coffee w it.  When I finally went off the oats my A1c went up a little.  
Yrs ago an MD told me to stay away from anything "diet".  He said the sweeteners were pure poison so I do agree with you about the sorbitol, etc.. I use Stevia/Truvia to bake and a tspn of dark agave syrup (calories but non-glycemic & tastes just like pancake syrup - You mom can have it) on a slice of Eziekiel bread (grocery freezer) w the egg and coffee.  I recently made a recipe of bran muffins to see how they'd be w my belly.  It's gone from one extreme to the other since Jan. Went to a Gastro in Feb. Had a CT and MRI.  Nothing!  Idiopathic. She said take fiber capsules and probiotics. 
With the quarantine I'm home 95% of the time.  No social life at all.
I'm a bridge player and jewelry artisan. 
I ruined my discs & lumbars with 45 years of pottery.. Have lost 3" in height. I think that's what messed up my GI too. All squashed.  All of these chronic ailments may be annoying but we are handling them and are very lucky they are not major, painful and possibly terminal.  Gotta put things in perspective.

Take care.

Marsh

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That's all great information. Thank you. I will try to use a lot of those ideas to see how my body responds.

The team I have in place is FINALLY a good one. It is very slow. I think the pointers are all towards either a bacteria or parasite. It looks like I am destined for a fine needle aspiration of lymphatic tissue to isolate the infection. Hopefully, we get a final answer. Another two appointments coming up next week. We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, I cannot stress how important it is for everyone to 'take care of your gut'. It contributes immensely to the immune system and the healing process in so many different conditions. As we refine diets and the volume of intake, you can literally shift the balance in your favor and combat symptoms in a significant way.

Thank you again with being open with everything that has worked out for you. Saves me a lot of effort trying to 'figure things out' on my own.

@marko82 Hi Marsh! I am at home most of the time also. I use technology to contact family and friends. I also tutor high school students remotely. It keeps me busy along with 5 housebroken animals to keep me company. I don’t mind it at all. Hard to do things with dizziness. Short trips to a medical appointment or grocery store is doable. My husband drives. I am planning eye surgery next year to hopefully decrease my dizziness and motion sickness. That will make a big difference. In the meantime, as you say, I deal with the annoying ailments. So true. We put our bodies through so much while we are younger then pay the price for it later.
I can relate because I too was never a cow milk drinker. It took me years to try cheese and that was because I was threatened with punishment if I didn’t. I still don’t eat much dairy not even cheese. Unlike you I can tolerate the lactose. My main dairy milk consumption is with the yogurt I make. I do eat a few foods derived from animals like eggs to get enough Vitamin B12. I was never made aware of any nutrient deficiency so far.
Those alcohol sugars are natural and side effects can be gas or bloating. They have been around for many years (some since 1950s) without causing any known illnesses like cancer. I particularly stay away from aspartame and sucralose. Today so many foods contain the artificial sweeteners. That is why I prefer to make my own to avoid eating them.
I make hot oatmeal with oat milk for breakfast every day. I am the same way. I don’t need a variety of foods. My mother likes her oatmeal too. She adds peanut butter to hers. Good thing she never liked sweets. Her downfall was starchy foods like potatoes and breads. She is doing much better after knowing to be cautious.
I will try drinking lots of water after a meal to see if that makes a difference for me. Thank you for the suggestion. Your doctor gave you good advice to get plenty of fiber and probiotics in your diet. I agree gut health is so important. I knew about that years ago and took probiotic supplements along eating probiotic foods like yogurt and tempeh. I attribute my diet and exercise for my survival. The AVM has indeed taken a toll on my body but it is still fighting back. I am progressing slowly.
Do you keep in touch with family? My mother does not live with me but I video chat with her daily and let her know what is going on in the local news to be concerning for her. Keep healthy….Toni