1. < Digestive Health

Gastroparesis.........Now What? Using a wedge pillow and new routine.

Posted by mikejjb123 @mikejjb123, Nov 24, 2022

I have Gastroparesis and doctor told me to use a wedge pillow and take my dexilant at night before bedtime. Been doing this about a month and I now have nausea for about 3 hours or so when I wake up in the morning. Try to quit eating by 8 pm ( a small snack usually) and not fresh fruit with skins. Any ideas to bring the nausea further under control? Seeing a nutritionist in a couple weeks. Thanks.

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brendaharvey | @brendaharvey | Nov 26, 2022
In reply to @willows "Sucralfate is a prescription medication. It coats the stomach and protects it from stomach acids. Often..." + (show)
@willows

Sucralfate is a prescription medication. It coats the stomach and protects it from stomach acids. Often used to treat ulcers or irritated stomach and esophagus. Domperidone is also a prescription medication. It is a drug that signals the stomach that there is food coming in half an hour and it must act to digest this food. This medication may come with potential side effects. I am not sure that you can get it in the U.S. at one point it was only available in Canada. That may have changed. It’s worthwhile looking into because for me this medication has changed my life.

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Thank you so much for this information!
I will check with my doctor to see if I can use these.

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catmomma | @catmomma | Nov 27, 2022

Hi,

I've had gastroparesis for a number of years, dating back to at least 2012. But I remember symptoms long before then (2012 was, I think my first hospitalization. I gravitate to foods that made me feel better-smoothies, etc.

As for meds, I'm running out of options. There's motegrity, which the insurance doesn't want to cover, or domperidone which none of the providers want to write for (they don't do out of the country). Many of the meds cause extrapyramidal side effects and I had to stop taking them. After a traumatic brain injury, weed began causing seizures, time to stop'!

Due to scar tissue the gastric stimulator isn't really an option either. The botox is an option. My GI here at home is putting in an expedtited referral back to Mayo in Rochester.

Not sure what to think, just trying to keep it positive.

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1 reply
tsch | @tsch | Nov 27, 2022
In reply to @brendaharvey "I have Gastroparesis and am not diabetic. Mine is rare. Almost everyone who has this is..." + (show)
@brendaharvey

I have Gastroparesis and am not diabetic. Mine is rare.
Almost everyone who has this is diabetic. Don’t know how I was unlucky enough to have this monster of a condition!!

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My daughter got it after a bad viral infection, she is not diabetic either

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mikejjb123 | @mikejjb123 | Nov 27, 2022

Anyone hear of Reliefband? http://www.reliefband.com. Any thoughts? Thanks again. Mike

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nadine3 | @nadine3 | Nov 27, 2022

I was diagnosed with gastropariesis in 2010 after enduring many scans, scopes etc. My MD suggested I purchase domperidome via Canada as it was not acceptable by FDA. He also suggested I’d likely need to purée my meals, not eat after 5pm. I was resigned. Researched domperidome and opted to avoid it.
While having a deep muscle massage for back pain (which seemed to accompany bad episodes of stomach challenge) the massage therapist asked if I was having digestive issues,”because my psoas muscle was in firm spasm”, I affirmed I’d struggled with serious digestive issues but as I’d been told I was not curable, I was resigned.
The therapist assured me she understood as she had previously struggled with It. She told me she planned to work to release my psoas spasm, though it would be very uncomfortable and may take more than one massage.
She was right. It was very uncomfortable. But, after the second massage, I realized my sick stomach wasn’t knawing at me and within days, I realized I wasn’t waking around midnight throwing up with nausea. I could eat! I could eat salad!!
For some years, if I felt my stomach was tightening, I’d schedule psoas massage.
It’s been years since I’ve suffered with inability to digest food.
I do have scoliosis, which contributed, but I have learned ways to stretch my psoas anytime I feel it tightening.
Not all massage therapists are knowledgeable enough to release psoas spam. But, for me, it has been remarkable!!

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2 replies
adlttl123 | @adlttl123 | Nov 27, 2022

Hello sorry for your suffering. I have the same issues that you do and I cannot eat at all after 5:00 pm if I do I can’t sleep no matter how elevated my pillows are. The other thing I have to deal with is to make sure after eating that my food has gone down my esophagus. I have a lazy esophagus and while I’m eating the food just sits there. If I don’t pay attention the food just sits there then swallowing is very painful. Very painful. It’s a lot of fun dealing with all of this isn’t it?

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heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | Nov 28, 2022
In reply to @nadine3 "I was diagnosed with gastropariesis in 2010 after enduring many scans, scopes etc. My MD suggested..." + (show)
@nadine3

I was diagnosed with gastropariesis in 2010 after enduring many scans, scopes etc. My MD suggested I purchase domperidome via Canada as it was not acceptable by FDA. He also suggested I’d likely need to purée my meals, not eat after 5pm. I was resigned. Researched domperidome and opted to avoid it.
While having a deep muscle massage for back pain (which seemed to accompany bad episodes of stomach challenge) the massage therapist asked if I was having digestive issues,”because my psoas muscle was in firm spasm”, I affirmed I’d struggled with serious digestive issues but as I’d been told I was not curable, I was resigned.
The therapist assured me she understood as she had previously struggled with It. She told me she planned to work to release my psoas spasm, though it would be very uncomfortable and may take more than one massage.
She was right. It was very uncomfortable. But, after the second massage, I realized my sick stomach wasn’t knawing at me and within days, I realized I wasn’t waking around midnight throwing up with nausea. I could eat! I could eat salad!!
For some years, if I felt my stomach was tightening, I’d schedule psoas massage.
It’s been years since I’ve suffered with inability to digest food.
I do have scoliosis, which contributed, but I have learned ways to stretch my psoas anytime I feel it tightening.
Not all massage therapists are knowledgeable enough to release psoas spam. But, for me, it has been remarkable!!

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You're fortunate to find a therapist who can massage the psoas muscle. It's tricky as the therapist has to work through the stomach and intestines and other organs to get to the psoas. It's not painful, but it's not pleasant.

Very interesting to think the psoas may affect GI issues. Thanks for that. I have CIC. I'm getting some relief from Motegrity, but haven't had my psoas checked in a while. Thanks again!

Joe

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willows | @willows | Nov 29, 2022
In reply to @nadine3 "I was diagnosed with gastropariesis in 2010 after enduring many scans, scopes etc. My MD suggested..." + (show)
@nadine3

I was diagnosed with gastropariesis in 2010 after enduring many scans, scopes etc. My MD suggested I purchase domperidome via Canada as it was not acceptable by FDA. He also suggested I’d likely need to purée my meals, not eat after 5pm. I was resigned. Researched domperidome and opted to avoid it.
While having a deep muscle massage for back pain (which seemed to accompany bad episodes of stomach challenge) the massage therapist asked if I was having digestive issues,”because my psoas muscle was in firm spasm”, I affirmed I’d struggled with serious digestive issues but as I’d been told I was not curable, I was resigned.
The therapist assured me she understood as she had previously struggled with It. She told me she planned to work to release my psoas spasm, though it would be very uncomfortable and may take more than one massage.
She was right. It was very uncomfortable. But, after the second massage, I realized my sick stomach wasn’t knawing at me and within days, I realized I wasn’t waking around midnight throwing up with nausea. I could eat! I could eat salad!!
For some years, if I felt my stomach was tightening, I’d schedule psoas massage.
It’s been years since I’ve suffered with inability to digest food.
I do have scoliosis, which contributed, but I have learned ways to stretch my psoas anytime I feel it tightening.
Not all massage therapists are knowledgeable enough to release psoas spam. But, for me, it has been remarkable!!

Jump to this post

I was in desperate need of help since my stomach would not do it’s job. I live in Canada where I have been on Domperidone for over 15 years. It is approved by Health Canada. It has been a real life saver for me. I did have some heart tests prior to being prescribed it. They turned out fine so I got the go ahead. Initially I was on a heavy dose and then was able to taper off to a half dose which I am on today.

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1 reply
paulr58 | @paulr58 | Nov 30, 2022
In reply to @willows "I was in desperate need of help since my stomach would not do it’s job. I..." + (show)
@willows

I was in desperate need of help since my stomach would not do it’s job. I live in Canada where I have been on Domperidone for over 15 years. It is approved by Health Canada. It has been a real life saver for me. I did have some heart tests prior to being prescribed it. They turned out fine so I got the go ahead. Initially I was on a heavy dose and then was able to taper off to a half dose which I am on today.

Jump to this post

I am currently taking 30 mg per day of Domperidone how much were you able to reduce your daily To? I was advised to have my heart check every year while taking this medication as there is heart issues in my family.

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willows | @willows | Nov 30, 2022

I am at 40 mg a day. I have tried to reduce to 30 mg but it’s just not working for me. I need 40 mg for it to work effectively for me. I know at 30 mg which is the recommended dosage, there is less chance of heart problems. However my doctor said that if heart problems were to arise, I would know by now.

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