Gut Feelings, 4: New Doc, New Diagnoses

So.  A new doctor, a new diagnosis, a new eating plan, and a new set of questions.

First, I like the doctor.  He threw his pen down 4 times in shock of what tests and procedures had NOT been done at various times in my medical story.  I like that.  He is a squirrelly little guy, not what I expected, but he definitely knows his stuff.  I like him.  But of course I liked the other guy, too, so we’ll see how this goes.

He wants to do another endoscopy on me with biopsies this time, as Barrett’s Esophagus cannot truly be diagnosed without biopsies to check the cell structure.  He will also measure the hiatal hernia and a few other things that have never been done before.

He diagnosed me with gastroparesis, which is delayed emptying of the stomach.  Literal translation is “stomach paralysis.”  Mine is not bad, thank goodness, as some people are on all liquid diets or feeding tubes because they can’t tolerate foods at all.  I knew I had delayed stomach emptying, but my previous doc left me feeling that it was a minor symptom of my existing gut issues.  I had no idea it was an actual condition or something that stood on its own, so to speak.

There is no cure, no drug to fix it, and diet changes only manage symptoms.  You can’t make it permanently worse by eating wrong, but you will exacerbate the short-term symptoms.

Turns out the diet for this excludes EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN EATING THE PAST FEW MONTHS to control my acid reflux:  nuts (because they are alkaline), dried fruit and whole grains (because they soak up stomach acid).  All these things take so long to digest they are not recommended for GP.  Great.  Also, no (NONE) raw veggies (this means no salads), no veggies or fruits with skins (apples, green beans, dried beans, celery, figs, etc.).  No berries. 

All veggies need to be cooked.  I can have potatoes (white or sweet) without skins, most other root veggies, some greens, cooked peas (shelled), carrots, tomatoes (but I’m not supposed to have them because of the GERD), etc.  No beef or pork.  Chicken and fish are ok but I can only have 2oz portions at a time.  Protein drinks, soups, purees, smoothies, juices, etc., are recommended as supplements.  Dairy is ok. 

So, at this point I’m wondering if the GERD exacerbates the gastroparesis, or vice versa.  We will see how things turn out as I change my diet yet again.  I’m eating a small meal about every 2 hours.  One thing I can say is it is helping me with some slow weight loss.  My meals tend to look like this:

• 9:30 – Cascadian Farm granola with almond milk 
• 11:30 – an Orgain shake  
• 1ish – leftovers or soup or something similar.  I hate soup. 
• 3ish – crackers with almond butter and a banana   
• 4:30 – yogurt or cottage cheese and a hardboiled egg or something  
• 6:30 – dinner.  This is my biggest problem, as my husband is a serious carnivore and I     can’t really do that anymore.  So, I make a “normal” dinner, then eat what I can.  I usually go to bed hungry and wake up even hungrier.

I didn’t have any of these gastroparesis symptoms until a couple years or so after I started taking Prilosec.  I really do think the meds caused it or made my stomach somehow lazy, but very very few studies have been done on anything with GP, so the doctor pretty much told me the answer was no, there was no correlation.  Right.

I’ve found a fantastic resource in Crystal Saltrelli, CHC.  She is a certified health counselor who has gastroparesis and has worked to gather information to help sufferers deal better. She has videos, books, podcasts, a blog, and has worked to put a lot of information into the hands of people who have this condition.  I'm grateful she has.