August brings awareness to Gastroparesis, a condition where stomach muscles don’t work properly, resulting in the stomach emptying slowly or not at all. A child with this disorder might feel full all the time, vomit undigested food that has been left in the stomach, or be in constant pain. In most cases Gastroparesis starts after an infection, although experts aren’t sure of what causes it. Symptoms of Gastroparesis include, upper abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, or vomiting shortly after eating.
There are several ways that Gastroparesis can be diagnosed. The first is a Gastric Emptying Scintigraphy, a nuclear medicine test that uses an external scanner to detect radioactive materials(which are eaten by the patient in food), as they move throughout the digestive system. The next is called Antroduodenal Manometry, a test the places a small catheter, through the nose and into the stomach and small intestine to measure the pressure inside. Lastly we have, a wireless motility capsule, a capsule that contains a tiny deceive that can measure pH balance, temperature and pressure levels. As soon as Gastroparesis is diagnosed treatment can begin.
While there is no cure for gastroparesis it can get better after a few months or years. Your child's doctor and nutritionalist may create a customized diet plan to help, such as small portions, and foods that are easily digested. There are medications that will help with the nausea ,or pain, and some that aid in emptying the stomach. A surgery called Gastric Electrical Stimulation, that implants a neurostimulator in the stomach of your child. This device sends small electrical pulses to the stomach muscles. In some cases of Gastroparesis, your child may not be able to hold any food or drink down, so a surgeon may need to put a feeding tube into your child's intestines. Now to sum things up, remember Gastroparesis is an incurable condition of the stomach muscles, that can be treated to relieve pain.