Gastroparesis

What is gastroparesis?

Gastroparesis (say: “gast-roe-par-EE-sus”) is a disorder that happens when your stomach muscles don’t work properly. It is sometimes called “delayed gastric emptying.” Normally, after you swallow food, your stomach muscles begin squeezing and tightening. (These movements are called contractions.) This crushes the food and moves it into the small intestine to continue the digestive process. If you have gastroparesis, your stomach muscles don’t contract properly. This can delay or prevent the process of crushing the food and sending it to the small intestine.

What are the symptoms of gastroparesis?

Symptoms of gastroparesis can be mild or severe, and may include:

• Heartburn or stomach pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting, especially vomiting pieces of undigested food
• Feeling full after only a few bites of food
• Bloating
• Lack of appetite
• Unintended weight loss
• Unstable blood sugar levels (in people who have diabetes)

These symptoms can suggest a lot of different problems and disorders. This can make gastroparesis hard to diagnose.