Gastrointestinal infections and diseases affect people every day, and it’s part of the mission at Bright Care Medical Group to protect the health of our patients at every step of the way. Understanding each illness and how to manage or prevent it is necessary to lead a healthy life, and we work tirelessly to teach our patients about how these conditions affect their bodies.
One of these conditions is gastroparesis, a disease in which your stomach can’t empty itself of food due to damage in the nerves that control stomach muscles that contract and push food into the small intestine. The motility of the stomach is slowed down, making it difficult to completely empty the stomach while also causing other related problems.
Some of the risk factors that can induce gastroparesis include diabetes, esophageal surgery, hypothyroidism, connective tissue disease, and even nervous system diseases like Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis. It can usually be misdiagnosed or mistaken for an ulcer or an allergic reaction, which is why blood tests, ultrasounds, and other physical examinations can help determine the disease more efficiently.
Symptoms of gastroparesis include:
- Vomiting undigested food
- Nausea
- Dehydration
- Abdominal bloating or pain
- A feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites
- Acid reflux
- Changes in blood sugar levels
- Lack of appetite
- Weight loss and malnutrition
The best way to treat gastroparesis is to make lifestyle changes that can manage and improve digestion, such as making changes to your diet, chewing more thoroughly, exercising more frequently, and taking medications to control nausea and vomiting. Surgery can be needed in the most severe cases, but for the most part, managing the illness at home and with a physician is enough to improve it.
It’s a disease that can be managed with the right treatment, and the team at Bright Care Medical Group is here to help you learn about gastrointestinal diseases so that you can lead a healthier and responsible life, as well as using the right treatment to help improve your lifestyle.
Visit our website to learn more about us, or you can reach us by calling (352) 708-3021 to schedule an appointment with our medical team.