Gastroparesis and Fibromyalgia; medically related and I have it

I've had gastroparesis for a while now. It's actually not hugely impactful on quality of life compared to many conditions. You'll want to talk to your doctor to see if they can prescribe Domperidone for you to treat it, as opposed to Reglan. Reglan is the only drug that the FDA has approved in the US to treat, but it has some pretty rough neurological side effects. Domperidone, on the other hand, is extremely effective and has hardly any side effects. The only one that I know of is increased lactation in women. In fact, many breastfeeding women with low supply will have their OBs prescribe it because it's that safe. The reason it isn't in the US is for political reasons...the FDA went through this period where if they already had a drug to treat a condition (like Reglan) they wouldn't approve other meds for it (like Domperidone). When they realized how stupid it was with rough side effects, they asked the manufacturers to apply again, but they refused since US citizens can order it through Canadian and UK pharmacies, which will accept US doctor scripts. Your doctor can just fax a prescription to them.

Why are you in the hospital for a day to diagnose it? It's a simple test - eat some food with some tracers in it, then an hour or two later get an x-ray and see if it's emptied out of your stomach or not. I'm not sure why they did biopsies either (unless it was during an endoscopy and they were checking for inflammation to rule out other GI problems?).

Hi Remicade (?)
It was during an endoscope; see in post. Yes, I believe they are looking at other issues. Hopefully to rule them out, but with 7 pictures, well who knows. I am having the empty stomach gastric test in hospital. They do what you stated, swallow the stuff, give you a small meal then x-ray at 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours and 4 hours.
I read about all the psychotic meds they give you. So, I am glad you stated that the one beginning with D is not one! They also implant electrical devices and feeding tubes if needed; whow.
I have had severe attacks and have lost about 30 pounds since July. I have not lost weight in 25 years, so it's significant.
Thanks for the post, it's helpful and hopefully, other than having to change my diet around, eat 6 small meals a day, and take meds, there will be no further problems. That is a guess though as I do not know the results of biospies or know if your gastroparesis was as severe as mine.
Did you know they are medically related?
:(

Sorry to be confusing, Remicade is the medication that I'm on. I usually spend most of my time on Crohn's forum, where it's pretty well-known. :)

I missed the part about the endoscope when I first read the post. Did they take 7 pictures or 7 biopsies? Those are two very different things. Either way, no amount of pictures or biopsies could diagnose gastroparesis. The stomach empty study is really the only way.

Reglan is awful. Please try to avoid it! Honestly, Domperidone should work. I've actually not ever heard of it not working, and gastroparesis is somewhat common over on the Crohn's forum. I also have friends in "real life" (lol) who have gastroparesis without Crohn's. Most people are able to manage with small meals. And start small, really small, then build up to figure out what your limit is. Eat slowly so that you don't get full before your stomach sends the signal to your brain!

Some people may needing feeding tubes or electric impulses, but that is extremely, extremely rare. If yours was that severe, you would know it by now - one meal would fill you up for days. And I wonder if how many of those cases didn't try Domperidone first because their doctors didn't know about it or wouldn't prescribe it and therefore didn't inform their patients.

Mine was pretty severe, but I also got it a few years before I ever even had problems with fibromyalgia. I'm not sure if they're related in a causation way, or if there is simply a small correlation between the two. It's much more common to have gastroparesis with Crohn's than it is with fibro. I've been hospitalized 30 times in the last 4 years (not including just ER visits), that my fibro just magnifies the pain I'm already in from other health conditions. When I'm in remission from everything else, that's when I started noticing the fibro. The rest of the time, the pain from everything else drowns it out, lol.

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this also. But we did have a mod on here quite a few years ago that had gastroparesis and she could keep it somewhat under control by avoiding meat. Meat for some reason kicked in the symptoms. I don't see how that would make a difference but it did for her. Everyone is so different.

I believe that once you learn how to handle this and get on the best medication for you, it will just become another challenge. When first getting another diagnosis, things become overwhelming. But I feel confident that you will handle this well like you have your other health issues. I hope you start to feel better soon.

Sherrine

I can't eat a lot of fiber either. I get a lot of cramping but I think this is caused by my Crohn's disease. I like bananas but can only eat an occasional one or else i'm in trouble.

It's very important to know your body. There isn't another one exactly like it on earth. We know our bodies the best and need to listen to it. We feel better that way.

I have a lot of health issues too. One of my mottos is, "Things could be worse."

Sherrine

Low fiber, or low residue, is common for those of us with Crohn's. It was backwards for me, too - it went against everything I knew about eating healthy! I think I mentioned in my first post that Crohn's and gastroparesis are fairly common.

Low fiber diets are going to be pretty low in fruits and vegetables, especially apples, broccoli, spinach, etc. You may be able to eat cooked or steamed of some vegetables, like potatoes and carrots, and maybe peeled apples or pears. Popcorn is also high in fiber, interestingly enough. You also need to avoid nuts and seeds, as well as whole grains. I had to switch permanently to either white bread or "wheat bread" that's the store brand of it (not much real wheat in there). Also white flours more than wheat flours.

Everyone is different, so it's going to take some trial and error. I found that I can eat an apple, but I shouldn't have wheat bread that day as well, if that makes sense.