Gastroparesis

What is gastroparesis?

Gastroparesis means your stomach takes much longer than normal to empty food into your small bowel. Think of your stomach like a bag with muscles that squeeze food through. With gastroparesis, these muscles don't work properly, so food sits in your stomach for too long.

This is a long-term condition, but it can be managed with the right treatment and diet changes.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms usually happen after you eat and include:

• Feeling full very quickly - you might not be able to finish normal-sized meals
• Feeling sick and being sick after eating
• Tummy pain that doesn't go away
• Heartburn - a burning feeling in your chest
• Feeling bloated - like your tummy is stretched and uncomfortable

If you've had these symptoms for a while, you might also start losing weight without trying.

When should you see your GP?

Speak to your GP if you have:

• Often feeling full quickly when eating
• Regular sickness or vomiting after meals
• Tummy pain that won't go away or keeps coming back
• Heartburn most days for 3 weeks or more
• Feeling bloated for 3 weeks or more, or more than 12 times a month
• A swelling or lump in your tummy

These symptoms could be gastroparesis or another condition, so it's important to get them checked.

Emergency warning signs

Call 999 or go to A&E immediately if you have:

• Sudden and severe tummy pain
• Blood in your sick
• Sick that's dark brown or black (looks like coffee grounds)
• Sick that looks and smells like poo

Don't drive yourself to A&E - ask someone else to drive you or call an ambulance.

How is gastroparesis diagnosed?

Your GP will usually start with blood tests and scans (X-ray or ultrasound) to rule out other conditions.

If these don't show what's causing your symptoms, you might need:

• A camera test (gastroscopy) where a thin tube with a camera goes down your throat to look inside your stomach
• Special tests to see how long food takes to move through your stomach

How is it treated?

Diet changes

You might need to:

• Eat 4-6 small meals instead of 3 large ones
• Avoid foods high in fibre that's hard to digest (like wholegrain bread, beans, some vegetables)
• Have liquid meals like soups or foods blended up

A dietitian can help make sure you're still getting all the nutrients you need.

Medicines

Your GP might prescribe medicines to:

• Help food move through your stomach faster
• Stop you feeling sick
• Help with pain

If you have diabetes, you might also get help managing your blood sugar levels.

Other treatments

Depending on how severe your symptoms are, you might be offered:

• A feeding tube if you're not getting enough nutrition
• Special injections to help your stomach muscles relax
• Surgery to reshape your stomach (in severe cases)

What causes gastroparesis?

It's caused by problems with the nerves and muscles in your stomach. Sometimes we don't know why it happens. It can be linked to long-term conditions like diabetes, or happen after certain types of surgery.

Remember, if you're worried about any of these symptoms, speak to your GP. They can help work out what's causing them and get you the right treatment.

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Based on NHS.uk guidance. Written by Dr Krishnan Pasupathi, NHS GP.