Symptoms and causes of gastroparesis

Nausea and vomiting are considered to be the most common signs and symptoms of gastroparesis. Vomiting usually occurs several hours after eating. Sometimes, accumulated stomach enzymes and acids can cause vomiting even if you don't eat.

Symptoms of gastroparesis

In addition to nausea and vomiting, gastroparesis often causes:
 

• A feeling of fullness after just a few bites
• Abdominal bloating
• Heartburn or gastro-esophageal reflux
• Changes in blood sugar levels
• Lack of appetite
• Weight loss and malnutrition

Causes of gastroparesis

Most of the people do not know that this condition is actually caused by the most important nerve in the body called the vagus nerve.

It helps organizing the complex signals in the digestive tract, including signaling the smooth muscles in the stomach to contract in peristaltic waves. It is easily understood that the damage to the vagus nerve can be the leading cause of gastroparesis, although the disorder can also result from damage to the stomach muscles themselves.

Other possible causes are:

Diabetes
The most common cause of gastroparesis is definitely type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The explanation for this is that over time, high blood glucose levels and their metabolic effects are damaging the vagus nerve and disrupt its normal functioning.

Surgery
It is proven that all the operations which involve the esophagus, the stomach or the upper part of the small intestine can injure the vagus nerve and lead to gastroparesis.

Medications
A lot of commonly prescribed drugs slow stomach emptying and these include:
 

• narcotic pain medications,
• tricyclic antidepressants and
• calcium channel blockers
• antacids that contain aluminum hydroxide,
• some high blood pressure medications and
• the psychiatric drug lithium

Symptoms usually improve once the medication intake has stopped.

Cancer treatments - chemotherapy
Nausea and vomiting are the common side effects of chemotherapy because most anti-cancer drugs target fast-growing cells throughout the body, including healthy cells in the intestinal tract. However, they are usually temporary.

Other disorders

A number of other medical conditions can cause gastroparesis, including:
 

• anorexia and bulimia,
• the connective tissue disease scleroderma,
• Parkinson's disease and
• other nervous system illnesses- anorexia nervosa
• metabolic disorders such as hypothyroidism

Risk factors for developing gastroparesis

Diabetes is the leading risk factor for gastroparesis. About one in five people with type 1 diabetes will eventually develop this disorder. People with type 2 diabetes are at the lower risk.

Other factors that make you more likely to develop gastroparesis include:
 

• taking medications that slow the rate of stomach emptying
• having abdominal surgery,
• certain cancer treatments,
• another medical condition that can damage the stomach nerves or muscles.