Gastroparesis : My Personal Journey

Gastroparesis is an illness that is not commonly known or understood. Some of its symptoms include nausea, vomiting, early satiety, bloating and abdominal pain. Sounds like a routine GI problem. Until I was diagnosed with it in the fall of 2000. I knew that as a nurse, I had to dive into the research realm of this condition and figure out how to best treat myself. Throughout the years, I have tried gastric pacemakers twice, feeding tubes twice, botox injections into my pylorus three times and pyloroplasty procedures. Not willing to give up and let gastroparesis get the best of me, I decided on one more surgery. Would it be the last one for me? This is my story about how gastroparesis has entered my life and how I managed to accomplish my goals while dealing with symptom management on a daily basis. From doctors who told me it was all in my head to doctors who took the chance and gave me a new lease on life. My story includes how I found treatment, the surgeries I endured and my quality of life throughout. My hope is that through reading this, you will understand more about gastroparesis and what can be done to achieve the best symptom management possible for you or someone you know.