Yes you have read the title of this post correctly. My Gastroparesis has been resolved!! It has been about 4 months that I have been completely symptom free, and believe me I have really put my stomach to the test. I've been able to eat fresh veggies, salads, Chinese and Mexican without getting sick at all. Thanks to a very special someone who took me to see a retired doctor who specialized in digestive disorders. Although the doctor agreed that my stomach emptied extremely slow but his opinion was why stop at the diagnosis of having Gastroparesis. He felt that there was something that was causing the slow stomach emptying so why not find the cause instead of accepting the fate of having this condition and nothing can be done. Like many of you, I was told by my doctors that there was no cure, that this was a chronic condition. That there are some cases of the Gastroparesis resolving itself but typically it does not go away.
So the good doctor looked at my eyes first, and I am not exactly sure what he was looking for but said due to certain blood vessels visible in my eyes indicated that I was actually suffering from a type of Hiatal Hernia. He said that my stomach had actually shifted out of place and was no longer properly aligned which was more than likely causing stress on nerves which was not letting the nerves do their job of telling the stomach muscles to churn the food. The out of alignment was also causing stress on my Sphincter of Oddi which was causing it to spasm at times and not work properly. When this happened I would be in debilitating pain that felt like a steel trap wrapping around my sternum and rib cage, crushing my rib cage. Not actually crushing my rib cage but this is how it felt. I have medication (Hyoscyamine) to take when these attacks would hit, which usually calmed things down fairly quickly only because the medicine would numb and relax the entire digestive tract. So when I had to take the medication, while it would take care of the pain, the extreme nausea and vomiting would ensue due to the digestive tract slowing down even more.
The doctor had me lay down on my back, legs outstretched and through relaxed breathing and visceral manipulation he was able to literally move my stomach back in alignment where it is supposed to be. He started by locating my last rib on my left side and slowly manipulating the stomach to move back where it belongs, moving to the right very slowly, pausing between each slight movement. He was very patient in this process and explained that it was very important to take time in doing this so that the stomach moves on its own and is not being forced, but gently nudged back to where it belongs. Once he had the stomach back in alignment he then "set" my stomach in place by manipulating from my sternum moving down toward my belly button and then firmly in one swift movement pushed down hard to "set" the stomach back in place. He then had me stand up and cross my arms in front of me holding each shoulder as if to hug myself while he wrapped his arms around me fisting his hands at my sternum and lifted me up. The method commonly used in cracking ones back. He then showed me manipulation exercises that I was to do sets of 10 for a minimum of three times per day for the next two weeks to help train my stomach to stay where it belongs. He had me place the heel of my right hand on my sternum while wrapping my left hand over my right hand and applying pressure moving straight down to my belly button. I noticed a bruise on my stomach the following day from where he "set" my stomach but other than that there were no side effects from this process. I immediately felt a release of pressure right below my rib cage that I didn't even realize I had until it was gone. He told me that I should be able to go back to eating normally immediately. I was a bit hesitant because it had been more than two years that I had to watch every single thing that I ate so I would not get sick. So my intention was to start out slow but curiosity won out. The next day I ate half of a Jr. Whopper from Burger King, I know, not the most healthy thing, but I ate part of a Whopper and I did NOT get sick!!! That was a little over four months ago and I have been completely symptom free ever since. I have truly put my stomach to the test and I am not getting sick. No nausea, no vomiting and my bowels are regular again. For someone who has lived with severe nausea, vomiting and constant diarrhea for two years this was a major accomplishment!
Now I would love to share with you this amazing doctor who has turned my life around, but I am sorry I can not. As I said earlier, he is retired now and is enjoying his retirement thoroughly and does not wish to be named. I was lucky enough to have someone very special in my life who knew him and the doctor did this as a favor for my friend. I will forever be grateful to this wonderful doctor for changing my life and to my friend who cared enough to take me to him.
My advice to everyone who deals with Gastroparesis is to not give up hope. Do not accept that there is no cure but continue to look for what is your cure. In the meantime accept that for right now, in this moment you have Gastroparesis and deal with that. Find a comprehensive management plan that works for you. Check out http://livingwithgastroparesis.com/ a website created by Crystal Saltrelli an amazing person who offers some great advice in dealing with Gastroparesis. She is truly a godsend in my opinion. Crystal can also be found on Facebook. In the two years that I dealt with Gastroparesis I learned a lot from Crystal and will be forever grateful to her for learning how to manage my symptoms and what to do to keep the flare ups at a minimum. Just do not give up!! I believe there is always hope for a change. I had Gastroparesis but it did not have me!
I have Gastroparesis but it does not have me!
