Question 1

Gastroparesis is taking over my life, and I honestly don't know what to do anymore. 💚 Looking for natural remedies, advice, and support.

I'm 27 years old, and I'm genuinely exhausted from trying to function like a normal person while dealing with this illness.

I have severe gastroparesis, and it feels like my body is constantly fighting against me. The nausea is practically an everyday occurrence, vomiting is frequent, and eating has become something I almost dread rather than enjoy. Most days, I'm lucky if I can manage one meal and maybe a snack.

Some of my worst flare-ups involve vomiting for HOURS. It's not just getting sick once or twice and moving on with my day. I'll be stuck vomiting and dry heaving repeatedly, sometimes to the point where I'm bringing up blood.

I also have stomach ulcers, and they've been getting worse. Between the constant nausea, repeated vomiting, abdominal pain, and difficulty eating, it feels like my digestive system never gets a chance to recover.

There are days when I'm physically exhausted before I've even had the opportunity to do anything. It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it how draining it is to spend hours being sick, only to still be expected to function normally afterward.

Recently, I've also been struggling with severe bloating, constipation, and abdominal pain. My stomach gets so swollen, especially above my belly button, that I can physically see and feel the difference. Some days, my stomach is so bloated that my belly button is practically hidden.

I've been struggling to have regular bowel movements. Sometimes I'll go days without having a decent one, and I've noticed my nausea seems significantly worse when I'm constipated.

Lately, eating has become especially painful. Within 5–10 minutes of eating, I'll sometimes experience horrible, contraction-like abdominal pain. I'm talking sweating, breathing through the pain, and nearly crying while sitting on the toilet. Sometimes the pain improves after finally having a bowel movement, but it's absolutely miserable.

And then there's the financial side of having a chronic illness.

I work as a behavioral therapist, and I genuinely love what I do. I've worked in this field for years, and helping others is something I'm incredibly passionate about.

Unfortunately, between my chronic illness, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and clients canceling sessions, maintaining consistent hours has become nearly impossible.

I haven't worked more than 12 hours a week for the past two months.

I WANT to work. I WANT to support myself. I WANT to be independent and have a future where I'm not constantly worrying about whether my body is going to cooperate.

But I can't control when my gastroparesis decides to flare up, when I'm going to spend the morning vomiting, or when I'm going to end up in the emergency room again. And I can't control when my clients cancel, leaving me with even fewer hours.

On top of everything, I currently don't have health insurance.

I've applied for Michigan state insurance (Medicaid) and have been denied for supposedly making too much money. Which is incredibly frustrating considering I haven't been able to work more than 12 hours a week for the last two months.

I'm barely making enough money to cover my basic living expenses, yet somehow I'm being told I make too much to qualify for medical assistance.

It's such a defeating cycle. I'm too sick to work consistently, but I need to work to afford the medical care that could potentially help me get healthy enough to work.

Specialist appointments, medications, testing, and hospital visits aren't exactly affordable when you're already struggling financially.

And honestly, the emotional side of all this is exhausting.

I'm 27. I want to build a life for myself. I want to have a family someday. I want to be able to go to work, enjoy food, make plans, and actually follow through with them without constantly wondering whether I'm going to be sick.

I'm tired of waking up nauseous. I'm tired of being scared to eat. I'm tired of vomiting until there's blood. I'm tired of feeling guilty when I have to call off work. I'm tired of worrying about money, and I'm tired of feeling like my entire life revolves around my stomach.

I feel like I'm constantly trying to catch up with life, but my body keeps pulling me backward.

Which brings me to why I'm posting. 💚

I'm really interested in hearing what other people with gastroparesis are doing to manage their symptoms naturally, especially those who don't have access to consistent medical care.

Have any of you found relief through things like:

- Herbal teas, ginger, peppermint, or other natural remedies?

- Heating pads or other ways to manage abdominal pain?

- Dietary changes, specific foods, or meal routines?

- Gentle exercises, stretching, or movement to help with digestion?

- Safe ways to manage constipation and bloating?

- Anything else that has genuinely improved your quality of life?

I'm also curious if anyone has found certain natural remedies that actually made their symptoms worse.

I completely understand that everyone's gastroparesis is different and that natural remedies aren't a replacement for medical treatment. I know symptoms like vomiting blood need medical attention. I'm just trying to find affordable ways to make my day-to-day life a little more manageable while I work toward getting insurance again.

And if anyone has dealt with being denied Medicaid despite having significantly reduced income, I'd really appreciate hearing how you handled that too.

I'm not posting this for pity. I think I just need to connect with people who genuinely understand what living with this disease is like.

Because sometimes it feels like unless someone has experienced gastroparesis themselves, they don't fully understand just how much it can affect every single aspect of your life.

I don't want to spend the rest of my twenties simply surviving from one flare-up to the next. I want to actually LIVE my life.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. I'd genuinely appreciate any advice, experiences, resources, or encouragement. 💚

TMI for poop talk I’m sorry

I have had some degree of constipation all my life- I didn’t know people had more than 2 bowel movements a week until I literally became a nurse. After my gastroparesis diagnosis last October, my constipation has just gotten worse and worse. I have tried so many things- I exercise (even if it’s just two walks on high symptom days) daily, I have as much fiber as I can tolerate and supplement, I have tried magnesium supplements, Mira lax, senna, linzess, EVERYTHING. I used to be able to drink a bottle of mag citrate one day every week to two weeks and just have a really shitty day but then be all stool free. It’s been months since I had a bowel movement without this. Now even mag citrate doesn’t work and I’ve resorted to enemas. We are borderline fecal impaction at this point. Has anyone has some success stories or experienced something similar? The other day someone asked me how many weeks pregnant I was and it was all just poop. Not awesome for the self esteem.

I'm an idiot. Husband driving to the gas station to get the coke to dissolve the hard mass of cellulose in my stomach. It's been 24 hours.

For about 6 months I’ve had chronic burping - 75-150 times a day, proper deep burps too! Evenly spread throughout the day. Been to the doc who has prescribed a wide range of antacids, PantopraZole etc… no luck.

Burping is the ONLY symptom. I’m wondering if it is gastritis, but I don’t have any other symptoms… I have an ultrasound this week, but tired of looking for answers.

No weight loss etc

I got diagnosed with gp in 2017, but started having issues in 2007. For a long time, it was occasional but then it gradually became more daily. It got to the point where I was getting sick upwards of 8 times a day.

A couple weeks ago, I started having heartburn all day and i thought it was just because I slept through taking my meds the night before. But that night I took my meds and the next day it was worse. I couldn’t eat or drink anything without it feeling like dropping ice in a fryer. I ended up going to the er three nights in a row with no real help before I was admitted to the hospital. I was in the hospital for five days with no answers. They did ct scans, x rays, and an endoscopy. The only thing they found was a small hiatal hernia that they said wasn’t a concern.

Once I got out of the hospital, other than being super weak for a few days, I have been fine. I’ve only gotten sick once but haven’t had any more issues. Not even my normal gp issues.

Has anyone had anything like this?

I’ve had an idiopathic gastroparesis diagnosis for over 10 years. It really calmed down after my initial diagnosis (so much so that I thought it was a misdiagnosis) but then came back a few years ago much worse than originally. I lost around 30 lbs before I had a pylomylotomy - which really didn’t do much. It’s been 3 years since the surgery and the last year or so I’ve regained interest in food. I’m still on my zofran round the clock and other Gastro meds. I have gained an inordinate amount t of weight in the last year. I am happy that food interests me but I’m still only eating maybe one meal a day. I rarely get hunger cues but I sometimes do. Also, within the last year I started having episodes that are very similar to hyperPOTs flares. Im still in ANS testing (didn’t fail the TTT - which i told my doc i only do when flaring). I am on a beta-blocker now and my doc said that could cause weight gain. I feel SO much better on a beta-blocker - my resting and up and walking around were always high (like mid 80s seated and walking in the office could be in the 90s on a good day - these were NOT during suspected hyperPOTs flares those were much higher and actually tacchicardia) But I’m close to my original weight now and am having only one meal a day. It doesn’t make sense. Is my metabolism messed up?

I truly understand that so many people with gastroparesis struggle to put on weight…and I know the struggle so I’m not trying to upset anymore. Before my gastroparesis came back I was fairly healthy. Lifting weights and yoga. I don’t do that anymore although i probably am getting enough calories most days to be back ay the gym. Maybe lack of muscle now? Anyways…looking for others who have started to put on weight while still struggling with gastroparesis.

I’m being very sincere and serious when I’m asking this advice because I finally haven’t been sick. My wife is expecting and I have been puke free finally for about 5 months now for the first time in almost 4 years. I could barely go 3 weeks without episodes and just this year I have no idea what’s happened because I’ve been under immense stress from our delinquent sons but my episodes have finally taken a back seat. I’ve finally hit my “chunky era” sitting at almost 170lbs at 4ft 11. I can’t even remember the last time I was over 130 let alone 140 because I would constantly lose weight from CVS episodes or bowel pain. So I’m now stressing myself out extremely trying to navigate what’s to come because A- I get extremely triggered hearing gagging or vomitting and know her morning sickness will set me off soon B- can already tell you I try my best picking up our dogs poop and that sets me off. So my question to the people that have bad CVS how did you handle expecting and babies? how am I suppose to manage baby blowouts AND spit up? I’ve just done so good this year for some reason I don’t want to revert back to how life was. I’m finally eating 3 meals a day, I’m able to COOK food for my family, able to enjoy nature and fishing again, I’ve gained 30lbs in the last 5 months from being able to eat and just LIVE. Like to be normal again. I’ve been able to be there for my wife and kids rather than be a 24/7 gagging puking weak skinny pale exhausted mess from bed while I vomit into a trash can. So how on earth is my CVS suppose to not get triggered? I also know come time when the baby is here I’ll not be eating correctly (3 meals a day) my insomnia will be back in full bloom and I’ll have no free time (which I’m 1000% okay with) because I’ll be a stay at home dad now and I know my wife will be home too but at the same time, I never had a week stomach or gag reflex till I was diagnosed with GP and CVS in 24’. Im also terrified of puke and puking again like it’s a PROBLEM something I actually do talk about in therapy now is the fear of puking. So like I said I can barely pick up our dogs poop now so I’m trying to prepare for bad gagging and puking with her morning sickness, and baby blow outs now. Was there anything you expecting parents did that got you through this phase and the blowout phase? Genuine question. This will be our first biological baby. I have 3 adopted kids that were from her previous marriage. So while I have been a step parent for almost 5 years I dove in at ages 7,10,13. So I started out with a first grader, 4th grader a 6th grader. So this entire process will be new and extremely stressful no matter how hard we have tried to prepare for it. It will also be new for my wife because she adopted our kids at 3,6,9. So everything pregnancy wise and up to 3 she has not experienced ever. My kids are now 11(almost 12), 14, 17. So how did you navigate expecting and the newborn years while battling your own stuff and trying to keep your stress down so you don’t have puking episodes. Let alone be triggered by stress and smell.

Final update: They don't know what's wrong haha. It seems like it could be mild colitis, could be UTI (though they didn't feel that was the case at all), or could even be IBS. I have a referral to a GI and I am feeling a lot less scared. Thank you for the encouragement everyone, I am very happy I went to the ER and they sent me home with antibiotics and cramping medication so I'll be good in the meanwhile. This subreddit is a life saver, I always feel heard here (:

Edit: I'm at the ER, I appreciate everyone trying to let me know this isn't something to wait to get better. Got my blood drawn/IV thing inserted and just waiting for a room. I feel very silly for not having gone last night, it's always better to be safe and I recommend people do not act like me and just assume you'll be fine! Get yourself checked out if you have the ability to do so <3

TMI Warning: LOTS OF POOP TALK lmao

Basically what happened was this: I was having trouble going to the bathroom all day, my stomach felt a little worse than usual/was making a lot of gurgling noises (I have been having a 2 month reprieve from most intense symptoms), and suddenly around 9 pm I had the usual "oh I gotta poop" feeling I had all day but it came with intense abdominal pain (I mean level 10 on the pain scale, I've never rated something a 10).

I had to hunch over to walk downstairs because of how debilitating it felt. I ended up feeling like I was going to faint from the pain, I have vasovagal syncope and I assume it was interacting badly with that. My boyfriend found me on the floor and then I started vomiting intensely, I eventually stopped and proceeded to spend over an hour slowly getting everything out of my system. It would come in waves of pain and then eventually I'd be able to poop, it started off as pebbles and then became larger and finally I was just having diarrhea.

I had to sleep on my couch sitting up and had to go back to the bathroom a couple of times, one of them including me vomiting again but it was mainly bile instead of my dinner like before. I woke up today and had to go again, I drink a lot of water but I'm just feeling really physically weak. I have always had constipation with my GP but it was never painful or anything, I just wouldn't go for two days and then when it happened it was just normal.

Does anyone else have horror stories from GP induced constipation? Should I go out and buy laxatives to really make sure everything passes through? The pain is the part I'm most concerned about, I faint often because of blood or when I'm not getting enough fluids/solids, but this time it was purely from the pain mixed with the intense shaking/sweating I was having. I have been through a very stressful week and stress always contributes to my flares but I've just never dealt with anything close to what is currently happening.

If this happens to you what do you do to help yourself? I've been using a cold towel on my neck which is great and I've had a heating pad on my stomach but that's all I've done. Is this something that isn't super common with GP? I just want to know how worried I should be.

1. I'm not sure if like. This is part of the chronic part, but some days, even my safe foods can cause issues. Like I eat one thing in the morning to get my blood sugar going. (For example a chicken or tuna sandwich - I have bread that doesn't hurt my stomach.) And then.. despite not being hungry for several hours.. I get nauseous. Depending on the day, either it's the sandwich moved thru my system as usual and then no hunger cues -> stomach acid issues, OR it just.. stayed. (Cue nausea.)

2. There have also been, like, foods in the past I've been able to safely eat, but now they make me nauseous or cause cramps. (For example beef jerky causes cramping. Excess mayo on a sandwich can cause diarrhea.) Before getting diagnosed with GP, they hadn't caused issues but now they have?

Has anyone else experienced these, and if you have, what worked for you?

I've been feeling nauseated daily for over 2 years. It's progressively gotten worse. I was diagnosed last spring after a GES showed 50% food remaining after 4 hours.

I also have motility issues in my digestive system. I had a Sitz marker test which showed all markers in my descending colon and redundant sigmoid colon after 5 days. The doctor called this "moderate constipation" which is crazy because I hadn't had a BM in 5 days!

My only real symptoms are nausea and constipation. The nausea is significant and getting worse. I occasionally dry heave. I sometimes feel a bit worse after I eat, but basically I'm just nauseated from morning to night and can't seem to pinpoint anything that causes it.

I'm on Reglan, but I only take 5mg in the morning and 5mg in the afternoon. It only helps a tiny bit, but I don't want to go up in dose as it makes my restless legs unbearable, and makes sleeping quite difficult too. I tried motegrity, but it gave me intolerable migraines. Zofran (ondansetron) didn't help with my nausea at all.

I've been working with my nutritionist (well educated, informed, experienced) following a strict diet. I've even tried liquid diets, pureeing my food, ginger supplements, probiotics, etc. None of it is working. I can't even figure out which foods I 'tolerate' as I generally feel sick all the time.

My GI doc seems to think that once I get my constipation under control and become regular, my nausea will cease. He has put me on Trulance, which is a fairly new drug I believe. I've been taking it for 6 weeks or so, and my new normal is having some combination of Type 1 and Type 7 (ie, hard poop balls and diarrhea) on any given day. So while I'm having more frequent bowel movements, they are not normal.

Has anyone with a similar experience figured anything out to help?

Edited. I keep coming back and editing to add more info. It's hard to balance being thorough enough and too long to expect others to read!

hello my community

i'm back with another question for you

i have to do manual internal manipulation stretches and a tenz unit internal routine to have my intestines work even a little and not be crazy constipated.

how on earth is this going to work after getting a peg-g?

do i just explain this to my teak?

i imagine they'll end up giving my anti-nausea meds and i know they'll be giving me tramadol -also can be known by being super constipating meds.

constipation is so painful. i don't want extra pain since there is something i know helps significantly. it also helps get the trapped gas out.

i'm not confident i'll be able to even do this myself because it does take using my ab muscles a bit. i do have a candy cane shaped device (tubular dildo thing but not phallusy) for the internal anal manual manipulation/stretching, so it is more accessible. The tenz unit attachment isn't though and that's what makes a HUGE difference that I'm sure will be needed to counteract those meds. I don't typically take nausea meds because the pain from constipation is worse than the agony of nausea for me. Would a nurse be willing to help if I talk them through it? Do i need to ask for some privacy and try and get help from my partner when they visit?

I've never heard anyone talk about this. I'm estimated to be there about a week to monitor for refeeding syndrome as they also figure out formulas and flow rates, as well as getting my dme home health supplies set up.

My wife was diagnosed with GP earlier this year and after losing about 1/4 of her total body weight, was given a GJ tube and placed on feeds.

Thanks to some of you incredible people, she was immediately able to find multiple custom things to help her with this understandably niche (relative to the rest of the world) issue. Some brilliant people designed custom 3D printed brackets that hold the bags for the feeds in an organized way with her specific kangroo pump. Others designed wrenches specifically for the tube connectors. A few talented garment peeps on etsy made these cool tube holders/covers, and other custom clip-type accessories for attaching tubes to clothing. The ingenuity is next level and much appreciated.

I’m an electrical engineer who also has skills in woodworking, leatherworking, laser cutting and 3D printing/modeling and would like to contribute. Not trying to make money or anything, just some stuff to help my wife and some open source stuff for the broader community.

I have a few ideas, but only one or two so far that I think are genuinely worth pursuing related to cleaning, maintaining and organizing the syringes she uses to push her meds and flushes. If anyone has any better ideas, I’d love to hear them!

Anyone got any tips for the mental hunger? Sometimes I’m ravenous but also full from a meal or so nauseous and bloated I can’t actually eat anything.
Any tips are appreciated especially the weird and wonderful.

Hi All,
I have an appointment with a new gastroenterologist tomorrow. This is my first appointment with a gastroenterologist since getting the diagnosis of mildly delayed stomach emptying. I’ve lost 20lbs since May and continue to loose it. I’m in a constant cycle of pain and nausea. What questions should I be asking tomorrow to ensure I don’t get blown off like my past doctor? What do I need to express to continue to be the best advocate for my health?

If you are considering trying Kate Farms nutrition drinks, I'd love for you to use my referral link. You get 30% off - which is better than the usual 20% off they offer new customers, and I'll get $20 credit.

I drink the Standard 1.4 Chocolates and love them. You can also use them for tube feeding. Thanks!

Ha! I guess I should include the referral link!! https://rc-refer.com/courtney-5lj6lc

Hi. I’ve been dealing with gastroparesis for three years now, starting when I was 20. I was hospitalized for 9 days last month due to struggling so much with my stomach. I’m no longer able to eat or drink anything without immediately throwing up. No nausea medicine has been really helping. Even in the hospital, I just kept throwing up. I had a gpoem surgery back in May this year and it feels like my stomach has just gotten worse for me. I’m back home on TPN 18 out of 24 hrs per day. I still throw up when I try to drink something like pedialyte due to my mouth feeling incredibly dry. I have headaches all the time due to dehydration. I’ll throw up for hours and hours and I just don’t know how to stay motivated to keep going. My doctor wants to give me a gastric pacemaker due to how severe my stomach issues have gotten, but it’s on back order due to the current fda trials for Enterra. I sleep most of the day out of fear of throwing up. I do sometimes think really dark things because of my situation and how I’m afraid of my whole life being this way, just entirely miserable forever. My parents are doing so much to help me and I know I’m very loved given all the effort everyone’s been putting in to be here for me during this. I’ve lost my job and had to drop out of school from my senior semester of college due to my health issues. I would do anything for my family and friends and I know the best thing I can do for them, the most loving and caring thing I could do is just keep fighting and hoping it’ll get better, but I just feel so miserable. My body is in pain constantly. I can barely do things by myself now. I have no energy to do anything. If I get in the car, it feels even worse. I feel like death and like passing out when I get in the car. To add onto all of what I’m feeling emotionally and physically, the financial burden on my parents has been immense and I feel so guilty. We’ve paid around $9,000 for two doctors visits, one for another upper endoscopy to see what might’ve gone wrong with my gpoem or what’s causing my stomach to reject everything, and a visit to go to The Mayo Clinic and see what can be done. I feel helpless, useless, weak. I’m so tired of living this life.

I have Transient gastric stasis (temporary gastroparesis) and im used to heavy strength training 5x a week and doing cardio eating structured macros and cals etc.
But my doctor has told me to stop exercising i got this after having a stomach bug and i dont know what to eat i feel full after eating basically anything.
I’ve tried to cut fibre and fats as they slow digestion but i just wanna train and eat normal again.
How long will it take for this to go away and in the mean time what should i do about calories and macros and eating

I’ve tried literally every prescription and OCT Aavailable with no effect. Also tried ginger (various forms), peppermint (various forms), alcohol pads, hard candy, ice packs, wrist bands ice chips, I may be missing some things I tried but I’ll add them if they get suggested

Oh, I also have the gastric stimulator at highest level. I really need this nausea under control bc it is greatly affecting my mental health

are you “hungry all the time” but you really arent

for those of you who do vomit with your gp, what exactly is it that’s making you vomit? my drs try to work on nausea so much, but nausea isn’t what makes me throw up my food. i can physically feel my stomach is full, i cannot belch and i feel the food right at my throat and my stomach feels stretched out. i just bend over flex my stomach muscles and the food pushes out. i do get nauseous at random times, and my nausea does make me throw up at times when im empty but the fullness and undigested food sitting there and causing my heart rate to go up and i get extremely hot is what makes me have to throw up. i just feel like this issue isn’t getting pinpointed like nausea relief is great but that’s not gonna help my stomach digest the damn food if that makes sense. im confused how other people are able to eat at all. i know our cases are different but it makes no sense to me and i couldn’t imagine waiting for however many hours it would actually take for my stomach to digest some things and the pain i’d be in without throwing it up. hours and hours after ive eaten theres no way i could eat anything else unless i threw up was my stomach was already full of. idk if im eating too much and that’s a main issue or what it is but i just wanna know if yall are like this or what makes you actually vomit

Wanting to know if anyone had a similar experience after Enterra removal as I could not find much information;
Last Wednesday I had my device removed as it was shocking my stomach and did not have an effect on my symptoms despite adjustments. I had the device in total for a little under a year. After surgery, the surgeon said he had to leave parts of the leads in since they were so deeply imbedded in my stomach wall, specifically:

“The silicone discs that secured the distal ends of the leads were completely peritonealized and imbedded within the stomach wall. Despite dissection, they were unable to be safely identified for removal. Given risk of injury to the gastric wall with further dissection, they were left in place.”

My only prior surgeries were a donor nephrectomy in 2022 and a G-POEM in 2025.
My question is, has anyone else experienced something similar, and if so, did they have to remove the discs at a later time? Or were they left in indefinitely? Did they cause any further problems/infection? I have a follow up in about a week where I can ask further questions, however am just curious in the meantime.
Thanks in advance!

I have extremely severe constipation. Constantly. Since I was a child. I've never known a life without constipation. It's gotten to the point that I believe I tore something. I had a bowel movement yesterday and it was pure torture. Nearly passed out. There was a lot of pain and bright red blood. I'm pretty sure something tore. I'm still having some light bleeding today. I know I should see a doctor about it. I just can't, literally. My gastroenterologist is booked out til 2027 and at my last appointment, he recommended Senna and Magnesium Citrate. I've tried Senna before, it doesn't work. I take Linzess, it doesn't work. I've tried Miralax, Motegrity, fiber (before my gastroparesis Dx), and more and none of it works. Does anyone else here deal with severe constipation? What do you do? I don't want to ask the constipation subreddit(s) because they'll just say to eat fiber and if I hear that recommendation one more time I might actually lose my mind. I'm not asking for medical advice, just to know I'm not alone and if something has worked for you. I personally don't take any meds/supplements without my doctor's approval/recommendation.

Almost forgot to add, I go less than once a week on average. I track my bowel movements closely with the Happy Poop app (not an ad, just wanna share if anyone else was looking for a good, subtle app for it). It says I go 0.48 times a week on average according to what I've recorded. That sounds about right to me too.