This is my first time posting on this page and I was wondering if anyone could help me. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
After nearly a year of abdominal pain, nausea, weight loss (2,5st/35lbs), early fullness when eating and loss of appetite and a whole catologue of exploratory tests of the stomach and digestive system I have been diagnosed with a relatively rare and largely unknown stomach dissorder called Gastroparesis.
Gastroparesis is nerve damage causing the stomach to slow down, or stop altogether, its contractions. The stomach usually contracts 3 times per minute to break down food and move it into the intestines. Due to damage to the Vagus Nerve the stomach these contractions are affected leading to the incredibly debilatating symptoms given above.
I am 21 and for some reason (the doctors say idiopathic) my stomach's contractions have stopped working properly. I have had to leave University, which I loved, and I never leave the house anymore due to the symptoms of my Gastroparesis. I have a tube in my nose which is used to provide nutrition in liquid form as I almost always struggle to eat solid food. I have gone from a healthy, life loving young man to a tired, ill-looking, angry, rundown person.
Gastroparesis is a poorly researched and largely unknown dissorder and due to this there is no real treatment for the problem. The advice from my Gastric dissorders is "get on with your life and it could go away by itself"
. This statement frightens and angers me and it now appears it is upto me to learn about my problem and get myself well again.
So my questions are: With this problem being a direct result of damage to the vagus nerve can someone tell me about the vagus nerve and if there are an treatments for damage to it? Also, does anyone know anything about the brain's/nervous system's relation to problems to the stomach (the brain gut axis)? And how does one go about calming an overactive parasympathetic nervous system as I believe this could be a big part of my problem.
Again, any help is greatly appreciated. God bless all of you out there with problems and thank-you for reading.