Gastroperesis (GP) is the paralysis of your stomach muscles. It is a muscular and neurological disease. It is a very rare disease (earning itself a place on the NORD’s Rare Diseases list) impacting <100,000 people. That means that there is little enough research on it that I can say with confidence that I have read most, if not all of the papers published since 2015. Here is what I have gleaned:
- The vast majority of research is on Diabetic GP. In part because it is relatively easy to track the systemic damage from diabetes and identify possible causes and treatments.
- I have Idiopathic GP, as in no one knows what the hell how or why it happened. it is for those reasons that very few of the treatments that work for Diabetic GP patients work for us idiopathic folks.
- There has been an anecdotal, but notable, uptick in cases of GP since Covid 19 arrived on the scene. There is no data available on this, but if I had to made an experienced guess, it may be related to vascular issues, including micro clots. Remember, Covid 19 is a vascular disease. There is at least one vascular issue that produces symptoms mirroring those of GP. I know this because it was one of the first things the GI in Stony Brook ruled out in the first set of tests she had me do.
- Every case of GP is different. I am part of an international GP Facebook group and the various combinations of a relatively small group of symptoms is impressive.