Treatment Options For Gastroparesis

Venting Gastrostomy

Gastrostomy tubes are tubes used to provide nutritional support. They are the preferred method of helping patients with functional guts take in nutrition if they cannot eat for more than a few weeks. For patients who have mechanical bowel obstruction, a venting enterogastrostomy is used to decompress the bowel and alleviate the symptoms. Gastrostomy tubes are sometimes used for patients who have inoperable and cancerous obstructions of the esophagus and have undergone a failed stent placement. Venting gastrostomy is always used for decompression of cancerous bowel obstructions. Gastrostomy tubes will be placed radiologically or endoscopically while the patient is consciously sedated.

Managing Blood Sugar

Managing blood sugar is an important part of managing type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and it becomes even more important when gastroparesis is in play. With gastroparesis, the stomach is delayed in emptying its contents. The condition tends to have a certain level of unpredictability, which can make it difficult to maintain blood sugar. If food sits in the stomach for too long, there may be a dip in blood sugar akin to a missed meal. But if food is unexpectedly digested in a timely manner, the sugar spike can be equally dangerous. Blood sugar can be managed through dietary changes, oral medications, and insulin. Intravenous feeding and feeding tubes are reserved for extreme cases where blood sugar is uncontrollable due to the digestive system's slowness and unpredictability.