Weather Shifts Are Not My Friend!

Posted by Mildred Jane on September 15, 2013
Posted in: depression, Friends, Gastroparesis, health, heat, Inspiration, Life. Tagged: , , , , , , . 10 Comments

weather

The two items above should NEVER occur within the same week!  But it happens and it happened this week.  My Gastroparesis is NOT happy with it and is proving a point.  Stomach cramping, vomiting, fatigue, the whole nine yards of exciting GP fun paid me a visit this week.  Needless to say it was not a fun week and I am hoping beyond hope that the weather has chosen a season & temperature to stick with.  (I’m hoping for fall because it is my favorite!)

I know of others with Gastroparesis that have exceptional flair ups when the weather changes, so I think that there is something to it.  I think that there must be some type of connection.  Someone once told me that it has to do with the barometric pressure and how that pressure affects our internal organs.  I really have no idea if this is true or not, but it seems as good of answer as any.

As I rotated between the bathroom and laying with my heating pad, I had so many different thoughts going through my head.  “Why is this happening to me again, I thought that I was on a good path?”  “Why did some of my ‘friends’ disappear and say hurtful things when I got so sick?”  “Why do people not understand that this is serious & I’m not just being a whiny wimp?” “Why…Why…Why…Why…?”

Then it dawned on my that asking all of these negative questions was not helping matters.  So I wiped my eyes, turned up my heating pad, got doggie kisses from my faithful nurse (aka my doggie Leela) and decided I would focus on the positive.  I started to tell myself “You haven’t had a flair up this bad in months, the changes you have made in your life  are working.”  “Look at all of the amazing friends who have stuck by you & check on you.”  “Look at the amazing man in your life who would do anything to help you.”  “Look at the positivity that you are giving the GP community with a blog that you didn’t think anyone would read.”  “Look at the Personal Best in a Half Marathon earlier this year.”  “Look at the fact that you were able to even complete a half marathon.”  “Look at the fact that you did two half marathons.”  Then I started to turn around.  I started to feel better and more mentally tough.  I started to get my fight back.  I started to say…take that GP…I WILL get off the couch today and I WILL get something done.

As I have said numerous times on this blog, I feel the most important thing during a Gastroparesis flair is to set a goal (no matter how small) and to accomplish it.  Then say…Take that Gastroparesis!  You may have won the battler, but you will NOT win the war!!  So I set a goal of loading the dishwasher (there were all of 5 dishes in the sink) and I did it.  This of course required a nap, but I went to sleep knowing that I did something and the day wasn’t an entire waste!

No matter how good we are doing, Gastroparesis always seems a way to find us.  However, it is so important to focus on anything positive and try hard not to fall into a negative loop!  Of course, this is easier said than done, but it is important to train your brain to make the shift.  It doesn’t come natural and will take some training, but I promise if you work at it that you can retrain your brain!

~Millie

Demolition Derby of Life

Posted by Mildred Jane on September 1, 2013
Posted in: Energy, Friends, Gastroparesis, health, Life. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

demoderby

It’s Labor Day Weekend here in The States which means lots of picnics and potential challenges with foods, energy, sitting in the heat, and countless other potential triggers to a Gastroparesis Flair.  For me, it means going home to the local fair to watch a demolition derby, eating french fries made by the local fire department, and seeing great friends.  It is an annual homecoming & one that I hate missing.

This year at the fair, I was eating my french fries and reflecting on how far I have come in the past year.  Before, discussing this I have to say that I planned to have the french fries even if it meant being sick.  These aren’t any french fries.  They come once a year and taste amazing.  They don’t have anything on them and are just plain potatoes that are fried, but there is something delicious about them.

Okay, back to how far I have come in the past year.  As I was watching the demolition derby (a contest where people smash old cars into each other until only one is left running), I couldn’t help but think about how it is a metaphor for Gastroparesis life.  We get hit from all sides.  We get smashed up.  We get written off but yet somehow we keep going.  We keep fighting back.  We keep trying to get out of the mud.  We keep trying not to get stuck.  We keep trying to start our engine.  We keep driving even with a flat tire.  We keep driving even if our wheels turn one direction.  We don’t quit!

The crowd cheers every time there is a large crash, something catches fire, or mud flies.  But the one thing I noticed is that some of the largest cheers came from when I car looked like it was down for the count would some how pull a miracle, get the engine going again, and fly across the track.  This is what happens with GP.  We look stuck, we look down for the count, but somehow we get our engine going and fly across the track.  Our true friends cheer so loud when this happens.  They have watched us stuck in the mud with our engine dying but they cross their fingers and hope we can overcome it.  When we do, they celebrate with us!!

There will always be people that cheer when we crash but we need to focus on the louder cheers that happen when we get going again.  These are our true friends and the friends that we need to make sure to thank for their support and wave to when we win the demolition derby of life!

~Millie

Never Give Up!

Posted by Mildred Jane on August 4, 2013
Posted in: Acupuncture, caffeine free, dairy free, Diet, Energy, Exercise, Gastroparesis, gluten free, half marathon, health, Inspiration, running, sugar free, supplements. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

SAMSUNG

Thankfully there has been wonderful reasons why I have gone M.I.A. the past few weeks.  I have been SUCCESSFULLY training for a half marathon that I will be completing in 2 weeks.  Whenever someone with Gastroparesis goes M.I.A. for awhile, it is always cause for concern.  Are they having a flair?  Are they okay?  Are they regressing? or…sometimes it does happen…Are they living life?!  I am extremely happy to report that the last reason is why I have been M.I.A.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have either been going to the gym or running on the trail.  Friday night, I ran 9.25 miles at my best pace ever.  I am FINALLY able to push through the barrier without being afraid of triggering a Gastroparesis flair and becoming deathly ill.  Friday nights run was one of the best experiences of my life.

Several times throughout the run, I would think back to where I was last year at this time.  Those days were filled with not being able to get out of bed, vomiting for hours at a time, frequent IVs, and wondering if I would ever be able to get my life back.  Those days were also filled with the fear of potentially needing a gastric stimulator (aka…a pacemaker for your stomach).  During my run, I would think of these things and it would drive me to keep moving forward.  It was almost as if I was running away from Gastroparesis and trying to stay out of its reach.

I am here to tell you…NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!!!  Many of the Gastroparesis groups focus on GP being “incurable”.  However, this does not mean that you can’t make changes that will help lead to better days ahead.  Yes, I still have bad days but they are becoming few and far between.  I have worked extremely hard to revolutionize my diet and have seen life changing results.

Below are some of the things that I have done and am undeniably feeling amazing:

  • Almost all chemicals have been removed and I eat all natural.  GMOs are hard to cut out completely due to the lack of labeling, but removing as much as possible has reaped huge rewards.
  • Cow’s milk has been replaced with Almond milk.
  • Coffee is gone gone gone.  Tomorrow I will be 3 months free from its addictive powers and this has been one of the best decisions of my life.  I still have a minimal amount of caffeine through tea, but my daily caffeine intake has dropped dramatically.
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup is removed completely.  This means, no more ginger ale.  I found this to be much harder to give up than coffee and the withdrawal symptoms were significantly worse, but it was worth it.
  • Refined sugar has been replaced with Honey, Pure Maple Syrup, Agave Nectar, & Stevia.  It has gotten to the point that refined sugar will give me horrible headaches.
  • Eating on a strict schedule…breakfast (w/ protein) at 6:45am, lunch at 11 am, snack (w/ protein) 2:30 pm, dinner 5:15 pm.  A snack of berries at either the morning or afternoon depending on when I become hungry.  Eating protein at specific intervals of time has really helped my energy level remain stable throughout the day.  My favorite snack is an apple with all natural almond butter.
  • Replacing sugary sports drinks with all natural ones.  Vega Sport is my brand of choice.  It has helped give me the power to make it through long runs without making me ill.
  • Water, Water, Water, and more Water.  I drink approximately 80-100 ounces per day.  This has helped me keep my system flushed.
  • Going to bed by 10 PM.  Getting the proper amount of sleep has given me better results than I would ever admit was possible.
  • Taking digestive enzymes & probiatics every day.  (Garden of Life is my brand of choice.)
  • Last, but certainly not least.  ACUPUNCTURE!!  I can’t say it enough, acupuncture changed my life.  I honestly do not believe that I would be running 9.25 miles at a great pace without having acupuncture over the past several months.  If there is one thing off this list that I would recommend above all others it would be to find yourself a good acupuncturist.

They last big piece of advice that I could give is the following:  do not try to make all of these changes at once.  It is too overwhelming mentally and too much of a shock to your system.  Pick one or two items and stick with them for a month and then add a couple of additional items the next month.  There are always steps back while you are moving forward, but do not get discouraged, do not give up hope.  It is possible to start to feel better, but it will take a lot of determination, hard work, and staying positive through the set backs.

On another note, this post is not to diminish how hard it is for those individuals with severe Gastroparesis.  However, if you do have a milder case, I honestly believe that it is possible to feel better the majority of days if you make serious changes.

~Millie

Finding that Special Someone Who Looks Past the Chronic Illness

Posted by Mildred Jane on July 10, 2013
Posted in: BrainFog, Caregiver, chores, Engaged, Friends, Gastroparesis, half marathon, health, Inspiration, Life, Wedding. Tagged: , , , , , , . 8 Comments

ring

Okay, I’ll admit that the title of this post is extremely long but it just seemed like the right thing to title it!

I have some VERY exciting non-gastroparesis news that I have to share.  I got engaged!!  WOOHOO!!  Finding that special someone and getting engaged is a special moment for anyone.  However, I would say that it is even more special for someone with a chronic illness.  When you have a chronic illness, that special someone is signing up for A LOT more than most people.  They are signing up for frequent doctors’ visits, frequent medical tests, crazy diets, taking over all of the chores because your illness flairs up.  Our significant others are AMAZING to stay with us throughout all of this.  They know what they are signing up for and rise to the occasion and say that it will be okay.

My fiance (yes, it is going to take awhile to get used to saying that, but I like it!) and I have been together for about two years.  Within the first two months of dating is when I became extremely ill.  (Actually, extremely is an understatement.)  Within these first two months, he took me for a colonoscopy.  A few months later, he took me for an endoscopy.  A month or so later he was checking in on me while I spent a half day at the hospital getting x-rayed after eating radioactive eggs.  He took me for countless IVs.  He carried me to bed.  He carried me to the bathroom.  He walked my dog.  He cleaned my apartment.  He did my dishes.  He did my “grocery shopping” which basically consisted of ginger ale.  He never mentioned how bad I smelled because I didn’t have the energy to bathe.  He calmly repeated himself while I was in brain fog and couldn’t retain any information.  He did all of this while maintaining his own residence and never once complained.

He has tried countless diet modifications in support of me.  He has cheered me on at the finish line of 5Ks and half marathons that I shouldn’t be able to run due to Gastroparesis.  He is my rock and has been calm and supportive as I have struggled with my health.  He never tells me what to do, but listens to me work through the decisions.  He encourages me to keep living life and to not give up.

I can honestly say that every day I think of how lucky I am to have him because I have no idea how I would have navigated this path without him.

Now I can celebrate that I will have my rock with me for the rest of my life.  Oh…and a rather nice rock on my finger as well!

~Millie

Heat Wave House Arrest

Posted by Mildred Jane on July 7, 2013
Posted in: heat, Inspiration, Life. Tagged: , , , , . 6 Comments

heatwave-nenc

Although I have been doing well with my Gastroparesis symptom management, there are still two things that tank me faster than anything:  traffic & heat.  The heat in particular has been driving me crazy the past few days.  I enjoy seeing the sunshine.  I enjoy being outdoors.  I enjoy playing fetch with my dog.  However, when it is upwards of 90 degrees outside I just can’t do it.  This is when I become under heat wave house arrest.

It only takes about 5-10 minutes of being out in the heat to start to feel nauseous, dizzy, light-headed, etc.  I open the door and it’s like someone hit me in the face with a heated blanket.  My body says…nope…not happening.  This leads to me being confined indoors almost all weekend.  My only saving grace is the evenings when it starts to cool off.  I do not do well with being confined indoors.  It’s as if I have reverse cabin fever from the “normal” population.  Most people get cabin fever in the winter due to the snow and not wanting to deal with it.  Not me, I get cabin fever when the hot sweltering sun has decided to come out and fry me like an ant under a magnifying glass.  I start to climb the walls.  I think about everything fun that I could be doing outside.  I think about all of the work that could be done outside.  I think about how I need to run errands and get necessary items for the week.

Running errands is next to impossible in a heat wave.  It is the double whammy of sitting in a care and being fried by the sun.  It is almost a guaranteed way to become ill and sleep for a couple of days straight.  Fortunately, I have an amazing man at home the chauffeurs me around to do my errands.  This allows me to close my eyes and nap during the driving portion of errands.  For some reason that seems to help me.

Even though it was sweltering outside yesterday, we still managed to have friends over for a bonfire in the evening.  It was nice to see all of them because we haven’t seen several of them in awhile.  Thankfully, we had put the start time of the gathering near nightfall so it cooled off pretty quickly.  It’s friends like this, that really understand the limitations of Gastroparesis and work with it, that make me realize there are plenty of people out there who have human compassion so who needs anyone else!

Now, if the sun would just stop smiling about it & it would turn to fall already!

~Millie

Moving Past The Sting

Posted by Mildred Jane on June 28, 2013
Posted in: But you don't look sick, Friends, Gastroparesis, Life. Tagged: , , , , . 15 Comments

itshurtingagain

I will warn you up front that this is not going to be one of my more lighthearted posts.  I try as best as I can to stay upbeat about Gastroparesis and all of the curveballs in life that it throws you.  However, sometimes it is hard to move past the hurt.  In fact, it is beyond hard to move past the hurt of people that stems from finding out people’s true colors.

I have been extremely fortunate to be having success with my new plan to take on Gastroparesis.  My new eating plan (gluten-free, refined sugar-free, & caffeine-free), acupuncture, supplements, etc have given me a tremendous amount of relief.  I have been able to exercise again and have also switched to a job that saves me upwards of 10 hours in my car per week in addition to being much less stressful.  (Driving & heat are the two things that can still tank me faster than anything!)  Having all of this success in kicking Gastroparesis’s butt should have me in a happy place.  For the most part it does.

However, the one piece of Gastroparesis that I am still having an extremely hard time coping with is the hurt that comes to my heart.  The hurt that comes from being stabbed in the heart (and sometimes the back) by people that you thought cared about you.  The hurt that comes from people abandoning you when you become sick.  The hurt that comes from people not understanding how sick you are because you’ve become so good at hiding it.  The hurt that comes from them bad mouthing you to other people in your friend network.  The hurt that comes from losing those additional “friends” because you don’t have the energy to fight the bad mouthing.  The hurt from realizing that apparently none of them were your friends to begin with.  This is what I am dealing with today.

Today I am dealing with staring into the face of a splintered friend network all due to someone who can’t come to grips with how sick I actually am.  All due to someone who feels the need to be the loudest voice in the room.  All due to someone who apparently never had to struggle or never gotten his/her way.  It is excruciatingly painful to know that you have lost “friends” all because someone doesn’t understand, doesn’t take the time to understand, and feels the need to tell people how “selfish” you are.

I didn’t realize that grasping at straws to survive, try to have some semblance of normalcy, and to try to be able to hold down a job to keep insurance to pay your medical bills was being selfish.  If someone had cancer, do you think that they would be cut some slack?  Not so for those of us with Gastroparesis.  No slack is cut for us because people don’t understand what we go through.  They can’t fathom a life without the ability to eat so they like to pretend that it doesn’t exist.  They like to pretend that you can continue on with the same plans in life.  They like to act as though everything must not be that bad because “you don’t look sick”.

It still stings and baffles my mind at how hurtful some people can be.  You wouldn’t treat someone with cancer like this.  You wouldn’t treat someone waiting for a transplant like this.  You wouldn’t treat an amputee like this.  Just because we “don’t look sick” doesn’t mean that we aren’t sick.  In fact, I had no idea how sick I really was for almost 2 years until just recently.  I’m staring to come out of the Gastroparesis pit and am absolutely baffled by how I still functioned.  Looking back, I should have done a spell in the hospital but was able to keep going and keep trying to hold everything together.  Mainly due to this being what all GPers have a tendency to do.  We fight to live, so excuse us if we don’t have time to fight with you over things that have now become petty to us.

Fighting for the ability to eat makes fighting over anything else trivial, so excuse us while we don’t waste the precious bit of energy that we have fighting with you.  If that means losing you, then you were never a friend to begin with!  Just stop acting like you have been so horribly wronged.  Once you have lived a week dealing with this horrific condition, then you have earned the right to judge and bad mouth!

~Millie

Needless to say, I have a looooong way to go in working through letting go of this issue with several people.

Do What Is Right For You!

Posted by Mildred Jane on June 19, 2013
Posted in: blogging, Gastroparesis, health, Inspiration, Life. Tagged: , , , , . 3 Comments

walk_shoes

One thing that Gastroparesis has taught me is to do what is right for me.  Not to worry about what anyone thinks, not to worry about what anyone is going to whisper, not worry about what someone else would do in my situation, to only worry about what is right for me.  Some people might view this as selfishness, but I think that it is having the confidence to stand up and say “This is the right thing for me.”

The fact of the matter is that no one knows what I have been through.  Only a small few have seen me laying in a Gastroparesis fog vomiting for days.  No one knows what drama and stress does to the body of someone with Gastroparesis (or anyone for that matter).  No one knows what it feels like to take an extreme detour in the plans for your life.  No one knows what it feels like to not be able to eat solid food for almost a year.  No one knows how much you have to spend on supplements and imported medicine.  No one knows so how can they possibly attempt to judge you or tell you what decisions you should make.

The sad fact of the matter is that people will judge your decisions and talk about what they would do or not do.  However, I challenge all of them to walk 1 month in my shoes from when I was sick and then tell me their opinion.  I’m fairly confident that most of them wouldn’t make it 1 month and absolutely wouldn’t make it 2 years.

This is why I say that making the right decision for you is not selfish but a display of confidence.  It is confidence in who you are, where you have come from, and where you are headed.  It is confidence to know your limits/boundaries and to stay within them.  It is confidence to hold your head up high and educate others on the storm you’ve just come out of.  It is confidence to do what is right for your so that you can remain healthy and live as normal of a life as you can.

I still have to be extremely cautious of what I eat, but I rejoice every day that it is solid food.  I’m so fortunate that I am now having solid food because so many others with Gastroparesis are not to that point.

I’m excited to have resigned from my current position and am starting a new one on Monday.  I am hopeful that it will help me continue on the path of healing and keeping my shoes out of the mud pit!

~Millie

Do What You Can

Posted by Mildred Jane on June 12, 2013
Posted in: Gastroparesis, hygeine, Inspiration, Life. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

do-what-y-u-can

One of my favorite quotes is by Teddy Roosevelt, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”  The statement is applicable to so many different areas of life, whether you are living with a chronic illness or not.  I think it is a great statement to keep in mind as you battle Gastroparesis.

Gastroparesis causes so many things to be out of our control, so we need to learn to focus on the pieces that we can control.  We need to focus on doing what we can, with what we have, where we are.  Where we are is coping with Gastroparesis and all that comes with it.  What we have is hopefully support of at least a few close friends and family.  If they aren’t on board with supporting you then it isn’t worth the stress of trying to get them on board.  As a friend once said to me “if they don’t have you on your bad days, they shouldn’t get you on the good days.”  (Oddly, the friend that said this disappeared on my bad days so now I am practicing her advice and not having her on my good days.)

Now, we get to the interesting piece “Do what you can”.  We know we have Gastroparesis, we know we have some options available to us, so now we need to do what we can.  We can try to change our diets, we can try new treatment plans, we can try acupuncture, we can try yoga, we can try to disengage from drama which causes us stress.  We can try to keep living our lives.  We can try to take our future in our hands instead of leaving in the hands of Gastroparesis.

The fact of the matter is that there is a lot of alternatives for those of us with Gastroparesis to try.  No two of us are alike, no two treatment plans are alike…we are like snowflakes.  However, this shouldn’t be an excuse to give up on life.  Yes, sometimes you have to let yourself have a bad day.  However, it is much more satisfying to become ill from trying to continue to live your life than giving up.

So I challenge everyone to “do what you can, with what you have, where you are”!  This could be as simple as accomplishing washing a dish which on some days is no small task!

You can do it!

~Millie

Feeling Alive Again!

Posted by Mildred Jane on May 29, 2013
Posted in: Acupuncture, bloating, BrainFog, caffeine free, Diet, Energy, Exercise, Gastroparesis, gluten free, health, Inspiration, Life, running, Spinning. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

alive

Sorry to everyone for not writing in awhile.  However, it is for happy reasons!  I have been feeling AMAZING and have been going to the gym every day of the week.  Words cannot adequately express what it feels like to be able to exercise again.  I have been doing a combination of weight lifting, spin class, aqua aerobics, YOGA, pilates, walking, and running.  YOGA is in all capitals because I believe that it is a huge key to an exercise plan (whether you have Gastroparesis or not).  Yoga helps you focus on your body and become in tune to how it is feeling.  It helps you know when you need to back off and when you can add on.  It also is extremely relaxing which helps make anyone feel better. 

I attribute that being able to accomplish so many trips to the gym (12 workouts in 7 days to be exact) to completely rehauling my diet.  Oddly, my marathon viewing of the latest season of the Biggest Loser helped me realize that I could do it.  If everyone on that show can do it, then so can I!  Yes, this is an odd place for someone with Gastroparesis to find inspiration but we have to take it where we can get it!

I am now officially gluten-free, refined sugar free, caffeine free, chemical free, and red meat free.  At the advice of my acupuncturist, I am also sticking with warm foods.  I am now happy to report that I feel the most alive that I have felt in years.  My bloating is extremely diminished.  My cramps are gone, the reflux is gone (I do still take Prilosec & Zantac), my head isn’t foggy, and I feel like I can conquer the world. 

Cleaning out all of these chemicals is not only good for GPers but for anyone.  The body was not meant to absorb such chemicals and does not need them to survive.  Your body craves natural foods and my suspicion is that for GPers lean protein is the way to go. 

Going through all of the withdrawal was not fun and I am still fighting cravings, but based on how I feel I am not even tempted to go back to my prior eating habits.  I am so thankfully that I am finding something that is sticking and it is based on the following:  Acupuncture, digestive enzymes, domperidone, probiatics, yoga, and all natural food. 

Remember, that these things take time so you may not see results right away.  However, once you get to the other side it is amazing how much greener the grass is.  I am happy to leave that old wilted GP flair up field behind me and am running as fast as I can away from it!

I must also admit that I am happy that all of those “friends” that left during the past couple of horrible years are no longer around to enjoy my good days with me!

I hope to post some recipes this weekend & will be posting our June Adventurer of the Month next week!  Stay tuned for exciting days ahead!  🙂

~Millie

 

As with all of my posts, please do not substitute my advice for that of a trained medical professional.  Please also discuss any drastic exercise or diet changes with a trained medical professional.

 

Clean Out the Chemicals From Your Diet

Posted by Mildred Jane on May 22, 2013
Posted in: caffeine free, Diet, Gastroparesis, gluten free, health, Inspiration, Life, sugar free. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

photo

What do you think of when you look at the photo above?  People in hazmat suits?  Nuclear power stations?  Mushroom clouds?  Running for your life?  Chernobal? 

I bet what your not thinking about is:  food!  Although, I would argue that you should.  The amount of chemicals that are taking over our food supply is alarming and I truly believe that it is at the heart of my Gastroparesis.  Do some research on GMOs and you will see what I am talking about?  If an inseticide is designed to explode a bug’s stomach upon ingestion, then what is going to do to my stomach?  Stay far far far away from GMOs & any genetically modified food.  If it’s not found in nature then your body isn’t meant to have it!

Hopefully you have heard the statement:  If you look at the ingredient list & you can’t buy them all in the store, do NOT buy the product?  After all, your body doesn’t need all the preservatives that are laced throughout our food supply today.  Our ancestors did not have all of the digestive issues that plague us today and it is no wonder when you look at the evolution of food over the past 50 years. 

Since April, I have been drastically changing my diet.  I have eliminitated all chemicals from my diet, eliminated gluten (this could have various results for GPers), limited caffeine to less then 60 mg per day (eventually it will all be gone), and eliminated refined sugar.  I must say that I am feeling AMAZING!  I attribute it to the old addage:  garbage in = garbage out.  If you are putting all of this garbage into your body then you are not setting yourself up for success.  You are only continuing to damage what is already hurting.  This is why I am on a 100% organic, chemical free diet.  I am sick and tired of being sick and tired which means that I will try anything to feel better.

This is my challenge to anyone with Gastroparesis…CLEAN OUT THE CHEMICALS!!  Slowly start eliminating chemicals from your diet and see if you start to feel better.  You have to give it time because your body needs time to process the chemicals out of your body.  However, I am telling you that if you stick with it, you will start to feel much better.  You can’t cheat, you have to be strict but it is your life and you are worth it!  What do we as GPers really have to lose?  We are in survival mood just trying to get by so it is time that we buckle down and quit ingesting chemicals.  And for goodness sakes, STOP EATING FAST FOOD!  It is not even food and is not going to do anything to help your situation!  I know that this is tough love, but someone has to say it.  Someone has to say, put the ice cream down!  Put the hamburger down!  Put the coffee down!  What do you have to lose?

Please let me know if you decide to try this & I will be more than happy to provide you support along the way.  I would also like to feature others who are trying this and the success that they are having!

~Millie