The Domperidone Journey

The journey to even be ACCEPTED to take Domperidone is a daunting one. You must first consult with a GI that can prescribe it, then have a Gastric Emptying Test, an upper GI, blood work, and an EKG. If everything checks out, THEN you can start Domperidone.

For my particular health care facility, you can only get it at ONE pharmacy and they're open at very specific hours, so it made getting it really hard. But, on the positive, at least I don't have to go to an outside pharmacy! (Yay!)

I started taking Domperidone a week ago,  four doses a day (one tablet 30 minutes before each meal and one at bedtime) and within a day or so I was getting pretty bad headaches by the second dose of the day. By the third day, I noticed I was feeling even LESS hungry than I already feel normally and, to make matters worse, I was starting to feel constipated despite taking Linzess daily. 

Often times I think people expect miracles from medication in a short period of time, so I pushed on feeling the way I did. Over the weekend, however, I was like a zombie and that was it for me. I emailed my doctor about how I was feeling and he suggested discontinuing Domperidone to see if there is any change in symptoms. If so, then I cannot continue with that treatment [insert sad face]. 

Gastroparesis is an ugly, confusing, difficult disease that nobody knows much about. I keep my head up and keep marching on and doing my best because I have to. I encourage everyone out there with it to do the same. Just because my Domperidone journey seems to be a rocky one doesn't mean that yours will be too, try it if you qualify. It never hurts. 

Domperidone...Again

Yesterday I trooped back in to see my surgeon, Dr. Marrujo, to be checked up on as far as my health goes. Since having Alfred--my pacemaker--turned off in February, I've slowly gone down hill, though it's really just been in the last six weeks that it's been really noticeable. We discussed the fact that my bloodwork came back normal--no real shocker there--and what the next step should be. 

Domperidone. 

I've taken this medication before, albeit, about five years ago, and it didn't do anything for me except make me feel weird. Since, five years ago, I had to get it from Canada and it wasn't necessarily regulated properly, I'm going to be seeing a Dr. Lim who is running a trial here at Kaiser to see if, with the proper dosage, it does what it's supposed to do. 

Like most any other person with a Chronic Illness I'm like "great ANOTHER medication". You really just want to be done with everything, if I'm totally and completely honest with you. You get incredibly tired of having medications upon medications in your nightstand and being in different trials and it getting you nowhere. 

I. Am. Just. Tired. I'm not giving up! I'm just tired. I'm sick of losing weight and gaining weight and losing it again. I'm sick of my hair dying. I'm sick of the dry skin. The insomnia. The body pain. It's just a lot to handle when all I want to do is help other people. That's what I LOVE to do. I want to help others, not be helped and it sucks. 

Pity party over. 

So now I wait for Dr. Lim's office to call me so that I can meet with him to make sure that I qualify. Then, I guess, I will start Domperidone...again.