[I am NOT an expert nor a doctor, so please consult with a professional in regards to your nutritional intake. This is merely my personal experience]
Don't let the title fool
you, one of the most important and first steps of combating the
symptoms of Gastroparesis is changing your diet. You're often guided
toward the Gastroparesis Diet and encouraged to limit your intake of
fatty and fibrous foods because a gastric system with motility issues
cannot process these types of foods any longer. Bye bye fruits and
veggies (for the most part) unless they have met the spinning fate of
a blender. Goodbye creamy, cold goodness that is ice cream. Goodbye
cookies...Wait, what?! Yes, no more milk and cookies. It's a very sad
day! But here's the thing, with Gastroparesis, you kind of learn
along the way, that things like fruits and vegetables, are really big
no-nos. You find out along the way what is “safe” and what is
“unsafe” and what is “safe” one day can become “unsafe”
REALLY quick.
When I was handed the
Gastroparesis Diet, I laughed in the doctor's face. Like, outright
LAUGHED. The shear amount of food recommended that I eat
at each meal was laughable to me and some of the items too! I told
him that I wouldn't be able to do it, but that I would try, and I
did, but it was a complete failure for me.
Here is an example of a
Gastroparesis Diet Menu you may receive:
SampleMeal Plan for 6 Small Meals
Breakfast
1 cup cream of wheat cereal
½ cup skim milk
½ cup grape juice
1 scrambled egg
Snack
10 ounces of instant breakfast with skim milk
Lunch
½ cup vegetable soup
½ turkey sandwich
½ cup applesauce
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Snack
10 ounces banana shake made with l plain or vanilla yogurt, milk and sugar
Dinner
2-3 ounces baked chicken or fish
½ cup mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon margarine
½ cup spinach
½ cup milk
½ cup fruit cocktail
Snack
½ cup pudding, custard or gelatin
Everyone is different,
however, so please do try this and see what works for you.
Personally, I just began systematically eliminating things from my
diet, starting with the things suggested in the Gastroparesis Diet
plan, like vegetables and fruits (BIG bummer for me).
However, eating the amount of food in the above meal plan was
absolutely out of the question for me. Drinking an Ensure or a Boost
to the bottom of the can was a feat, so eating all of that food up
there was preposterous to me and STILL is to this day! Even
while I was in the hospital recovering from getting Alfred (my
Gastric Neurostimulator) implanted, they were trying to feed me
heaping piles of pasta and broccoli and a cup of fresh fruit—somebody
was really on the ball that day! And then I was, once again, given
the Gastroparesis Diet Menu (just in case I wasn't aware of it).
I eventually settled
myself (the best I could, anyway) on a protein and supplemental plan
called JuicePlus earlier this year. It helped my hair get healthier,
which I'm really happy about, and my nails to grow a little stronger.
Some people swear by Boost or Ensure or Atkins protein shakes to help
fill in where they're lacking in actual food intake. My suggestion
is, find one that you like the taste of, that has proper nutrients
and that you can afford. I get the chocolate JuicePlus powder and
was, originally, mixing it with chocolate almond milk. But, remember
how I said a “safe” food can suddenly become “unsafe”? Well,
I wouldn't say that my shake is “unsafe”, but my stomach has
decided that having it be all milk was just too much, so now I do 50%
water and 50% milk. Seems to be working alright, so far. If you're
interested in learning more about JuicePlus or want to get hooked up
with a representative, I can give you my lady's name. She's a doll!
My parting advice would
be: Find out works for you. Gastroparesis Diet, FODMAP, JuicePlus,
Boost, Ensure, Atkins, mish-mosh of everything...whatever. The
important thing is to stay nourished and hydrated—the best us GPers
can!
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