Jenn Wright

-Bachelors degrees in English Literature, Bible, and Christian Ministry.  [Sidenote: Current employment has (predictably) nothing to do with any of these degrees.]

-Self-gratifying activities include community theater (when I’m healthy), baking (oh, the irony of it all!), writing (movie reviews, monthly culture columns, etc.), technology, music, and professional organizing.

-My husband and I recently published our second book – a compilation of movie reviews from 2003-2004.

GP Story: I began having GP symptoms in May of 2003, following a long day of labor-intensive work in the sun – I got full after a few bites of dinner, and over the next few weeks could tolerate less and less food without extreme discomfort and nausea.  I lost weight rapidly – my steady-as-the-seasons 125 lbs. dropped below 100 in just two months before a doctor ordered a gastric emptying study, which came back mildly abnormal.  A subsequent EGD showed a giant duodenal ulcer and h. pylori infection, which we then thought were the cause of the abnormal emptying study.  However, after treating the ulcer and infection, I only gained back 15 of the 32 (total) pounds I’d lost – just never had much of an appetite.

In July of 2004, the early satiety and postprandial nausea returned with a vengeance, this time more severe and with vomiting to boot.  Three GI docs and a loss of 15 pounds later, I had another EGD, which was normal.  However, in September my doctor ordered another gastric emptying study “just to see” – and I finally had a diagnosis:  severe idiopathic gastroparesis, questionably a consequence of an eating disorder a decade ago.

I was referred to a local GI motility specialist (I live in Seattle, where specialists abound!), who had me try all the prokinetics – all of which caused significant side effects (severe abdominal pain, tachycardia, etc.) and no noticeable improvement in gastric motility.  In October I was admitted to the hospital to start TPN, as my weight had fallen to 89 lbs (I’m 5’5”) and I was constantly dehydrated.

After my insurance company got the first TPN bill, they approved me for the gastric neurostimulator, which I had placed on November 4^th.  While I have not seen any improvement yet (week 8, and counting), I’m still hopeful that at some point I will be off TPN and eating at least some semi-solid foods by my birthday (I’ll be 33 come May).

If you would like to contact Jenn, please e-mail Jenn@dramatic-insights.org.  You may also make a donation to G-PACT in honor of Jenn by clicking here.  

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