|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
I'm one of the lucky ones, as far as victims of this insidious monster called gastroparesis go. And I'm going to tell you my story about my battle with the monster, but we need to come to an understanding first. My story is not about me, it's about hope. For someone else who suffers from GP. Because if it can happen to me, it can happen to them. I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm 45, live in Wyoming, a divorced non-custodial parent of two wonderful kids, my daughter Sara (age 12), and my son Steven (age 11). They live in Idaho with their mom but spend their school breaks and vacation with me. I'm originally from Detroit, but left when I joined the Navy and never went back as I discovered the Rocky Mountains. I love it out here. In October 2001, I started getting sick. At first I thought it was the flu. My symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea that would go away in a day, and the frequency of it happening about once every two weeks didn't cause me to think about it in any other way but as a case of the flu. Then after 6 weeks or so the frequency started increasing. By early December I was sick every 2-3 days for 24 -36 hours at a time with very violent episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. But being a man, I put off going to the doctor. Not a good decision. I started dropping weight fast when the attacks increased. I'll cut to the chase, I lost 54 pounds in two months. I started to develop a fear of food as I was finally able to associate my illness with food. In no time I was living on just chicken noodle soup, saltines, and apple juice. But being a man, I still put off going to the doctor until a wonderful lady friend told me my being sick was interfering with my life. For some reason that rang a bell in me and I made the appointment and a variety of tests were scheduled for the third week of January. My delaying calling the doctor cost me dearly. 5 days before my first test, I was extremely ill at work and went home for lunch. I was so ill I didn't return to my job as an X-Ray systems maintenance technician at the local hospital for 4 hours and was fired after 13+ years of service. I'm still unemployed today. The initial tests didn't show anything. It took a total of an upper GI, barium enema, endoscopy, colonoscopy, and a Gastric Emptying Scan, over a month's time, to reveal my stomach took 4 times longer to empty it's contents than normal, a condition called Gastroparesis. It literally means stomach paralysis. I had never heard of it before, and I had worked in health care all my adult life. With that diagnosis my GI doctor prescribed Reglan for me. I showed some improvement after that. The drug helped with the motility of my stomach, and the time between my attacks stretched out to about once every two weeks. But they were still very violent episodes of vomiting and diarrhea lasting about 36 hours. Within a week of being diagnosed with GP, I found the Gastroparesis Support Group on Yahoo. I felt I was alone with the disease, and now I found out I wasn't. That was so important to me. I'll come back to the GP Group later. But my life changed when I found the GP Group. After 3 months of taking Reglan, I began to notice the side effects from it. Tremor, anxiety, depression, constipation, and urinary hesitation. I made a decision to get off it and on my own obtained a drug called Domperidone from New Zealand as it is not available in the U.S. I took that for a couple of months with the same success as the Reglan but with no side effects. Then I told my GI doc I had been taking the Domperidone for a couple months and he spazzed on me, telling me it wasn't safe because it wasn't FDA approved. I told him he was nuts, it had been on the market in Europe and Asia for 40 years. We compromised on another drug used to stimulate gastric activity, Erythromycin. And my life changed again. I began taking Erythromycin June 20, 2002. Since then I have only been ill 4 times. And I can eat a lot of things now that I couldn't eat before, and have regained all but 10 pounds. I'm back doing just about all the things I did before I got sick , with the exception I'm on a low-fiber diet. I don't eat now just before laying down. I'm still a dad to my kids, I ride my Harley too fast when I can get away with it, I hunt, fish, throw darts, you name it. Just a little modification with my diet and daily Erythromycin. And a wonderful place I found I belong, the GP Support Group on Yahoo. My support group is a vital, integral part of my life. At one time I was very scared and very lonely. And I found a home, a family, with the members, and an understanding I wasn't alone in the struggle with GP. Hey Groupies, I can't thank you enough for having me and helping me. God Bless you all. I believe finding the drug that works for me, and the wonderful members of Gastroparesis Support on Yahoo are the reasons for my improvement. And if it can happen to me, it can happen for someone else. I know my story will give someone, somewhere, some hope they will win the battle with GP. Hope. That's what my story is about. It's not about me. I'm one of the lucky ones. |
|
|
