Today Show Highlights Gastroparesis
On Sept 2nd, 2010 the Today show ran a segment on Gentrie McKall Hansen, a girl, who recently was diagnosed with Gastroparesis & underwent surgery for an Enterra neuro-stimulator implant. I am glad Gastroparesis is getting some national attention. Her story highlights major issues with our medical system here in the United States. So many things are written off as being “in your head” or mental problems. We’re starting to have a problem with “fast food” doctors, who do not truly care about or listen to their patients or possibly are under immense pressure to push patients in & out the door. I think another story that highlights this is Michael Douglas’ recent diagnosis of stage 4 throat cancer, even though he had been trying to find the reason for his sore throat and ear ache for months, no one caught his cancer early until now. It makes me angry, isn’t the United States supposedly the best healthcare system in the world?
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References:
Gentrie’s Hunger Game
Gentrie McKall Hansen’s facebook
G-PACT
Gastroparesis & Dysmotilities Association
Living With Gastroparesis
Salmonella Egg Recall Sickens Over A Thousand People
Well the giant egg recall is big news right now as it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and unfortunately more and more people are getting ill from it. The day before this recall was issued I had made some french toast which used quite a bit of eggs in it. Luckily the carton of eggs I had in the fridge were not part of the recall since I got them about two weeks before the recall happened(I don’t use a lot of eggs). Needless to say, I will not be making french toast for awhile.
One thing I am wondering is why so many people are getting sick. Salmonella is a bacteria that does die when heated to 165F or above. I have a feeling that many people who are getting sick are possibly mishandling the eggs or not cooking their eggs thoroughly. There are also possibilities of accidental gross contamination say within a grocery bag or in the fridge. I always keep my eggs separate from all my other groceries in the bag and in the fridge. I just don’t have much luck what with developing IBS from swimming in a river and later feeling nauseated with diarrhea that night, then later in life getting a three month bout of Gastroparesis from a norrovirus or food poisoning. So I take food handling very seriously.
It seems like ever summer we have a big name food recall related to salmonella. Last year it was peanuts, the year before it was tomatoes(which is a recurring theme), now it’s eggs. Eggs are actually less shocking as salmonella has always been a risk with eggs. Things like peanuts or tomatoes are scary as you don’t assume those would be a risk and in many cases they’re eaten raw. Even on a local level we’re seeing salmonella recalls. Umpqua dairy had to recall milk, cream, half-n-half & even orange juice because the processing plant was contaminated with salmonella and many people have become ill.
It makes you wonder about where our food is coming from and the people or businesses that produce it. Because our food system is becoming more consolidated all the time, a small outbreak can quickly spread across the nation & while it would seem this consolidation would make it easier to track down where the outbreak started from, that’s rarely the case. For example the tomato recall last year, took a long time to track down and in the end some were even doubting if it was the tomatoes and not a batch of bad jalapeno peppers that were actually causing the illnesses.
Inspections of our food supply & enforcement should be a top priority, but time and time again businesses fly under the radar until people start getting sick or even dying. For example the company Cadbury Chocolates in 2006 was finally fined almost $2 million US dollars because it knowingly put tainted candy bars on store shelves in the UK and lowered it’s hygiene standards to save money. The Peanut Corporation of America had a sloppy history of health violations and when it finally caught up with them causing a major salmonella outbreak, sickening many people, they just closed up shop and filed bankruptcy.
Ultimately I think the public & the government should take a firmer stance to ensure the purity of our food. The FDA may need to be expanded and we also need to “beef-up” the USDA inspection power as well. There are also powerful food industry lobbyists corrupting Washington, would be nice to kick them out too.
Categories: News
Tags: fda, food born illness, Gastroparesis Links, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, salmonella
Digestive Charities You Can Donate To.
Digestive Charities You Can Donate To.
Perhaps you’re in the mood to give to a good cause, why not donate to an organization that aids in the advancement of treatments for digestive disorders. I’ve compiled a couple different organizations that could use your support. If you are aware of other organizations I should have listed here, please drop me an e-mail or leave a comment and I’ll add it.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome:
- IAmIBS.com (USA/Intl.)
- The Gut Trust (Canada)
Chron’s Disease:
- Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (USA) or donate $5 by texting CCFA to 90999 via phone.
- National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (UK)
- Chron’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada (Canada)
Gastroparesis:
GERD:
If you have something to spare, please think strongly about giving to one of these organizations. Thanks.
What is the best probiotic supplement for Gastroparesis?
The Living With Gastroparesis blog just posted some interesting survey data about Gastroparesis which does include information about probiotic usage w/ Gastroparesis. Of 46 people who responded as taking probiotics, 25 reported mild to significant improvements of their Gastroparesis symptoms, which is actually impressive as I was not thinking they would have that large of an effect. It is important to note that the majority of positives results, were on the mild side, but some people did respond well to probiotics.
If you’re not aware, Gastroparesis is paralysis of the stomach. Basically the stomach no longer churns properly or doesn’t do it as often as it should. There can be variations on why this is, such as nerve damage, muscle damage or the pyloric sphincter does not relax. Basically, food does not empty from the stomach like it should. The symptoms essentially are like having a stomach flu 24/7. It is very difficult to eat food like a normal person and it can be very debilitating. The causes range from viral infection to diabetes to gastric surgeries.
Probiotics are healthy bacteria that live in the lower gut. These bacteria help digest food & aid in preventing infection. They do not usually have a direct impact on the stomach, but keeping your lower gut healthy, may prove beneficial. This would be especially true if you’re dealing with a wonky upper digestive tract.
Here are a few things I’d suggest trying, possibly before trying probiotics. But there is nothing saying that you can’t try probiotics at the same time.
1. Iberogast
2. B12 Vitamins – There is a theory that gastroparesis could be caused by damage to the vagus nerve. B12 is VERY important in the recovery of damage to nerves. Given that someone dealing with gastroparesis might not have very good absorption, talk to your doctor and get a B12 deficiency test or ask to get B12 injections. Not only could this be helpful for nerve health, but could also improve your energy levels as well.
If you want to try oral supplementation, you could try Nature’s Bounty B Complex 
3. Digestive Enzymes – Enzymes breakdown your food, I’ve read some reports that they are not effective with gastroparesis, but I would not write them off. Anything you can do to help breakdown your food before your stomach tries to go to work on it can help! You could try Enzymatic’s CompleteGest
4. Probiotics - While they don’t directly affect the stomach, having a healthy lower digestive tract could help keep things in sync and hopefully reduce symptoms. I’d suggest Align Digestive Care
Don’t give up hope. Many people have recovered from Gastroparesis. I myself dealt with some very tough symptoms for 3 months during the summer of 2006. I know for some they have dealt with it much longer than I ever did. As far as I know my cure was a steady diet of Rice Krispie Treats & Nature’s Bounty B Complex
Even for those who are not helped by these suggestions, there are still options like the Enterra Pacemaker or hopefully Tranzyme will see the light of day. Don’t give up hope!
If you’ve used a probiotic and have or have not found success, please post the brand/type you use.
-Best Wishes
Metozolv, Same Drug Different Branding
I received an e-mail today regarding a “new” prokinetic gastroparesis drug called “Metozolv”. I was thinking of even writing to the company behind it(Salix) to thank them for researching new drugs to treat gastroparesis. However, my jubilation was cut short upon further research I find that this is merely a new brand name for the same drug that is on the market now, called “metoclopramide HCI“. I know metoclopramide by the name of Reglan during my battle with gastroparesis. Reglan carries a “black box” warning from the FDA, which is the strongest warning a drug can carry. This is in relation dangerous side effects known as Tardive Dyskinesia. Reglan has been subject to a lawsuit due to these side effects.
What really angers me is the drug domperidone(also known as Motilium) has been proven to be much safer, but has failed to be marketed or approved for distribution in the United States. You can get it from a compounding pharmacy only if your doctor is willing to write the proper prescription. Most doctors aren’t willing to write a specific prescription for this task as it’s too much hassle and they like to live inside their safe bubble, even if their safe bubble means giving patients unsafe drugs. I tried with my doctor and he was much more willing to prescribe me Zelnorm as an alternative to Reglan. Zelnorm has actually been recalled due to adverse side effects! It’s main purpose was for IBS-C(constipation) where the patient is female. Firstly I am a male. Secondly the drug had problems where it apparently would cut off circulation to the intestines for some people.
Hopefully there will be further research done to improve treatments for gastroparesis sufferers. It would be nice if there really was a company out there blazing a new trail rather than trying to make money off of a dangerous drug.