Hi Daisy Mae,
Just checking on you to see how things are going…let me know if you need any help…
thank you so much !!! things have been difficult. everyone has been suggesting that i eat 6 small meals a day. i can barely eat 2 w/out feeling sick. despite taking the Domperidone, i started getting the nausea again, so my GI put me back on the Xifaxan antibiotic. it works well for the nausea, but thats about it. i feel full and bloated all the time. my psychiatrist increased my dosage of antidepressant, which has been helping my overall mood (thank god). but i am still struggling quite a bit. i am scheduled for the gastric emptying test and an abdominal sonogram at the end of the month (this was the earliest appt i could get). i am not looking fwd to either of them, and i am not certain what exactly they will help with. my BGs have continued to be excellent. no real suprizes. the one thing that bothers me is that the BOOST high calorie shakes spike my BGs pretty high. i love the extra calories and i love the taste of the shakes, but i panic when my BGs get high and then i have to struggle to bring them back into range (it can become an all-day affair). i wonder if i should just give myself extra bolus insulin for the shakes; would my BGs crash after 2 1/2 hours post; should i try this out at home where it would be safe if i did crash? any opinions???
all suggestions welcome. Daisy Mae
@Daisy_Mae, increase what you bolus for those shakes incrementally. Clearly your not taking enough insulin in the initial bolus to fully cover it. GP, of course, complicates the whole thing, so you might be looking at a split-bolus routine for those shakes.
However, you can figure out the new pattern with GP in the mix. If I understand GP issues (which I don’t, but I’m gonna pretend 
), carbs are more consistent in digestive behavior – especially simple carbs – than protein and fat. So, getting your insulin administration down for the BOOST shakes may be more manageable than other foods.
Dave, heres part of my problem,and this has always been the case for me even before the GP: simple carbs seem to spike me no matter what. i pre-bolus, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes…nothing changes. it seems that if a simple carb contains 10 grams, i need to cover for about 18 - 20 grams. i dont know why. also, for solid proteins, i need to cover for 10 grams per serving. has never made sense to me, but it just has always been that way. (which i discovered when i went on the CGM…which, btw, i am no longer using) and what bothers me about the problem with the BOOST is that it is the most comfortable “food” that i can ingest. no tummy upset at all. wish everything could be that easy.
Sorry to hear of your trials with GP. I recently saw a gastroenterologist because I was feeling bloated constantly. He wanted to do a GES to try to determine whether it was indeed, GP that I was suffering from. Like many here, my blood sugars were plummeting immediately after meals and then rising high several hours after, indicating that my digestion was slowed. I have been lucky enough to maintain normal A1Cs throughout most of my 35 years with T1D, and have avoided retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy, so I was bummed to hear that I might be getting GP. However, I also have a long history of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and some of the medicine that I’ve used to manage that can contribute to the development of bezoars: accumulations of fiber in the the gut that can cause blockages and slowing of food transit. My wife suggested that I first try using diet coke and cellulase in case I might have one or more of these bezoars in my stomach or small intestine. I decided to follow her suggestion, taking one cellulase capsule with a diet coke at breakfast and dinner (twice daily) and within less than 2 weeks the GP symptoms have resolved. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this fix for me is “permanent”. I don’t want to give you unwarranted hope, but especially for persons who take a lot of fiber in their diets (vegetables), they may be at risk of developing bezoars which produce symptoms identical to GP. Here’s a link to 3 case studies of this form of treatment of bezoars: Gastric Phytobezoar Dissolution with Ingestion of Diet Coke and Cellulase - PMC Just one more possibility.
thanks for your input. i also have IBS and i take Dicyclomine for it. i have been on it for years; i recently looked this med up on the internet and did notice that it does exactly what could be contraindicated for GP. i think i will call my GI tomorrow morning and bring this issue up.
Hi Daisy mae. Sorry to hear about your troubles with GP.
I have much of the same problems as you in regard to the GP. I had abdo surgery when i was 4yrs old and later developed type 1 and GP. My gastroenterologist thinks it was from the sx as I would always feel sick and randomly vomit as a young child. I have had GP for maybe 15years. Only diagnosed 8 years ago. I take the max amount of domperidone that is safe for me to take and at least 1-2 anti-ametics a day. I also have botox to my stomach sphincter every 6 months to make it easier for the food to leak out. I am not sure what they do where you are - i have heard of stomach pacemakers which are helpful for some.
As to eating small meals, i typically eat yoghurt sometimes for breakfast and lunch. If i have a smoothie, I make it myself and add half water half milk to lessen the spike of my BSL. You can add protien or sustagen if you need to increase calories. I don’t eat anything starchy (bread, potato) as it will sit in my stomach for days and make me feel even worse.
I also split bolus at times and always inject 10-20mins after eating.
Sorry for the long post but I hope this helps and I hope you get some answers from the tests you are having.
Take care
Dell.
Dell, thank you for all your info and suggestions. its funny, b/c i thought that starches would be the easiest on my tummy. i never was much of a starch eater (just too many carbs per day) but i found that the only thing that appealed to me were foods like oatmeal and cream of wheat cereals. they just felt so soothing going down. sometimes i would eat them for breakfast, and the rest of the day i would be sick as a dog; it NEVER dawned on me that it had anything to do with the starches.
my biggest food problem is lunch. after b/fast, i feel rather decent…in the scheme of things, but if i eat lunch i am sick throughout the rest of the entire day. bloating, abdominal pain, no appetite, etc. sometimes i am able to tolerate dinner, but not always. b/fast is either scrambled eggs (my GI suggested it) or half an avocado with 1/2 C of skim milk; this COMPLETELY fills me up!!!
i am taking 5 domperidone/day; 1 before b/fast, 2 before lunch, 1 before dinner, and 1 at bedtime. (all 10mgs) currently, i am taking my second round of Xifaxan antibiotic. (which seems to get rid of the nausea) i have tried 0% fat free greek yogurt, but it makes me feel sick right away and my BGs dont react well to it (they go high in spite of the extra insulin bolus). unsweetened applesauce seems to go down and stay down ok, but it has relatively no nutritional value. of course, at this point i will eat anything that sits well in the tummy and satisfies my hunger w/out the uncomfortable consequences.
sorry for my very long post. but i wanted to touch on the issues that you raised. very appreciative,
Daisy Mae
dear bob, i just left word w/ my GI about the Dicyclomine, asking if i should continue with it. he was not in his office yet, but i am hoping to talk wi/ him later today. perhaps that is the only problem??? wouldnt that be wonderful 
Your gastroenterologist would b the best person to talk to about what is good for you to eat. I am lucky that my dietician researched my condition so that she could better help me. I sometimes have eggs for breakfast as they dont spike my levels as much as the yoghurt. I mainly eat that with musli to get some of the fibre. I only take the domperidone when i eat but i am on 8 per day. 3 morning 1 or 2 with lunch depending what i eat and 3 with dinner. I take these 10 mins before eating. You can take them up to 30mins before i think.
As to the starchy foods, apparently they sit in the stomach and ferment making you bloated and then nauseous. Thin cut bread toasted is better for you if you really want to eat it. I had my first sandwich in 2 years after a walk along the beach with my husband and as sad as this sounds, it was worth all the pain and sick feeling i had all the next day!
Hang in there,
Dell.
i am so confused about this; starchy foods are such comfort foods and seem like they would be so easy to digest. you are the second person to tell this to me. what do you think it is about such quick acting carbs that makes it linger and then ferment? i dont get it? could you elaborate?
also, spoke w/ my GI yesterday and he took me off of the Dicyclomine; i am hoping that this will help my system, b/c this med causes slowing of the gastric muscle and intestines to keep bowl movements normal. i have been on it for years for IBS, which i no longer think i am suffering from (making this med completely unnessesary.)
@Daisy_Mae, this is a long-shot, as you probably are pretty good about this already. However, just to be complete: IBS has a “when you eat” component to it too… I was having IBS issues, and cured myself by simply stopping eating late at night before bed.
So long as I don’t stuff my face after 8 pm or so, I’m good the next day. Pork out right before bed, and I have problems the next day all day.
dave, thanks for the suggestion; i dont eat anything after 8pm at all, unless its new years eve 
but, i must admit to this: my biggest vice is an addiction to smuckers all natural peanut butter. i am trying desperately to wean myself off of it. had none yesterday and none yet so far today. ugh 
this afternoon i tried drinking diet pepsi after my late morning meal, and it worked like a charm. 12 oz drank very slowly over an hour period. ( 2 people on this site suggested it, so i gave it a try)
Hi I’m new to gastroparesis. Just got dx this morning after an endoscopy. Can someone tell me what I should be avoiding? They gave me some reading materials and my GI specialist gave me the FODMAP diet. I know it says smaller meals. I’m italian and we don’t do “small” usually. Is a small bowl of pasta ok? I’m a bit overwhelmed that I have yet another condition to add to the list. My last a1c was 6.1 but it’s usually in the 5.4-5.8 range. I had major back surgery not long ago so it threw my bg out of whack for awhile.
Any and all advice/tips are welcomed!
[quote=“Alicia6, post:54, topic:56542, full:true”]
Hi I’m new to gastroparesis. Just got dx this morning after an endoscopy. Can someone tell me what I should be avoiding? They gave me some reading materials and my GI specialist gave me the FODMAP diet. I know it says smaller meals. I’m italian and we don’t do “small” usually. Is a small bowl of pasta ok?[/quote]I’m sorry… gastroparesis is incompatible with being Italian.
Your life is over.
1 Like
I got told by my dietician and gastroenterologist about starchy foods. It is really trial and error. Sweet potato is ok for me but not potato as is having a croissant, compared to a sandwich. It is the way they break down in your stomach… especially if it is stuck in there for long periods of time. The same can b said for red meat and high fibre foods - these can also cause people upset stomachs.
It took me over 2 years to really work out what set my stomach off and what medications i really needed. I take metamucil as i dont eat enough fibre as well as my other medications previously discussed. I also run about 20kms at the gym each week. I find i sometimes feel better after that.
As to Alicia6, there is allot of info on line and in dr Bernstein’s book about medications and foods you may or may not be able to eat. I personally don’t eat pasta rice or bread but if it does not make you feel nauseous or bloated and doesn’t spike your bsl then you should enjoy!
well, tonight i am going to have some cream of wheat cerial. i am hoping it will go down well and not make me feel sick. i tried having the diet pepsi after my meals yesterday and it really helped. eggs and avocados seem to be reliable so far. but, i have actually gotten to a point where i am so uncomfortable that i am afraid to eat (not 100% of the time) b/c i dont want to get sick. but i am plowing on.
I am not having any gastroparesis symptoms but I was watching my sensor and found it was taking a little longer than normal for my sugar to rise. I was diagnosed with it and I am taking domperidone and ginger capsules.I have timed it to 1 hour after eating to bolus for supper. Breakfast is differrnt as I eat differently then. I have a bowl of puffed wheat, milk, yogurt. I am going to buy some soy milk as it is easier to digest. I haven’t tried this time frame yet.