Dr. Michael McCann

last monday - May 5th, Helen went to see Dr. Michael McCann. He is truly an amazing chiropractor. He checked Helen thoroughly and came to the interesting conclustion that Helen has had a very serious fall and injury to her tailbone area. He went on to state that the injury could definately be the cause of her scoliosis and gastroparesis conditions.

Helen immediately remembered a time about 5 or 6 years ago when she fell while skating. She remembered the fall as being really bad and that her whole back ached for quite awhile after.

She will be seeing Dr. McCann twice a week for the next month or so.

Helen graduates!!!

Not a good day =(

Helen started out feeling somewhat OK. I gave her some soup to take to school, and when I picked her up, she said she had just gotten sick. She is extremely nauseated and throwing up.

Yesterday was an emotional day for Helen. She is realizing the impact of this condition and the dietary restrictions.

Naturopathic Visit

Today we went to see Dr. Jill Scott! She is a fabulous Naturopathic doctor in Port Moody.

She recommended a few dietary changes like "no wheat or dairy", blenderized foods and smoothies. All vegetables are to be cooked and blenderized. No, or very little pork.

She gave Helen some Unda Remedies and suggested digestive enzymes, apple cider vinegar and the castor oil packs.

Overall the visit was a very positive one for us, and we are very hopefull for a recovery.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Last week we ran into Katolen Yardley (Medical Herbalist) at the Pharmasave here in PoCo. She gave us some great recommendations and ideas also. Definately the blenderized food, no raw vegetables, juicing etc. Slippery Elm, and the Core Health Tea blend are what we are starting with.

diagnosis confirmed "gastroparesis"

Helen saw Dr. Henry Chung today, and he confirmed the diagnosis of the condition gastroparesis, a severe digestive motility (neuromuscular) disorder. He said to eat several small meals a day (Helen is already doing this) and to supplement with the nutritional liquid meal replacements like Boost or Ensure. He also advised her to drink milkshakes from McDonalds. She has been prescribe Domperidone and Erythromycin.

It is hard to imagine that in countries as prosperous as the USA and Canada that anybody could suffer from severe malnutrition. However, it does happen and is one of the major complications of Gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is not just an inconvenience. It is a serious gastro-intestinal condition that profoundly affects the lives of many of those who suffer from it. Although there are different severities of the condition, everyone who suffers from Gastroparesis experiences significant disruption of daily activities. No one is immune to developing the disorder, and it appears in all age groups.

Gastroparesis literally means paralyzed stomach. It is a devastating condition that is fairly common among the diabetic population, although it can be caused by a number of other factors as well. Gastroparesis results in delayed emptying of food and liquid from the stomach. Once food is ingested, it often sits in the stomach for hours or even days because the stomach does not contract very well, if at all. Gastroparesis is one of the most difficult gastrointestinal disorders to treat. There are limited treatment options, but uncontrolled Gastroparesis can have serious consequences including malnutrition, dehydration, and weight loss. Many doctors know very little about Gastroparesis so often newly diagnosed patients do not understand their condition or the treatment options available to them.

Food Suggestions and Tips for People who have Idiopathic Gastroparesis or Delayed Emptying of the Stomach

source: The Gastroparesis & Dysmotilities Association

CT Enterography - Eagle Ridge Hospital

Helen had a CT Enterography test done today at Eagle Ridge. It was a 2 hour test and she was to drink about a gallon of slimely crap! obviously she couldn't, no one could! let alone someone with chronic nausea!

Gastric Emptying Study (radioactive scrambled eggs!)

Helen had the Gastric Emptying Study - Solid Phase test done today, she felt quite ill afterward.

Clinical Information:

Following the ingestion of a Tc-99m solid radiolabelled meal, serial imaging in the anterior and posterior projections was performed for 100 minutes. There is a marked delay in gastric emptying. The T1/2 of emptying is not reached at the end of the examination and is extrapolated to be 373 minutes (normal 60 =/- 30 minutes). At the end of the study, only 14% of initial gastric activity is emptied.

Impression/Diagnosis:
Findings are suggestive of significant gastroparesis to solids if there is no evidence of gastric outlet obstruction.

by Urvi Joshi - Nuclear Medicine Physician