I have spent some considerable time trying to figure out what the most common effective diet regimen would be for Gastroparesis sufferers, I have come to the conclusion that no matter the variants, a low residue diet seems to make the most considerable difference.
I think it would be well appreciated to see input from anyone who has actually worked out a good plan for themselves. If you would list your diagnosis and other dispositions as well as your medications, food regimen as Yes foods and No foods as well as frequency and portion, I think we could put something helpful together.
here is what I know about my own so far.
I have idiopathic sporadic GP, hurried small bowel, irritable colon, peripheral Neuropathy with some autonomic involvement, low testosterone, pelvic floor sensory and motor dysfunction, cervical and lumbar disc damage.
Viokase 16 pancreatic Enzymes
Pepcid AC
lactulose
miralax
Yes Foods ; soft cooked green beans, boiled potato (white and sweet) baked tender chicken, white bread, steamed white rice, soft cooked carrots, scrambled eggs ( boy we sure love those with a little nuke in them) small child size portions three times a day with snacks like graham crackers, sweet potato chips (Terra) small scack size . peptamen 1.5(375 calorie) elemental formula 3 x per day between meals.
No Foods; Milk, Red Meat, Roughage such as salad, ANY raw foods, ANY peppery spices, whole grains, nuts of any kind, citrus fruits, cheese, and most sadly red sauce...
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Survey Question, GP Diet " What Works?"
Explore topics in this discussion:
MiraLax Protonix Nexium GERD Zantac Gastroparesis Probiotics Pepcid AC Constipation Pain Peripheral neuropathy Clonazepam Lactulose Reglan Ranitidine
20 replies
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- Newest first
- By CaptainDaryl
- Posted March 4, 2009 at 9:16 am
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Gutpain,
My diet and medication regimin worke well for me. I have been on it 1 month and what a differance. The diet is based on the idea of limiting starch, sugar and other foods that cause the reliese of insulin in large amounts. Good foods include, Proteins: Chicken, fish, Turkey, Shell fish,cheese (except Blue & Cheddar), eggs, nuts, and protein powder. Carbs: most fruits except bananas, beets, white bread, mango, muffins, papaya, popcorn, potatoes, prunes raisins,trail mix, and yogurt. OK Beverages: Green tea, low fat milk, Propel, water. I can only have Stevia as a sweetener.
Foods I can have occasionally include Oat, rye, pumpernicle, or 7 grain bread, brown or parboiled rice, red or sweet potatoes, lentles, peas, paste( Barilla plus only) vodka, tequila white wine, and butter. Foods I must avoid are Sugar, red meat, pork, beer, caffine, soy, tofu, cola
, fruit juice, chocolate, all oils except olive oil, which I take with each meal 1 oz. Basicly anything on the glycemic index below 50 is good, 50-70 is ok occasionally and above that are the things to avoid.
Keep in mind that the cause of my GP is insulin intolerance. My doc told me that about 30% of women and only 2% of men have this. My medications and suppliments are Clonazepam .125mg 4 a day, Cyproheptadine HCL 2mg/5ml 2 a day, epa/dha/omega3 3 times a day and an essential mineral supliment 1 oz 2 times a day. That gets me throu the day. Hope this helps someone.
Daryl
- By busyteacher
- Posted March 4, 2009 at 7:16 pm
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I try to minimize dairy, drink almond milk mixed with whey protein, get fruits and veggies through smoothies, and have a small protein meal at night.
I cannot eat raw or cooked vegetables.
My best proteins are fish and chicken.
I can eat oatmeal because it is water-soluble.
And I can eat Quinoa, which someone on this site suggested to me.
Cookies, apparently, are free.
I have GP and IBS.
I also take probiotics, vitamin e, vitamin c, b-complex vitamins, fish oil, calcium supplements, and a multivitamin each day. I take them in the morning (it's most of my breakfast), so I have all day to get them out of my lower esophagus.
It's boring, but it prevents flares--and it's balanced, with enough protein.
I miss coffee. I still have one cup in the morning, which I pay for, but you can't give up everything.
- By JoAllison
- Posted March 4, 2009 at 11:07 pm
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I have GP & extreme GERD.
My diet varies depending on whether I'm having a flare or not. More pureed & liquid when I'm flaring.
On a good day - (my nutritionist said & it seems to work, only foods that are 2 grams of fiber or less a serving)
Good foods: chicken, turkey, fish, seafood, eggs, small amounts of cheese, quinoa, whey powder, low fat or nonfat yogurt, limited amounts of peanut butter, cottage cheese; occasional rice (daily causes constipation), mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, potatoes minus skins about anyway but fried, noodles, egg noodles; baby food puree or very well-cooked green beans or carrots; pureed or very well cooked butternut or acorn squash, well-cooked mushrooms, well-cooked spinach, stouffer's spinach souffle, well-cooked & peeled asparagus, Special K cereal, almond milk, agave nectar, limited amounts of caramels, fat free frozen yogurt, canned peaches (& pears but I don't like them much), gerber pureed fruit (2 gr fiber or less), frozen fruit (2 gram fiber or less) pureed in smoothies, applesauce, rice pudding, tapioca pudding, low fiber bread (still look for interesting breads), saltines, amy's or progresso or campbell's soup (if 2 grams of fiber or less), olive oil & butter in limited amounts, herbal tea (non-mint), rooibos tea, V8 fruit juices, bacon bits, jello, pudding, pierogies.
Some Indian food yes, ditto italian,
If GERD not broke through recently, then also non-lumpy tomato sauce & regular V8.
Bad food: Fruitcake! [LOL!], beef (even hamburger..even hamburger cut 1/2 & 1/2 with ground turkey), lamb, most pork/ham, lentils, beans, split pea soup, most peas, all raw vegetables & fruits, most cooked vegetables & fruits, oatmeal, whole grain breads & cereals, really high fat stuff like creams & whole milk & most resturant desserts, chocolate, donuts, often bagels.
Most chinese food, bad
I eat about a 1/2 cup to a 1.5 cups at a time (unless there's soup involved or some other liquid or colloidal liquid, then I can have more). Anything more than that & I have problems unless I've been in a good spurt for well over a month.
- By JoAllison
- Posted March 4, 2009 at 11:16 pm
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Oops, I forgot meds, etc.
Nexium, 40 mg each, twice a day
Ranitidine (Zantac), 150 mg eac, twice a day
Mirilax, as needed
Probiotics (initially HMF Replete for 1-2 weeks, then HMF Super Powder)
Digestive enzymes (Bromelain, & Zygest - which is a multi digestive enzyme compound)
Doctors For Nutrition Greens First (greens supplement, mix a scoop in water)
liquid multivitamin
liquid calcium magnesium citrate (with Vit. D)
liquid B vitamin complex
1 t. ground flax seed
1 t. flax seed oil
liquid aloe vera
1 t. soy lecithin
I take all this stuff under the supervision of my GI and an Integrative Medicine Specialist (M.D.). My PHP is aware of it too.
- By Skinny
- Posted March 5, 2009 at 3:58 am
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Great question and some interesting themes emerging. I just know that for me there have been times when my food intolerances have been much worse and its trying to separate out the main tendency towards poor motility and constipation from the food intolerances which promote diahorrea! I think the crucial thing is maintaining the gut motility so that the food doesn't hang around for too long to aggravate the food intolerances. I have thoroughly confused myself and over-restricted my diet in the past when I have put symptoms down to specific foods. Having said all that I think its clearly sensible to 1. avoid food that will produce a lot of gas when festering inside - obvious candidate for this is pulses and a lot of carbs (especially sugar) & 2 minimise fat intake as fat slows down the whole thing.
It all has to be put into context eg if i've been sitting around all day doing some stressful thinking work and getting cold, I will not cope well with much at all. But if Ive been physically active and warm and Im actually feeling hungry, I can cope much better.
Roll on Spring!
Skinny
- By BonBon555
- Posted September 20, 2009 at 12:28 am
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Just diagnosed with a bezoar and am so confused about what drugs to take (the dr gave me enzymes and reglan and zegerid - which I heard horror stories about) I am still trying to find my way to a proper diet. Thanks for this site!
- By GGCPTEACH
- Posted September 20, 2009 at 10:11 am
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I am the primary care taker for my mom who has GP and Multiple System Atrophy. Her diet mostly resembles JoAllison's. She also has very bad GERD and takes Protonix 2x per day which seems to help. One question I have is how can people with GP have peanut butter? It is so high in fat. I bought her low fat PB yesterday as she really wanted it and it was listed on the food she could have ( 2 tbsp). I wonder how this would work as I look for foods that have 2g. of fat or less and 2g. of fiber or less. She loves Chicken and Rice and we just discoverd Stella Dora cookies with no fat or fiber. She loves them and they work great with a cup of green tea.
There is a GP diet cookbook coming out in April which I hope will let me vary her diet a little. I am sure she is sick of haddock and chicken and rice. I am experimenting this week with French Toast. I figure if she can eat the Pepperidge Farm Original White bread and egg, then she should try French toast. We'll see. I am also looking to add things as the diet itself is pretty limiting. Last week she tried the diced pears and peaches in the small individual containers with juice. She eats them but doesn't love them.
Keep sharing!
Gayle
- By Einstein
- Posted September 20, 2009 at 12:57 pm
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Gayle,
If you mom loves peanut butter, Try PB2 powdered peanut butter, doesn't taste exactly the same but its 80-85% fat free. There is also Better N' Peanut Butter which is also drastically fat reduced.
- By SueBee
- Posted September 21, 2009 at 9:29 am
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GutPain,
Thank you for starting this discussion! It's very timely since I am just starting to record everything I'm eating and all my symptoms in a journal to try to identify patterns and see what works/doesn't work for me. It is SO confusing since I can see people are tolerating foods that I was told to avoid! For example, I was told to avoid all oil and butter (if we must, just lightly spray oil in pan). Cooking and going out to eat is especially difficult with just this one restriction! I was also told to avoid foods with 5 or more grams of fat and 3 or more grams of fiber per serving, raw vegetables and fruits, and red meat. I was encouraged to eat Fage 0% yogurt at least once a day.
I'm going to start paying closer attention to the guidelines on this link: http://www.gicare.com/diets/Gastroparesis.aspx for foods to eat and avoid. Hopefully I'll have a good list to share with you soon!
- By busyteacher
- Posted September 22, 2009 at 8:19 pm
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I think it's what works for you? I spent the summer experimenting and decided to go completely with a liquid diet during the day, except for dinner (small), so my nutrition is more balanced, and I get what I need for calories and protein.
On weekends, I eat a few times during the day, but not enough to maintain health or energy.
- By BonBon555
- Posted September 22, 2009 at 11:05 pm
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I am trying to eat the right things. Still trying to figure it all out. Does anyone know...do bezoars go away? Is the idea to prevent another one or break down what you have?
- By NancyL
- Posted September 23, 2009 at 10:30 am
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For me what works is sticking to a liquid (that means straining any pureed food!) diet 95% of the time with occasionaly adding crackers. If I am really good all week I can sometimes get away with a piece of french toast or a cup of corn flakes or fruit flavored cherios. The cereal I eat dry a piece at a time. I love the crunch and it lasts way longer. I hesitate to add these foods because I know that if I eat them daily I will get sick. But my favorite thing now is to go out to breakfast and have a piece of french toast. It doesn't happen often but OH what a treat!
To all of you eating all the foods mentioned above- count yourselves lucky and enjoy! I hope that you are able to always eat those foods. So many of them I have forgooten what they taste like but have fond memories of looking at them on my plate!
Nancy
- By GGCPTEACH
- Posted September 23, 2009 at 8:50 pm
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Einstein,
Where do you find the peanut butter you suggested? The Better N' Peanut Butter would be great. I havn't seen it in the grocery stores.
- By Einstein
- Posted September 23, 2009 at 8:58 pm
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you can buy online, Hy-vee carries it, super target carries it, trader joe's and whole foods does as well. You could probably find out where else carries it online. THe same places carry the PB2 which works great in smoothies because it doesn't gunk up the blender.
- By GGCPTEACH
- Posted September 23, 2009 at 9:04 pm
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SueBee,
We are keeping a journal of what my mom is eating, time of day, when she takes her meds, when she has a BM and when she vomits. I too am looking for patterns and trying to adjust her food intake. I am always looking for new foods, but my mom basically eats foods with less than 2g of fiber and less than 2g of fat. She doesn't eat any raw vegetable and very few cooked ones ( mostly beets, or baked potato without the skin). She sometimes has mashed butternut squash and occasionally will have summer squash very well cooked. She eats baked haddock and chicken if it is shredded in a rice mix. I have been amazed at what some people are able to tolerate. I tried pretzels as they have low fat and fiber, but she doesn't do well with them. She is looking for something with crunch. She also eats mini rice cakes, but only 9 a day.
I really want to expand her diet to keep her energy up and keep her weight on. I so appreciate all the suggestions made on this web-site.
When mom goes out, she has baked fish and I ask for limited if any butter and or the crumbs. Then she has a baked potato. If she goes out she also has eggs and white toast. Not very exciting, but it gets her out.
Most of the time she has to eat only 1/2 and she brings home the other half.
I consult the website you put in your post a lot.
Have a good night!
Gayle
- By GGCPTEACH
- Posted September 23, 2009 at 9:10 pm
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Thanks! I will check out Trader Joe's.
- By SueBee
- Posted September 24, 2009 at 10:13 am
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Hi Gayle (aka GGCPTEACH)
Thanks for sharing what foods work for your mom. Sounds like she and I are eating very similar foods. Glad the website I gave you helps. I keep a print out in the kitchen to remind me what I can and can't eat. Maybe she would like the Odwalla Protein Monster vanilla drinks that has 33 g protein. Check out http://www.odwalla.com/. They are a little expensive but great for when you're on the run. You can also make your own smoothies. I blend jarred/canned peaches or pears or 1/2 banana, with almond/rice/soy milk, some yogurt, whey powder (for protein), and ice.
For a crunch there's one kind of pretzel that seems to work for me. Check out Snyder's of Hanover Sourdough Nibblers (The Pounder bag). They are so good it's easy to eat too many, though! Also, I've been treating myself to low fat frozen yogurt lately. Finally, for nausea, try buying ginger root, slicing it up, and making tea with it. It might help her.
Best wishes,
Susan
- By eschmidt
- Posted September 24, 2009 at 3:06 pm
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Thank you all for your suggestions. I recently have had a flare up and have been only able to eat a liquid diet. I have been sticking with ensure and chicken broth and will add more soft foods as my stomach settles. I am on Domperidone but it appears to be not working any longer. I was able to eat a limited diet on it before. Let me know if any of you have had this problem. Thanks!!
- By Bekadawn1
- Posted November 9, 2009 at 10:03 am
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Wow. This post has really been informative, I am going shopping today to see what I can find to vary my diet. I was only diagnosed the other week. It has been a major struggle to find anything to eat. I spent 3 months trying to figure out what was wrong so that I was down to toast, poached eggs, dry cereal and tea so when I finally got the verdict it was almost a relief. The list of okay food my GP gave me was decent so I figured I could work with this, but I am finding that most of those foods aren't settling well with me.
And getting my in-laws to support me has been a nightmare. They just don't understand and all their functions are around food. EVERYTHING. I know they are going to be insulted when I bring a smoothie or my own plate to Thanksgiving (deep fried Turkey takes it off my okay list). I really can't avoid the family get togethers so I am rather stuck and it makes me miserable to be around them and not able to eat anything. Mom in law gets upset when you try to contribute to the meal so if I start bringing my own she will be livid.
I know this is wrong thinking, but when I take my Zofran I am pretty good with nausea. Has anyone ever thought 'I will just go eat a real meal and then purge so that there won't be any pain'?
- By my4heathens
- Posted November 9, 2009 at 10:47 am
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Bekadawn,
Honestly, mominlaw will just have to get over it. It is what will be good for you. If you cannot tolerate much in the way of solid foods by Thanksgiving and what she makes is not hat you can tolerate, bring your own. She'll deal.
Now, most of us can tolerate some of the sides that are served on the holidays: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, mac & cheese, stuffing. Anything that is not heavy on fiber or fibrous veg.
Diana
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