Faces of GP

I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis 13 years ago, & my life has not been the same since. I’ve lost a part of myself. The uncontrollable, debilitating nausea & vomiting, the fire in my throat from acid reflux, the spasms in my stomach so bad that I double over in pain, & the malnutrition & weight loss have me worried that I am slowly starving.

I’ve cried too many tears to count now, & I’ve prayed for God’s healing hand.

This is a terrible way to have to struggle through life. I am NOT living anymore; I barely exist.

#PleaseFindACure

Energy is such a precious commodity; you never know when it will run out until it does. Living with gastroparesis, a condition characterized by decreased motility of the stomach, is not easy because you lose your energy. Gastroparesis can be downright deadly, but so far, I am one of the lucky ones.

You shouldn’t have to depend on luck when you’re given a diagnosis like gastroparesis.

The only reason I am still standing, and still working today, is because of the educational privileges I’ve accrued over my career. Many patients living with this disorder receive substandard medical care because the lack of research, training, and empathy in the medical world. When patients lack the ability to communicate their symptoms to your medical team, they are dismissed but when medical teams lack the language to understand or diagnosis complicated conditions, we die.

I would be remiss if I didn’t disclose that I was a practicing Physician Assistant with over a decade of experience in primary, urgent, and rural healthcare. My background includes a combination of pharmaceutical sales, medical and creative writing, and clinical practice and yet when I was diagnosed

12 years ago today is the 1st time I remember throwing up. I was diagnosed finally in 2011. I’m lucky to still be here. And still can’t find a good doctor that will help me. At my lowest I’ve weighed 108 pounds and I just turned 60 in July. I would be more than glad to answer any questions anyone has. It’s a horrible painful disease that needs a cure or at least more understanding doctors and better treatment. I have been called a drug seeker more than once. – Tammi Parker

Once upon a time, I was a successful model, dancer, cheerleader, beauty queen, actress and writer. After endless rehearsals and performances without rest, I developed a hiatal hernia. I was offered an operation that was to get me dancing again in 14 days time, I was to never dance professionally ever again. To fix my hiatal hernia, I had a Nissen Fundoplication in 2004 that unfortunately was unsuccessful and damaged my Vagus Nerve. After a long fight battling for my life, my body started to collapse until I was under 5 stones in weight (5′ 10″ tall) and I was given 6 days to live. I gave up and left the UK for the USA to say goodbye to my brother who lives there as I was expected to die and to be frank, I wanted to die! Not long after I landed I was hospitalized in the USA and luckily for me, I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis and finally got the life-saving treatment that I needed. However, once back in the UK, the medications that were prescribed to me did not exist in the UK. My

I have always been a person who considered my health above average. I rarely got sick even though I had type 2 diabetes. This year right after ending tax season, I started to feel really sick. I wasn’t too worried except for the fact that I couldn’t eat. I started to think it was nothing and ignored it eating when I could. Finally, I wet to the hospital after almost two weeks of puking anything that touched my tongue. I was misdiagnosed and sent on my way with a 2k hospital bill. I started to take the medicine I was advised to take and things were getting worst. Soon, I wasn’t able to handle water. I was losing so much weight my friends were terrified for me. I was going to the ER once a week and then every two to three days. Finally, right before my birthday I was hospitalized when my blood tests came back strange. They ran test after test and came to the conclusion that motility was the problem. At 32, I was diagnosed with gastroparesis. I spent my birthday in the hospital