IamA 17 year old who is unwillingly sick every day. AMA!

So, I used to be friends with a guy who had gastroparesis. His condition got so bad to the point he was having to be fed with a feeding tube, and eventually he had an implant put in that shocked his stomach into working, basically. Sometimes he could feel it shocking him and it caused him a lot of pain. He "cured" his gastroparesis over the course of three years through the semi regular use of orally ingested thc oil, I shit you not. Smoking was the only thing that allowed him to keep down food in the first place, but the different intake method is what eventually cured him of it; the doctors had the implant taken out and said they had never seen it just go away before (he didn't tell them how he had fixed it). I'm just a guy on the internet, but when I saw the link I thought you were my buddy from 6 years ago telling an old story for internet points. Maybe it could be something to think about?

Funny enough, I'm waiting on a phone call from the consultant for that same implant. It's basically a pacemaker. And I'm not sure if I'd be able to get my hands on THC oil because I live in the UK.

But shit, I'd consider moving just to get rid of this shitty condition.

What's your favourite food to throw up? My wife swears that the best hangover vom she ever had was after drinking a pineapple and mango smoothie.

I'm near enough the same - smoothies are great for when I'm sick. Especially apple. When you throw up, the taste is basically the same, maybe different depending on if you're eating and drinking. But it's sweet, and tastes just like a smoothie.

I've heard the 'nerds' candy taste just as delicious coming up as they are going down

Yes, this. I don't usually throw them up because they're so easy to eat and they just dissolve.

How are your teeth doing?

Better than I thought. The front-left is the worst, I've got visible damage on it, it's pretty annoying. I can't brush my teeth after throwing up or else they wear, so mouthwash is my go-to.

Think i've met you before, do you play CSGO and surf?

Yeah, I surf quite a bit. How did you know that? I mean, you can just google my username, go to my Steam page and visit the screenshots but.. how.

What's your rank in csgo? Would you like another friend to play with

I'm currently Supreme.

Do you get disability?

I don't receive any benefits or privileges. I'd rather someone in a wheelchair or with an actual mobility disorder gets those, because frankly they need it a lot more than I do.

Have you tried pretending you're a supermodel?

Funny enough, I'm pretty burly so I kind of look fat. I've dropped about 10kg (22lbs, for you Americans) but I'm not full-on anorexic.

but how many stone is that?

About one and a half.

Hey Ewan! As a fellow redditor living with gastroparesis I applaud your efforts to raise awareness of this disease and its effects. Are you doing any better since being correctly diagnosed? All too often people have never even heard of it, or what our day to day lives really look like. When I was in high school I would get sick every single morning before school. Needless to say I missed a ton of days and ended up having to drop out and get my GED. My parents thought I was either faking it or addicted to hard drugs. Unfortunately they talked to a doctor who saw me one time, after having already made the decision that I was an addict. They sent me to a drug rehabilitation program in the wilderness of Montana based on his recommendation (later I would find that every kid in the rehab had seen the same doctor one time and then been immediately sent away), which made it even more difficult for me to be properly diagnosed. Eventually I would make it through this experience and finally they wised up that it was no act, and I was one of the first to participate in a new study using what is called "The Smart Pill" to test motility in the stomach as well as a number of other factors and eventually was diagnosed correctly. Do not give up! Do not let anyone tell you that you aren't in pain or feel like you are gonna get sick. Constantly I have people asking why it's taking me so long to eat, or why I didn't finish my food. People may think that every disease should be easily identified and treated, but this is not always the case. Since then, I have found that marijuana definitely helps my symptoms, and my GI Dr. straight up told me that he could not legally advise me to partake, but to do whatever I needed to do to feel better. Props for keeping your head up, and think long and hard about that implant before you do it as I have heard some horror stories both in physical and financial costs. If you ever want to talk shoot me a PM!

Fuck man, that's rough but I'm glad there are other people like me. I'm in a bit of a predicament when it comes to marijuana:

1. It's not legal in the UK.
2. My girlfriend doesn't want me smoking weed and I'm choosing to respect that.

How do you pronounce your name? Eww-ann, E-one, Evv van, Eh wan?

You-an. It's Scottish.

Funny enough, a lot of Americans (especially streamers) pronounce it e-you-wan. It's weird.

Hey I just wanted to write and let you know that it gets easier. I've been struggling with similar issues since I was 17 (I'm 20 now),and I really feel for you. Do you experience fear of eating? How do you cope with it if you have it?

It's great to know that there's other people out like me. I am sometimes quite afraid of eating before going out with friends. If anything it's sometimes embarrassing for me, when I'm sick and people treat me sympathetically when I feel fine.

sorry to hear that little dude so what do you think of the situation in venezuela?

Needs more media coverage.

Sorry to hear that OP. Do you have a special diet you abide by to help your barfs be less detrimental? Or meds that make your stomach acid less harmful to your throat/teeth/etc.?

No special diet, although I have tried to go on diets excluding wheat, gluten, dairy etc. Sadly nothing's worked.

What's your favorite pokemon?

Also, would you rather be a bird or a fish, and why?

Lucario.

I'd be a bird just so I can shit on people without all the stigma, y'know. Also fuck being a fish.

Hey! I have Crohn's and spent all of 2016 inside the hospital because I perforated so although I don't understand completely what you're going through, I can relate a little bit to having a long term chronic illness. I've also heard of gastroparesis in my journey and it really sounds terrible, so I am so very sorry you have to deal with this.

I'm also really interested in stress and coping with a long term illness and I was wondering how do you cope with your depression? Have you found anything that really helps?

Also from a chronic illness perspective how many times have people told you that you can fix this if you just try XYZ diet?

Hey! I actually went into private healthcare and they told me I might have Crohn's. The one thing I can say is mad respect for managing to eat non-gluten/dairy/wheat products. That was difficult and I was only on the diet for 3 months.

I take Sertraline for my depression/anxiety and that has almost entirely eliminated my anxiety. However when I'm sometimes too ill to get out of the house, it can be tough. I'd say video games help but honestly I'm too shit at Overwatch and it's eh. Getting out as much as possible can help, talking to someone or even discussing your real concerns with people helps you understand it more.

I've had about 6 different consultants tell me to try different diets.

Does this mean you poop less or smaller amounts?

Sometimes, depending on how much I'm sick. It can also do the complete opposite where I'm running to the bathroom every 10 minutes.

How does it work? Is there any medicine that helps? Do certain food make it worse? Can you just wait a certain amount of time between meals to allow it to empty? Does it work the same with liquids? If not, have you tried a liquid diet? What do you most want people to know about your condition?

I take metoclopramide and ranitidine for being sick, as well as folic acid tablets for anaemia and setraline for depression.

No certain foods make it worse, I've tried full vegan diets, going off wheat, dairy and gluten but it didn't make an impact.

It's not more-so waiting, it's eating in large portions that wreck my stomach. When I eat it takes around 90-120 minutes for my food to actually go to my small intestine, so for that two hour period it's really easy for me to bring food up.

I've never tried a liquid diet, I might look into that (thank you) although I drink a lot of non-carbonated fluids to keep myself hydrated as I lose a lot when I'm sick.

I just want people to know that I can take care of myself. Like, after being sick basically every day for the last 2 years I'm used to it. A lot of people are sympathetic for when I'm out to dinner and escort myself to the bathroom to go be sick, but to me it's not that big a deal. People wonder how I can sit on my computer playing a game, go throw up and then two seconds later be fine and back in the game.

I know with people who are bulimic, they worry about the effects of so much stomach acid on the esophagus, is that a concern for you as well?

It's a wonder how people can adjust to even the crappiest of things and learn to live with it. It's cool that you can take care of yourself and don't let it take over your life completely.

It's not that much of a concern. I've had stomach ulcers before and that hurt like a bitch, that's probably the most damage I've had acid-wise aside from my teeth.

Hey there, I was also diagnosed with gastroparesis around your age (am 28 now). Do you have any hobbies? Gaming and building different things helped with some of the depression. Hang in there!

I used to play Counter Strike competitively and went to a few LAN tournaments, but now I've moved on to Overwatch (just casually).

I have anxiety and probably a herniated stomach. It's not uncommon for me to throw up. The feeling of food not digesting and getting reflux is awful. Vomiting or retching temporarily soothes my anxiety, for a few minutes. It's an awful thing though. How do you get the courage to seek medical help? My grandmother went through the process of seeking help but the doctors acted like it was a no-brainer even though the surgeon ultimately said he didn't think it was a good idea for her.

I'm just saying now, if you're experiencing anything like me please go see a doctor. If you want courage to go to the doctors, please just remember this message.

For the vomiting, the best you can do is just visit your GP or whatever your alternative is. Hell, you could have something that is worse than you think.

For the anxiety, I had terrible anxiety too, although I was put on Setraline, which completely soothes it. If you have any stigma towards antidepressants, let it go.

Is this something that developed slowly or how did it develop?? I frequently get stomachaches that result in nausea and the only way to relieve them is to throw up (but I do it willingly). I'm wondering if it has something to do with gastric emptying how you mentioned. I have no idea right now what's wrong with me.

I've had on and off stomach issues my whole life, nothing serious. About a year and a half ago was when it first started getting serious, and now it's just something that I've developed into my life.

That sounds absolutely awful, OP. I really hope things improve for you soon. I've got emetophobia (phobia of vomiting) and still vividly remember when I threw up over a year ago. So my question is, do you ever get used to it, or does it suck just as much every time?

I've gotten use to it completely, nothing about it phases me any more.

What are your signs before you are going to be sick? Do you have any or is it like a stomach cramp and nausea or just plain old nausea and increased salvation?

I don't feel nauseous at all. It sometimes varies depending on how much I've ate.

If I've ate anything I physically feel a tiny bit of food come up, and stay in my throat. This is just a sign saying "Alright, you're gonna be sick, go to the toilet and get rid of this."

If I haven't ate anything I get some pretty bad heartburn, increased salvation and when I go to be sick it's all just acid. That's the worst one.

Do you notice that it comes with certain foods? Or is it everything?

It's just everything.

Hey, my brother recently became bedridden with reactive arthritis, as someone suffering from a constant illness what advice would you give to him to help him cope?

When you have something constantly going wrong, it puts you in a pretty low mood. I just want your brother to know that it's normal to spiral into a low mood, and there's no shame in looking into antidepressants.

How has your illness affected your schooling?

Terribly. My attendance has been about 30% this year. I was expected to do 5 exams this year and due to my absences, I'm essentially skipping a year. So next year is my last shot, if not then I've got no chance of an education.

Do you have diabetes?

Nope, although I hear people with diabetes can sometimes have the same symptoms as me.

which illicit drugs do you suspect might alleviate your condition?

Definitely not tequila. Marijuana is tricky for me because it helps (or so I imagine if I tried it which I definitely haven't 100% because it's not legal here) but at the same time I (would totally) get the munchies and eat a ton of food.

Since you're sick all the time, I'm guessing you can't workout? I used to have bad digestion issues and being more physically active made things move along a lot easier and completely healed me. Granted mine wasn't nearly as bad, but it did empty my stomach faster.

I do a lot of walking but abdomen workouts and cardio really take a lot out of me, to the point where I've thrown up at the gym about 3 times.

What was the cause of your gastroparesis, if known?

No known cause, I've had stomach issues all my life but not as bad as the past year and a half.

[deleted]

It's tough, and if you've been in the same situation then you'll know that some mornings you don't want to get out of bed.

One of the only things that motivates me is my girlfriend. Without her, I don't want to picture myself in that mess. The support I receive from her is enough for me to keep going, so I'll always try and pay her back by getting through whatever hits me.

Treatment options?

They're looking at either a pacemaker for my stomach, or botox injections every six months.

Were you born with this, or was it acquired? If it was acquired, how did you acquire it?

It happened randomly on Dec. 26th 2015. I'll never forget the date.

how much warning do you get?

It's not much of a warning, just my body telling me "Okay you need to be sick". I can keep it down which causes a lot of pain/discomfort and that can last up to two hours.

He Ewan, I'm a massage therapist. Because every problem looks like a nail, I wonder if there might be some postural issues / tension deep in your core/chest creating or exaggerating your problem. I wonder if seeing a skilled(!) physical or massage therapist would help (or yoga, qigong, etc).

How do you cut your PB&Js, squares or triangles?

In the UK, PB&J's aren't that apparent. In all my life, I've never seen anyone physically eat one. However I do enjoy peanut butter sandwiches and always cut them in squares. Nothing against triangles though.

Marijuana?

Username checks out. Being 17, and in the UK where it's not hard to get but illegal, I can definitely say it doesn't not help.

Have you heard about the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?

It's not a story the Jedi would tell you.

are people willingly sick every day?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulimia_nervosa

[removed]

unwillingly = I have a physical problem not an eating disorder.

Also it's pretty difficult to stay in school because of the whole, y'know, illness and all.

Eating disorders aren't willing. They're psychological kiddo. You'd know that if you took a health class.

Okay, well I don't physically stick my finger in my throat and purge after eating a meal.

Again, I can't really be in that health class because of the whole, y'know, illness and all.

Very few do, so saying "unwillingly" isn't at all needed. You could go take an English class too, you just won't. Plenty of people with similar illnesses go to school just fine, kiddo.

What do bulimic people do then?

Also I wouldn't know if people with similar illnesses go to my school because of the whole, y'know, illness and all.

Pussy.

He's back you guys! How are you man, I've missed you. You really are the highlight of this AMA.