What Causes Gastroparesis. Cause Of Delayed Gastric Emptying

The most common cause of delayed gastric emptying due to damage to the vagus nerve is uncontrolled diabetes. Diabetes can damage the vagus nerve, preventing electrical impulses from getting to the stomach muscles.

When electrical impulses aren't getting through properly the food stays in the upper intestine, causing the stomach contents to digest very slowly and even back up causing regular vomiting.

Similar to diabetes, brain damage can inhibit the signals from traveling to the vagus nerve from the brain, or from the vagus nerve to the ingastroparalysisinal muscles. In turn, food takes much longer to travel down the digestive tract.

Gastroparesis caused by brain damage is far less common than diabetes induced gastroparalysis, but it can and does happen. If the patient has ever had brain trauma or damage to the brain it is a likely bet that this is what damaged the vagus nerve, causing paralysis of the stomach muscles.

The diet for gastroparesis caused by brain damage offers a far wider selection, since those with non diabetic gastroparalysis do not have the compound issue of diabetes.

Other causes of gastroparesis or delayed gastric emptying are gastric surgery complications in which the vagus nerve is damaged.

Some medications or antidepressants can cause vagus nerve damage causing delayed gastric emptying. Multiple Sclerosis and Parkenson's disease is also known to cause gastroparesis or delayed gastric emptying.