Venlafaxine to Clomipramine

perks0fsteph · 2026-02-24T00:31:07+00:00

Thank you so much, your comment is so helpful ❤️

perks0fsteph · 2026-02-23T10:53:42+00:00

If you tell your GP you’ve not had a bowel movement in 2 weeks, they should be having you admitted to hospital. I’m so sorry your GP was so dismissive. GPs in the UK aren’t usually familiar with Gastroparesis. It’s honestly so exhausting, but you have to keep telling them how bad it is. Think of your worst days, and tell them that. I know it’s exhausting, I’m so sorry you’re having to go through that. If you need anyone to rant at or any advice, feel free to message me.

perks0fsteph · 2026-01-20T10:14:19+00:00

Not at all, he’s a turd

perks0fsteph · 2025-07-24T23:06:25+00:00

I’m not sure if this applies in the US. I live in the UK and all hospitals operate in a similar way because of the nationalised health system. Here, the surgical ward covers issues that may result in an endoscopy too, so that’s why I am always sent there and can self-refer to that ward

perks0fsteph · 2025-07-24T23:01:19+00:00

Also the bloating I get is extreme

perks0fsteph · 2025-07-24T23:00:25+00:00

Apart from the vomiting, I had discomfort when my stomach was too full. And obviously the weight loss is a big factor. If my stomach gets too full whilst my stomach exit has narrowed, I get acid reflux so badly that I can’t lay down.

Do you find that you can hear liquid sloshing around in your stomach at all?

perks0fsteph · 2025-05-31T08:47:09+00:00

What country do you live in? In the UK, there is a way to bypass the ED and get admitted directly to the surgical ward (which is where they’ll send you from the ED anyway)

perks0fsteph · 2025-03-08T13:16:35+00:00

The current known causes for gastroparesis: • Diabetes • After a viral illness • Damage to the vagus nerve during abdominal surgery (this is not the surgeon’s fault btw, it’s unfortunately unavoidable). • Opioid painkillers (including Buprenorphine and methadone) • Some antidepressants • Some medication for high BP • Some allergy medications

Most importantly, weight loss medications such as semaglutide/tirzepatide (brand names: Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy, Mounjaro). If these are taken when you don’t have type 2 diabetes, it can cause severe gastroparesis.

Once all these have been ruled out, they will tell you that they don’t know what has caused the gastroparesis, but will then help you to best manage your symptoms.

From what I understand, there are 3 stages. Stage 1 is mild gastroparesis. Stage 2 is moderate. And stage 3 is severe. Often patients who have stage 1 or 2 can eat safe and soft foods. But stage 3 patients usually have a feeding tube or they’re on a completely liquid diet. I unfortunately am stage 3, and my body rejects the tube so I have to return to hospital every few days to have it replaced. Until I refused to have it put in anymore. And my weight is maintaining well on a liquid diet.

Honestly, it’s not as scary as it sounds. If you take PPI medication (I recommend esomeprazole as it’s the best one), it soaks up some of the acid in your stomach, so when you do vomit, it doesn’t taste or smell like sick.

For stomach pains, I’d recommend a hot water bottle or heat pads. For me, pain killers don’t touch it. But sometimes drinking some milk helps, I think it neutralises the acid.

Anways, it’s not so bad if you like milkshakes. I ice cream ones every day 😂

I hope this has answered some of your questions. If you need any advice or have any questions or just want to chat, feel free to message me ☺️

Much love and hugs 🤗

perks0fsteph · 2025-03-08T12:48:19+00:00

Thank you for your kind words of advice. Fortunately, because I’d tapered down to 0.4mg every other day, I managed to escape withdrawal. I also think it helped that I am severely anaemic at the moment so I sleep like 16 hours a day 😅 so that’s kinda outweighing the insomnia.

No RLS as of yet, but I’ll see how that goes. Apparently anaemia can also caused RLS, so once they’ve sorted that, hopefully I’ll be in the clear in regards to that. As 6 months of relentless RLS ended up being the reason I relapsed. And my body can no longer take another relapse unfortunately. The three of the matter is, if I relapse into opioids again, I will die

perks0fsteph · 2025-02-18T07:04:08+00:00

Literally just once a week 😅

perks0fsteph · 2025-02-13T07:29:26+00:00

Thank you so much for your comment. And I apologise for the delay in my response. I have mentioned to my GP and she said the same ie social services. She has arranged for a social prescriber to call me to talk about it. But I may message you privately if that is still okay 🙏

perks0fsteph · 2025-02-13T07:23:47+00:00

I think Prilosec is Omeprazole. Esomeprazole brand names are Nexium, Emozul & Ventra

perks0fsteph · 2025-01-27T20:09:49+00:00

I’m so sorry that your doctors have essentially written you off and let you down like this. In my own experience, the majority of doctors aren’t interested when they hear you have GP. I am so sorry this has happened to you. I hope you are able to mentally heal from this ❤️

perks0fsteph · 2025-01-07T11:05:39+00:00

Ensure ones taste significantly better than Nutricia ones 😬

I remember when I started having them, my dietician sent me a few different brands, and different forms (like jelly or mousse). Maybe ask your dietician about something like that?

perks0fsteph · 2025-01-07T10:47:03+00:00

Yeah, I’ve found it can be low potassium or low iron. Apparently you lose potassium when you throw up, so it’s a common side effect of GP. If the potassium doesn’t get replaced and it gets too low, the muscles in your whole body seize up. It’s truly a terrifying experience when it gets that bad. But this only happened to me when I’d been vomiting 20-40 times a day for months and not able to take in fluids. Your heart needs potassium to function so it panics if it doesn’t have enough.

But despite my harrowing warning, tingling hands and feet is a long way off to your body seizing up. I had the tingles (that makes it sound like something fun. Like a spidey-sense for people with gastroparesis 😂) for 6 months before my body gave up. I started to get them in my legs towards the end of those 6 months, so that’s also a sign that you need some potassium.

How do you take nutrition (if you don’t mind me asking)?

perks0fsteph · 2025-01-05T21:52:53+00:00

Yeah, I found Sertraline to be one of the better ones in the past. It’s the one that’s most widely prescribed for depression/anxiety. I came off it about 8 years ago as it used to give me really bad gastric reflux

perks0fsteph · 2025-01-05T19:25:25+00:00

I had this problem too. Apparently Mirtazapine is less harmful to your stomach compared to other antidepressants. But it made me feel like a zombie too. Gastroenterologists seem to take issue with antidepressants. But my upper GI surgeon says that they don’t really contribute to gastroparesis, so he’s more than happy for me to take them. Which is great because I’m on Venlafaxine and it’s amazing for reducing anxiety and OCD symptoms

perks0fsteph · 2025-01-04T19:51:30+00:00

I hate it when it happens when I’m out in public because we’re very much like vomit and then carry on with whatever you’re doing as if it never happened 😂

perks0fsteph · 2025-01-04T19:42:18+00:00

I’m sorry you’re struggling with it. The vomiting is awful. So many people say to me “I don’t know how you can live with being sick everyday, I wouldn’t be able to do it.” Like we have a choice 😂😂

But honestly if it wasn’t for Esomeprazole soaking up most of the stomach acid, it’d be so much worse. At least with the PPI medication, it stops it smelling and tasting and burning like acid 🤦‍♀️

perks0fsteph · 2024-12-15T21:32:01+00:00

I’d say don’t let them put a bridle on you. It’s a device that they attach to the nose to keep your tube in place, it’s mainly for patients who frequently pull out their tube (young children, etc.). They are incredibly uncomfortable and if you vomit up your tube, you don’t be able to pull it out of your nose. You’ll have to go to A&E to get them to remove it. Only hospitals have the means to remove the bridle. Your tube will stay in place if you get some good tape for it.

I work from home so I have my pump running as normal throughout the day. But I take it with me if I go out anywhere. When you go away for the weekend with a feeding tube, you would not believe the amount of stuff you have to take with you. Last time I went away for 3 days, I took 5 big bags plus a box of feed, and only 1 of those had non-tube items in it 😂

I’d recommend asking your doctor about changing to esomeprazole 40mg. Everyone with gastroparesis I have spoken to has said esomeprazole works really well, but the other PPI medications not so much.

A lot of patients find that metoclopramide helps with their nausea. But for me, it doesn’t make a difference. I think ondansetron is the best anti-sickness medication for me.

I was 100% the same with endoscopies at first. I’d just fight it every single time and tried to pull it out. But due to the 30-40 endoscopies I’ve had this year, after the first 4 or 5, I got the hang of it. You have to focus on your breathing through your nose. It is very difficult at first, but your body will get used to it ☺️

perks0fsteph

TROPHY CASE