How is gastroparesis diagnosed?
Your doctor will ask you questions about your symptoms and will do a physical exam. Your doctor may also need to do tests to check your stomach and digestion and to rule out other problems that may be causing your symptoms. Tests that may be done include:
- Gastric emptying scan. This test can show how quickly food leaves your stomach. A radioactive substance is included in a solid meal that you eat. It does not include enough radiation to harm you. This substance shows up on a special image, allowing a doctor to see food in your stomach and watch how quickly it leaves your stomach.
- Gastric or duodenal manometry. Manometry is a test that measures the strength and pattern of muscle contractions. This test may be done in the stomach (gastric manometry) or in the first part of the intestines (duodenal manometry).
- Upper gastrointestinal series.
- Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.
- Wireless motility capsule study. In a capsule study, a special capsule is taken with a solid meal. The capsule can measure the time it takes for food to move through your digestive system as it passes out of your body.
- Breath test. This test may also be used for people who can't have the gastric emptying scan. In a breath test, a special supplement is taken with a solid meal. It is absorbed in the digestive system and part of it is exhaled. Breath tests taken at different times after the meal show how fast food moves through your digestive system.
- Blood tests.