August is Digestive Tract Paralysis Awareness Month. Gastroparesis is a form of digestive tract paralysis, in which the normal contractions of the stomach that help to digest food are either abnormal (insufficient to properly digest food) or absent. [1] This means food cannot be easily digested—as in, further crushed up by the stomach—or pushed adequately into the small intestine.

Gastroparesis symptoms can look like other common conditions—they include nauseousness, feeling full quickly when eating, getting bloated, exper