• Posted December 31, 2025

Why Your Gut May Stall Out And What To Do About It

Does it sometimes feel like your supper is sitting like a boulder in your gut?

You may have a condition called gastroparesis.

About 1 in 4 people have symptoms of the disorder, which causes the stomach to empty slowly, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“Patients don’t come in telling you they have a gastric delay,” Dr. Braden Kuo, chief of gastroenterology at Columbia University and New York Presbyterian, told NIH News in Health.

Feeling full quickly, nausea or vomiting and belly pain or discomfort are among them. These symptoms may be caused by ulcers, inflammation or a blockage — and doctors must rule those out first, Kuo said.

"When all those other tests come back negative and the patient still has complaints, then it raises the possibility of gastroparesis," he said.

Most of the time, it happens without an apparent reason. But sometimes, it stems from other conditions that damage nerves that help move food, liquids and waste through the digestive tract.

The most common one is uncontrolled diabetes. It can damage nerves, including the vagus nerve that signals stomach muscles to contract or relax. Certain autoimmune diseases and nerve damage from viruses can also cause digestion to stall out.

"Many people get sick during a viral illness with gastrointestinal upset and most people recover within a couple of days or a week," Kuo said.

But, he added, some never fully get over nausea, vomiting or discomfort. The virus somehow changed nerve endings in their gut and how they sense things, Kuo explained.

For 17 years, a consortium funded by the NIH has enrolled children and adults with gastroparesis to learn more and test treatments.

One of its studies found that abdominal pain is a standard feature of the disorder — 90% of folks with gastroparesis have it. And it’s severe to very severe in about a third of cases. Other studies have investigated how often patients wind up in the E.R.

Kuo, who is part of the consortium, is bullish on studies using tissue samples that capture the entire stomach wall.

"We’re really beginning to identify the changes at the cell level, in the nerve endings, and at the inflammatory level that are contributing to these patients’ conditions," he said.

Researchers are following patients over time to see how their symptoms evolve. 

Kuo is enrolling patients in a study investigating whether cognitive behavioral therapy may help ease symptoms.

It teaches patients about their condition and equips them with techniques to relax the vagus nerve. Patients also learn to overcome fears of eating that often accompany gastroparesis. 

"We’re giving them tools they can control that can make a big difference in their clinical outcome," Kuo said.

He urges people who may have gastroparesis to:

• Eat smaller meals with less fat and fiber.

• Cook and chew food thoroughly.

• Drink lots of water or other liquids.

• Take a walk after meals.

• Avoid alcohol, fizzy drinks and lying down after eating.

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more about gastroparesis.

SOURCE: News in Health, December 2025