For over 20 years, I vomited multiple times a day, almost every day. I saw doctors, underwent tests, and followed every lead they could come up with—but no one had any answers. After about five years of searching, I gave up. I stopped looking for answers and just learned to live with it.
Years later, when one of my children began experiencing the same symptoms, I knew I couldn’t ignore it anymore. This time, I had a new tool: the internet. Through research and support communities, I discovered gastroparesis—a condition I had never heard of before. After pushing for the right testing, an official diagnosis finally came.
I created this page to offer support and direction for others who are just beginning their journey with gastroparesis—whether for themselves or a loved one. Below, you’ll find resources, personal experiences, and helpful links that I hope will make the road ahead a little less overwhelming.
Blog Articles Related to Gastroparesis
What Is Gastroparesis?
What is gastroparesis and could it explain your symptoms? Most chronic illnesses arrive without warning. Perhaps it's a lingering nausea. A bloated belly that refuses to soften. Meals that no longer bring comfort, only regret. For some, it begins quietly. For others,...
About Cultivate an Exceptional Life
Cultivate an Exceptional Life is a chronic illness community for women who are done waiting for their hard season to be over before they start really living.
Here you'll find honest stories, practical tools, and hard-won wisdom for building a life you love — alongside your illness, not in spite of waiting for it to get better.
Because an exceptional life doesn't just happen. It has to be cultivated.
Meet Leisa Watkins
Leisa is a chronic illness writer and advocate living with MS, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, and CFS/ME, and a mom navigating her kids' chronic illness journeys alongside her own.
She writes from lived experience and years of research, sharing practical strategies and compassionate guidance for women building a full life alongside chronic illness.
Not a medical professional. Please consult your healthcare provider for medical advice.