As we already know, type 2 diabetes can affect many other parts of your body.
Your digestive system may be having trouble breaking down food.
Do you have heartburn all the time? There may be a problem with your digestive tract.
You might have something called gastroparesis.
The word “diabetic belly” is not a medical term; it is just a way to describe gastroparesis in people with diabetes. It talks about the link between the condition and diabetes and stresses that gastroparesis is one of the problems that could happen.
What Does Diabetic Gastroparesis Mean?
When diabetes damages the vagus nerve, it can lead to diabetic gastroparesis. This is a long nerve in the body that affects many organ systems, such as the tongue, pharynx, heart, and gastrointestinal system. It controls digestion and other processes in the body. This nerve tells your stomach how fast to empty. The muscles in your stomach and the rest of your digestive system are unable to function properly because of damage, so food stays in the stomach longer than necessary.
One of the main reasons people get gastroparesis is because they have diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes are more likely to get it, but people with type 2 diabetes who have had it for more than 10 years are also more likely to get it.
What are the signs of gastroparesis?
If any or all of these symptoms are happening to you, there’s a chance that you may have diabetic gastroparesis.
Blood sugar levels that aren’t steady.
- Being sick or throwing up.
- Acid reflux or heartburn.
- Loss of appetite
- Stomach bloating.
- Fullness quickly when eating.
- Pain in the stomach.
- Unsteady blood sugar levels
The symptoms you have may be mild or severe, depending on how badly the vagus nerve is damaged. However, because food takes a long time to digest, these symptoms may happen more often when you eat foods that are high in fiber and fat.
In what ways does gastroparesis get more challenging?
It’s more difficult to keep blood sugar levels steady when you have diabetic gastroparesis. Blood sugar is also hard to control because the digestion of food isn’t always normal. It might be too high or too low.
And we already know that too much sugar in your blood can hurt your eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, and feet. If it’s too low, you could get dizzy, shake, have seizures, or go into a diabetes coma.
Diabetes can also lead to poor nutrition, bezoars (large lumps of undigested food), electrolyte imbalances, dehydration, inflammation of the esophagus, and an overgrowth of bacteria in the digestive system.
Because this long-term problem can be quite difficult to deal with and wear you down, it can also lead to depression.
What’s the best treatment for diabetic gastroparesis?
Do not diagnose yourself; discuss your symptoms with your doctor, who will properly prescribe treatment. A barium X-ray, stomach-emptying scintigraphy, blood tests, imaging, or an upper endoscopy are some of the tests your doctor will do on you.
Controlling blood sugar levels is the most important part of healing gastroparesis. Your blood sugar level will need to be checked more often, and your doctor may change the way you take insulin to match.
Other treatments can also help control the symptoms of gastroparesis. These include metoclopramide and erythromycin, which can help with digestion and make you feel better if you’re feeling sick. In the worst cases, you may need intravenous nutrition or a feeding tube, which will send the nutrients straight to the gut, where they can be absorbed.
Foods to eat and avoid for gastroparesis
Changing what you eat is also very important for treating diabetic gastroparesis. You may be advised to eat smaller meals more often, limit foods that are high in fiber, and stay away from carbonated drinks and alcohol, corn, beans, legumes, seeds, nuts, broccoli, cauliflower, cheese, and foods that are high in fat and fiber
Lean meats and fish, tofu, eggs, and vegetables that are cooked, bananas, fruit and vegetable juices, creamy nut butter, and fruit purees are some of the best things you can eat.
Going for a walk after a meal can also help your body digest food better.
In conclusion,
Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach muscles don’t work as they should. This makes it take longer for the stomach contents to empty into the small intestine, which is what causes pain and discomfort. People with diabetes may sometimes call gastroparesis “the diabetic belly” because it is linked to the disease.
Many problems can happen over time with diabetes. One of them is diabetic gastroparesis. Now that you know the basics of what this long-term condition is, you have a better chance of stopping it or better controlling it.
Complications with diabetes can vary from person to person. The goal is to manage and balance your blood sugar levels daily to achieve improved and healthier results.
