If you have type 1 diabetes, your wellness may be further at risk to gastroparesis. This is a nerve disorder that affects the way food moves from the stomach through to the small intestine, and diabetes is the most common cause.
The way that the disorder works is that usually, your vagus nerve moves food from your stomach into the small intestine, but your diabetes can affect that nerve, which will slow your food movement and throw off your blood sugar levels.
According to Jay Cohen, MD, medical director of the Endocrine Clinic, and clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Tennessee, ‘Gastroparesis means that there is nerve damage to a part or parts of the intestinal tract that are important in the movement of food through the gut as well as the absorption of food into the bloodstream’.
Cohen says most people with type 1 diabetes won’t develop gastroparesis but 20% of diabetes sufferers will if their blood glucose levels aren’t under good control. Your wellbeing is at risk to nerve and blood vessel damage, which can affect the levels of nutrients and oxygen you receive, as well as how slowly your food moves through your system, if at all.
Cohen says your blood sugar levels can spike and dip as ‘We usually expect food to be absorbed 15 to 20 minutes after you eat, but if the food is not moving in your gut and it is still in your stomach or a loop of the small intestine, you are at risk for low blood sugars,’ he notes. ‘And then when the food does get absorbed several hours later, you have unexpected high blood sugars.’
Symptoms to watch out for are heartburn, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting undigested food, premature feeling of fullness, weight loss, bloating, problems with blood glucose control, decreased appetite, and stomach spasms. You might find that these symptoms worsen with solid foods, high-fibre foods, high-fat foods, or carbonated drinks. It’s vital that you consult a physician when experiencing any of these symptoms, as gastroparesis can lead to a bacterial infection of the stomach or hardened masses of food that obstruct the stomach, if it goes untreated. Talk to your doctor for more information.
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