
Diabetes Health Type 1: What is your gut telling you?
Diabetes Health Type 1: What is your gut telling you?
Figuring out whats going on when you have stomach discomfort or digestive issues can be difficult for anyone, but this is especially true for people with diabetes. Diabetes can affect every system in your body, including the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
This shouldnt be surprising when you consider that moving food from the mouth to the stomach and then through nearly 30 feet of plumbing in the intestines is a complex maneuver involving countless nerves that control the speed and efficiency of all the built-in switches and trap doors along the way. Much as malfunctioning nerves can cause foot problems in peripheral neuropathy, diabetes can disrupt the nerves governing the digestive process. Recognizing the problem and seeking treatment as soon as possible can make a difference in controlling symptoms and helping to prevent long-term damage.
Here are some problems in both the upper and lower portions of the GI tract to watch out for:
Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD): Chronic heartburn that isnt easily explained by late night spicy foods may mean that something else is going on. GERD is a condition in which stomach acids regularly overflow into the esophagus, irritating the lining of the tube that links your mouth to your stomach. Over time, this condition can lead to more serious problems such as asthma, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), scar-tissue buildup that can cause narrowing of the esophagus and even esophageal cancer. In milder cases, antacids such as Tums or Rolaids may do the trick. Histamine-block
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