When diabetes damages the nerves going to your stomach and intestines, they may not be able to move food through normally. This causes constipation, but you can also get alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea, especially at night.
Diabetic neuropathy and gastroparesis
Diabetes-related nerve damage may affect the vagus nerve, which controls the movement of food through the digestive tract. When this occurs, a person's bowels cannot process solid waste as effectively. As a result, a person may become constipated.
Diabetes can cause diarrhea, along with several other gastrointestinal (digestive) problems. Diarrhea is a common symptom of diabetes. It's more common in people who have had diabetes for a long time. Sometimes, people with diabetes-related diarrhea also experience fecal (bowel) incontinence, especially at night.
Treatment should begin with bulking agents such as psyllium, bran or methylcellulose followed by osmotic laxatives if response is poor. Lactulose, polyethylene glycol and lactitol are the most frequently prescribed osmotic agents.
Diabetes can cause nerve damage to your urinary tract, causing bladder problems. Overweight and obesity also can increase bladder problems, such as urinary incontinence (UI). Managing diabetes is an important part of preventing problems that can lead to excess urination.
Nausea, heartburn, or bloating can have many causes, but for people with diabetes, these common digestion issues shouldn't be ignored. That's because high blood sugar can lead to gastroparesis, a condition that affects how you digest your food. Diabetes is the most common known cause of gastroparesis.
“To get rid of excess glucose, your body will make more urine,” says Dr. Jameson. If your body is making more urine, you'll visit the restroom more often. And all those trips to the bathroom can make you pretty thirsty, which leads to — you guessed it — more trips to the bathroom.
As it turns out, many of the healthy choices that doctors recommend to manage diabetes will also ease constipation: Eat food that's high in fiber, like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Get regular exercise. Drink plenty of water.
Eating a lot of high-fat meats, dairy products and eggs, sweets, or processed foods may cause constipation.
Add possible constipation to the many reasons a sweet dessert should be an occasional, not regular, thing. Pastries, cookies, and other treats with refined sugar are low in fiber and fluids, and high in fat. That's no good if you're having trouble keeping things moving.
Nausea is the most common symptom in gastroparesis. Other common symptoms include vomiting, early satiety, postprandial fullness, and bloating. Vomitus often contains undigested chewed food. Both weight loss and weight gain can occur.
It has been reported that metformin increases abdominal symptoms, such as diarrhea, constipation, and gastrointestinal (GI) discomfort [17,18].
Fatigue is a common symptom of diabetes that is not limited to uncontrolled diabetes. Persons may complain of fatigue along with a variety of symptoms, which may together herald comorbid psychological, medical, metabolic or endocrine, and acute or chronic complications.
Excess sugar that cannot be broken down and absorbed by the body will be left to sit in the bowels, where it ferments. This sugar moves more slowly through the large intestine, feeding bad bacteria and yeast, and causing a build-up of gas. This gas can cause cramping, spasms and pain.
Eating When you Have Constipation. Try these things to relieve your constipation: Do not skip meals. Avoid processed or fast foods, such as white breads, pastries, doughnuts, sausage, fast-food burgers, potato chips, and French fries.
Metformin has two advantages over other diabetes drugs: There's less risk of your blood sugar level falling too low. It doesn't cause weight gain.
Insoluble fiber.
It supports insulin sensitivity and helps keep your bowels healthy to keep you regular. Insoluble fiber is found in whole wheat flour, bran, nuts, seeds, and the skins of many fruits and vegetables.
Many people with diabetes will describe themselves as feeling tired, lethargic or fatigued at times. It could be a result of stress, hard work or a lack of a decent night's sleep but it could also be related to having too high or too low blood glucose levels.
Some people may notice they have to get up every couple of hours during the night to urinate and that they produce more urine when they do go. The presence of excess glucose can also cause the urine to have a sweet smell. This is most common in advanced cases of type 2 diabetes, he says.
increased thirst and a dry mouth. needing to pee frequently. tiredness. blurred vision.