Most of diabetic patients that I have ever treated have gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is gastric paralysis related to delayed gastric emptying, where the patients will have some symptoms like fullness after eating, bloating, nausea and vomiting. Gastroparesis is also one of complication of diabetes.
Almost everyday I am treating diabetic patient with abdominal discomfort. And most of them must be hospitalized. They feel so weak, with complaining of nausea and bloating. They are really not comfortable with the symptoms.
Most of diabetic patients with uncontrolled blood glucose have gastroparesis. To treat them I give prokinetic therapy like metoclopramide and domperidone. However, I prefer domperidone since it has low side effect on nervous system. I have some bad experience with side effect of metoclopramide. The patient may have stiffness.
I think patients with diabetes must be aware of gastroparesis. If they have abdominal symptoms, they should have their symptoms checked and treated. Because gastroparesis may cause frequent hospitalization. It’s really not good to being often in hospital during Covid-19 pandemic. Diabetic patients are very easy to get infected since their immune system is weak.