Unpredictable Digestion and Gastroparesis

What you are describing sounds very much like a condition called gastroparesis, which is a highly common but rarely discussed long-term complication of diabetes.

Most people know that chronic high blood sugar can cause nerve damage (neuropathy) in the feet and hands. However, it can also damage the autonomic nerves—the ones that run your internal organs. When the vagus nerve, which controls your stomach, becomes damaged, your stomach stops emptying food into your intestines at a normal rate.

This delayed emptying causes a cascade of problems. Physically, you may experience bloating, heartburn, nausea, and feeling uncomfortably full after only a few bites of food. In terms of your diabetes management, it completely throws off the timing of your insulin. If you take rapid-acting insulin for a meal, but your stomach doesn't digest the food for another four hours, your blood sugar will crash dangerously low right after eating, followed by a massive, unexplained spike hours later when the food finally digests.

If you suspect you have gastroparesis, it is vital to speak with a gastroenterologist and your endocrinologist. They can run a gastric emptying study to confirm the diagnosis and help you adjust your diet (usually by reducing fiber and fat, which slow digestion further) and your insulin timing to keep you safe!