Be alert! What to do for the most neglected gastrointestinal complications in diabetics?

  Diabetes itself is not scary, what is scary is the acute and chronic complications it causes, with high disability and mortality rates. Many patients are aware of the complications of diabetic eye, kidney, blood vessels and peripheral nerves, but the majority of people are not aware of the gastrointestinal complications and their dangers.  When gastrointestinal discomfort occurs, many sugar patients do not realize in time that it is a blood sugar problem and turn to digestive drugs for symptomatic control, instead delaying the condition. Dr. Dai Xiaojiang, a bariatric and diabetic surgery specialist at Youdao Group, reminds us that the appearance of gastrointestinal symptoms may be a warning of poor blood sugar control.  Diabetic gastrointestinal complications are a very important part of diabetic GI complications, in addition to gallstone disease, biliary tract and liver infections caused by diabetes. Nearly half of all diabetic patients develop gastrointestinal complications, with gastric lesions accounting for about 10% and diarrhea and constipation each accounting for about 20%. The pathogenesis is mainly due to abnormal autonomic function of the gastrointestinal tract caused by hyperglycemia causing changes in muscle movement and hormone secretion in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in gastrointestinal tract dysfunction.  It is worth noting that effective weight loss can prevent the occurrence of diabetes and its complications, or significantly reduce the degree of diabetes. As of today, bariatric surgery is the only way to achieve long-term and stable weight loss in moderately to severely obese individuals, with the goal of complete remission and long-term remission of diabetes. Gastric bypass surgery is the “gold standard” in bariatric surgery for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.  After more than 10 years of development, the number of cases receiving bariatric surgery for obesity and type 2 diabetes has been increasing year by year, showing a good development trend.