For the X-ray, the patient drinks a liquid containing barium after fasting which will show up in the X-ray and the physician is able to see if there is still food in the stomach as well. This can be an easy way to identify whether the patient has delayed emptying of the stomach. The clinical definition for gastroparesis is based solely on the emptying time of the stomach (and not on other symptoms), and severity of symptoms does not necessarily correlate with the severity of gastroparesis. Therefore, some patients may have marked gastroparesis with few, if any, serious complications.In other cases or if the X-ray is inconclusive, the physician may have the patient eat a meal of toast, water, and eggs containing a radioactive isotope so they can watch as it is digested and see how slowly the digestive tract is moving. This can be helpful for diagnosing patients who are able to digest liquids but not solid foods. Complications
Complications of gastroparesis include:

Fluctuations in blood glucose due to unpredictable digestion times due to changes in rate and amount of food passing into the small bowel. This makes diabetes worse, but does not cause diabetes. Lack of control of blood sugar levels will make the gastroparesis worsen. General malnutrition due to the symptoms of the disease (which frequently include vomiting and reduced appetite) as well as the dietary changes necessary to manage it. This is especially true for vitamin deficiencies such as scurvy because of inability to tolerate fresh fruits.
Diabetic gastropathy
Diabetic gastropathy is usually slowly progressive, and can become severe and lethal. Prevalence
Post-infectious gastroparesis, which constitutes the majority of idiopathic gastroparesis cases, affects up to 4% of the American population. Women in their 20s and 30s seem to be susceptible. One study of 146 American gastroparesis patients found the mean age of patients was 34 years with 82% affected being women, while another study found the patients were young or middle aged and up to 90% were women.There has only been one true epidemiological study of idiopathic gastroparesis which was completed by the Rochester Epidemiology Project. They looked at patients from 1996 to 2006 who were seeking medical attention instead of a random population sample and found that the prevalence of delayed gastric emptying was fourfold higher in women. It is difficult for medical professionals and researchers to collect enough data and provide accurate numbers since studying gastroparesis requires specialized laboratories and equipment. References
Further reading
Overview from NIDDK National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases at NIH
Camilleri M, Parkman HP, Shafi MA, Abell TL, Gerson L (January 2013). "Clinical guideline: management of gastroparesis". The American Journal of Gastroenterology. 108 (1): 18–37, quiz 38. doi:10.1038/ajg.2012.373. PMC 3722580. PMID 23147521. Parkman HP, Fass R, Foxx-Orenstein AE (June 2010). "Treatment of patients with diabetic gastroparesis". Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 6 (6): 1–16. PMC 2920593. PMID 20733935. == External links ==