June 20, 2002
Complications
Question from Mastic, New York, USA:
My 27 year old daughter, diagnosed with type�2 diabetes at the age of 14, has developed constant vomiting within the last five months. It was coming and going at first, but this last month has gotten progressively worse. All tests for any other problems are negative, nobody seems to know what to do, and there have been no answers. I am becoming more and more afraid of losing her because her father, who died three years ago, also had type 2 diabetes for more then 10 years and would sometimes also have bouts of vomiting, but not as severe.
She is just out of the hospital, and the last answer was there is nothing more that they can do except to bring her back if it gets worse. I had asked the doctor to consult with a diabetes specialist but was told that they could’t do any more then what he was doing, and he refused to call one in. I know there has to be an answer somewhere. Please help me to find one.
Answer:
I would suggest you get another opinion from a diabetes-specific health care provider. It sounds like your daughter has gastroparesis which is a difficult problem to treat. However, there are some new things in the area for severe problems.
JTL
[Editor’s comment: Your daughter should insist on getting a second opinion. In this case, if there are no diabetes specialists around, another option would be a referral to a gastroenterologist. Recurrent vomiting in a patient with diabetes could be life-threatening, as the vomiting can lead to DKA [diabetic ketoacidosis] in people with either type�1 or type 2 diabetes.
WWQ]
