September 16, 2002
Complications
Question from Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA:
For the last four months my 24 year old daughter, who has had diabetes since the age of nine, has been in and out of the hospital with nausea and stomach pain. She isn’t able to eat, she can’t keep anything on her stomach, and she’s rapidly losing weight, but no one seems to know what to do. No one can give us an explanation or tell us what the problem is, and the doctors are constantly running tests and calling in specialists. Is there something I can ask her doctor to check for? I’m scared for my child.
Answer:
It sounds like your daughter may have diabetic gastroparesis which is a difficult problem to treat since no therapies really bring the nerves back to a normal level of function. I’m sure you have talked with a few gastroenterologists (specialists in the stomach and intestine).
I would suggest she find a center with a gut motility interest. There are a few new things going on here, including the ability to perform pacing of the motility within the esophagus and stomach. I am sorry your daughter has had to endure this illness.
JTL
