December 19, 2004
Other
Question from Hamilton, New Zealand:
Our 10 year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 18 months old. Her last A1c was 8.0 and, in the last few years, they have been in the 7.5-8.5 range. She has lost a kilogram (2.2 pounds) in weight in the last three months.
During the last few years, she has often complained of sore stomachs and sometimes feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit, although that happens rarely. Sometimes she has been suffering from colds, strep throat etc. at the same time, but usually not. We used to think that maybe she was exaggerating, but it appears to be an ongoing issue that has resulted in a number of school absences and it is becoming a cause for concern. Most other published questions about stomachaches seem to be related to people recently diagnosed.
She had a celiac test a year ago that was negative and she has just had another one for which we are waiting the results. Also, she is being tested for thyroid, renal and liver function and had a Paul Bunnell test for glandular fever that came back negative. We have requested a Helicobacter pylori test. Are there any other possible causes or tests that we should be considering?
Answer:
First of all, I would say that you have tested all the possible causes of stomachache in your daughter. The only thing, although it is not highly not probable, is to exclude an involvement of the stomach by neuropathy by testing for it, because sometimes the stomach could be affected, especially due to the length of time your daughter has had diabetes.
AS
