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Diabetes - Juvenile Community
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Constant Illness in 6yr old with type 1 diabetes (Gastroparesis)
by Brittney's mommy, Mar 29, 2005 12:00AM
I have a 6 yr old daughter who was diagnosed at almost 5 yrs. old with Type 1 Diabetes. Late last year she started having problems, saying her heart hurt or her throat burned or she couldnt have a bowel movement but felt she had to and her tummy was hard quite often. After getting her into her diabetes dr who is 6 hrs away he diagnosed her with acid reflux, she is taking prilosec and that has helped somewhat but since then she has gotten sick with mostly stomach viruses and/or strep throat every month since last November. Right now she has not eaten well in the last 4 days saying her tummy hurts if she eats anything beyond liquids or very small items. I have a two questions
1) Is it possible acid reflux was an under diagnosis? She seems to have a lot of the symptoms for Gastroparesis, she had blood and urine work done and everything looked good, so I was told.
2) Does anyone else have a problem with their child getting sick soooo often, is it possible that she has a weaker immune system that goes beyond the "immune deficiency" from being a diabetic?
I feel like everytime we get over an illness here comes another
one. This is my first time posting, thank you all for listening!
1) Is it possible acid reflux was an under diagnosis? She seems to have a lot of the symptoms for Gastroparesis, she had blood and urine work done and everything looked good, so I was told.
2) Does anyone else have a problem with their child getting sick soooo often, is it possible that she has a weaker immune system that goes beyond the "immune deficiency" from being a diabetic?
I feel like everytime we get over an illness here comes another
one. This is my first time posting, thank you all for listening!
Doctor's Answer
by JDRF-Team-SS, Mar 30, 2005 12:00AM
Hello Brittney's mommy,
I apologize for the delay in responding to your question.
I am not a medical professional, but a mother of a son living with type 1. My boy was diagnosed 7 yrs. ago at the age of three. My sister also has type 1.
LRS has given you excellent advice.
I feel it is very important for your daughter (our children living with type 1) to be under the care of a Pediatric Endocrinologist. I am sorry to hear that her doctor is so far from you.
LRS who commented is very knowledgeable and always has great advice / suggestions. I honestly do not have anything further to add.
Please do talk to your daughter's doctor again. Inform him / her of everything (all of the symptoms) that your daughter is experiencing. If your daughter has a Pediatrician and not an Endocrinologist, I would definitely reccommend that you have her referred to an Endocrinologist.
Please do keep us posted.
I apologize for the delay in responding to your question.
I am not a medical professional, but a mother of a son living with type 1. My boy was diagnosed 7 yrs. ago at the age of three. My sister also has type 1.
LRS has given you excellent advice.
I feel it is very important for your daughter (our children living with type 1) to be under the care of a Pediatric Endocrinologist. I am sorry to hear that her doctor is so far from you.
LRS who commented is very knowledgeable and always has great advice / suggestions. I honestly do not have anything further to add.
Please do talk to your daughter's doctor again. Inform him / her of everything (all of the symptoms) that your daughter is experiencing. If your daughter has a Pediatrician and not an Endocrinologist, I would definitely reccommend that you have her referred to an Endocrinologist.
Please do keep us posted.
Post Comment
We're not physicians here but all have experience with diabetes and are happy to share out opinions and suggestions. Learn what you can here and run the ideas by your child's doctor.
I can't tell from your posting if your daughter is being followed by an endocrinologist/diabetologist or "just" a general pediatrician. It's so important for us to have access to specialists, and if she doesn't (yet) my first suggestion is to get a referral to one. If you're already being followed by an endo, then ask for a referral to a gastro specialist who can focus in on that part of her system.
In the short term, try some home techniques ... like don't allow her to lie down/sleep/nap within 2 hours after eating. Elevate the head of her bed (not just pillows under her head) so that while she sleeps, gravity will work with the digestive system to move things down. Limit her fatty and spicey foods and begin to keep a food/symptom diary with her so you'll begin to see patterns of how she feels relative to what she's eaten and what she's been drinking.
Many folks with Type 1 diabetes have or develop other issues. While our disease *is* an autoimmune disease, it is not immune "deficiency" that causes our disease. In fact, our immune system is hyper (overly) sensitive and that's what's believed to cause our immune system to have attacked our beta cells in the pancreas.
Among the issues that diabetics often face is a sensitivity to wheat/gluten and/or dairy foods. While some folks have a sensitivity or allergy to either/both of these foods, other folks have a medical condition (read about Celiac and Crohns, fore example). A typical American diet is loaded with both, and you might try eliminating those foods for a while to see if her digestive system begins to work better. Is your daughter drinking plenty of plain water or other non-sugary, non-carbonated, non-caffeinated beverages? That's a good habit to get her into.
My understanding is that gastroparesis is not evaluated by doing a blood test, but rather it's done by doing a gastric emptying test(s) and perhaps some other techniques that allow the docs to see what the digestive system is doing.
Hope this helps some and I hope you'll hear from others, too.