Could autonomic neuropathy be the cause of diabetes type 1 and primary addisons? Two years ago I became a diabetic sugar levels 1 - 33mmol/L and a struggle to control as it will rise and fall uncontrollably. Then a year ago addisons with sodium lowest was 106 and potasium level of 7.4. This year my bladder became paralyzed and so the colon. Pupils dilate unevenly and heart rate dropped to 8 beats, Bp to 50/22 and it was a miracle I survived. Specialist previously said it is polyendocrine disorder and causing severe autonomic neuropthy when I think it could be the other way round neuropathy causing weird diabetic and addisons picture/show. could it...?
What they have in common is autoimmune disorders. Antibodies that loyally spent their whole lives defending your body just decided one day to 'go over to the dark side' and start fighting AGAINST you! What nerve!
So they start chomping away at whatever organ they find the tastiest, and medicine can't stop them at the moment. That's why the current treatment is just to replace the hormones you can't produce anymore.
Have they checked for pernicious anemia? Reason I ask is it's associated with autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (that's the other nickname for the condition) and it has autonomic neuropathy as a classic symptom. Its an autoimmune disorder that destroys 'intrinsic factor' in your digestive tract so you can't absorb vitamin B-12.
This is a quote from Autonomic Neuroscience journal - "The results suggest that vitamin B12 deficiency causes autonomic dysfunction with similar hemodynamic consequences and patterns of autonomic failure as seen in diabetic autonomic neuropathy. Defective sympathetic activation may be the cause for orthostatic hypotension, which is occasionally seen in patients with vitamin B12 deficiency. It is concluded that patients with orthostatic hypotension should be screened for cobalamin deficiency."
Read the abstract at http://www.autneu-journal.com/article/S1566-0702%2801%2900393-9/abstract