Stomach Ache in my Child with Diabetes, your help please...

[Alex's Dad]

Looking for some direction after being directed to your site.  I have a son who was diagnosed with diabetes (Type 1) last January.  While we got the diabetes under control quite rapidly, there were wrenching stomach pains that practically debilitated him for the rest of the school year and had him missing almost all classes.  He would literally just lay on the couch and writhe in pain almost every day.

Between the silos with the Ecrinologist saying it wasn't the diabetes and the Peds not having enough experience, we were left to peer contact/field stories where indeed there were incidents and evidence of stomach aches related to diabetes -- but no remedies.

We have gone through almost every medical test known and, finally, through a holistic approach practice (biofeedback, medical doctor and pain management therapies) we thought we had him back on track in September.  Everything was fine until late November and now he seems plagued with feeling Nauseous all the time (but never throwing up).  It is less severe, however, it is troubling and has to be addressed so we are going back on line looking for answers and solutions.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[JDRF-Team-CDB]

Hi Alex's dad,
Sorry I missed your message. I can't figure out how to respond to the one you just posted-- I guess I don't have a "regular" password, just a staff one.

Anyway, my friend whose son had the weird bug is gone for the holiday, but I'll ask when they return. I can't remember the name of it. In the meantime, did you go to the doctor? Did he/she run tests?

[JDRF Team SGG]

My identical twin was recently diagnosed with Addison's (both of us have been type 1 diabetics for 37 years), and if your son tests positive for this (fairly unlikely because it is fairly rare), do comment, and perhaps I can put you in touch with Addison's support people. Symptoms DO include stomach upsets, but the main symptom is fatigue that just doesn't go away. You don't mention this, so probably this is not the problem.

Have you checked out all possible food allergies? Lactose intolerance can do this, and other food allergies can also be big problems. A brother-in-law has wheat allergies (not celiac, but similar) and also reacts to YEAST, which is put in many processed foods, even in many canned soups. Hidden allergies could be the problem.

I do with you the very best.

[Alex's Dad]

Say, JDRF Team - CDB.  Do you kow the exact "bug" that your friend's child had so we might order up tests for it?  Thanks.

[JDRF Volunteer WAK]

i would also wathc  what he is eating if he is eating alot of ": sugar free " foods that have manitol , or sorbitol tha can effect the stomach and give severe cramps as they are the active ingredent in laxatives, but used to make  sugar free foods sweet.  we had this problem wuith our daughter.  we eliminated the " sugar free foods and gave her regular foods and the problem went away.

[Alex's Dad]

Thanks to all for your quick response.  Yes, we had him tested for Celiac disease and he tested negative...good thought, however!  

Today U of Mich folks suggested also addison's disease (adrenal insufficiency)which we will investigate.
We also have him scheduled for a gastro doctor.  We had canceled when he got better, butare going to follow through this time.

Thanks, again!   Keep the suggestions coming!

[galzee]

Just wanted to add that you may want to have Alex screened for Celiac Disease.  My daughter was just recently diagnosed with it (she's a type 1 diabetic for 17 years) and her symptom was nausea/vomitting.  Hope he feels better soon!

[JDRF-Team-CDB]

Hi Alex's Dad,
Good for you for staying focused on figuring this out. It sounds like quite the ordeal.

I am the mom of a teenage diabetic, not a doc. I have not heard of links between that kind of long-term stomach pain and diabetes, but then again, I'm not a doc.

I do, however, have a friend whose (nondiabetic) son  had long-term, seemingly unsolvable stomach problems, also involving nausea but not vomiting, and pain. They were told several times is was probably psychosomatic. But they finally had a detailed panel of tests done for parasites/viruses, and they found that it was some unusual bug that had lodged in his gut (for at least a year). They figured out the right drug to kill it, and he has been totally fine ever since.

So maybe you should take him to a gastroenterologist and ask him/her to look for everything they can think of. Maybe he's got something in there that is unrelated to the diabetes?

Just a thought. Let us know how he does.