Excruciating stomach pains

[Chrissie Wa]

hi not been on here for a. It as been busy trying to keep my OH together, his stomach problems have been ongoing but GP still miffed. He has had CT, MRI and ultrasounds scans which showed nothing, he gets the odd bout of constipation which he's been given a laxative for, but he is still in pain most of the time and has now started leaving half of his meal each time. He's not taking Metformin or any of the drugs and is semi low carving keeping his blood under 10, about 7.5 which GP says is ok. On Monday he collapsed from the sofa in agony and I had to take him to GP in retrospect I wish I'd taken him to A&E, he had to have a jab of morphine and buscopan, I got him home he sleep that evening, yesterday he mooched about but today did some work after having a sleepless night due to leg pains. Is the GP missing something? He was referred to a chronic pain consultant who wanted to give him a tens needle procedure on his back but he was refused funding. He's wasting away before my eyes, I don't know what to do next. Any ideas? He is due to start an Expert course in October but after the stabbing pains which he thought was Dr. Death on Monday I'm very worried. Any ideas? Tia plus our GP apps are very difficult to get as they are so understaffed.

 

[HOBIE]

Welcome ,we are not Drs but I would think Hydration straight away. Diet Tonic Water for leg cramps & Hydration. Good luck & pls keep asking.

 

[Chrissie Wa]

Tonic specifically? He doesn't like it, he drinks plenty of water. Would diet lemonade work?

 

[HOBIE]

It sounds like high BG & lack of hydration to me so water is good but tonic water has Quinine in it which is good for cramps etc. 🙂

 

[Amigo]

How worrying for you both Chrissie. I really hope the cause for these awful problems can be found soon because his BG's don't sound too bad. You mention leg pains as opposed to cramp. It's essential he keeps hydrated but in honesty the quinine contained in tonic water isn't sufficient anyway to deal with cramp. The medically prescribed dose to prevent leg cramps is usually between 200 and 300 mg. A litre of tonic contains around 83 mg of quinine. That means one eight-ounce glass has about 20 mg. You would have to drink about 10 glasses to get the dose of quinine that doctors used to prescribe to prevent leg cramps. Besides which quinine is associated with causing the blood disorder, thrombocytopenia in which the platelets drop which is why I don't take it despite having serious leg cramps.

Does he have a back condition? It's hard to get a sense of where the pain is originating at the moment. You mention a tens machine and I found the use of a one very beneficial and back pain gave me bad stomach pains. They're not that expensive to buy.

I really hope he can discover the reason for this and find some ease. Sounds like he needs to see a Gastroenterologist. Best wishes.

 

[Chrissie Wa]

Interestingly the tens man suggested it was his back. But now after another sleepless night he says he's been sick and had diarrhoea. He ate 1/2 of his dinner but went on and made himself a pudding (Apple, bio plain yoghurt and ice-cream). He got up at 5 but has now gone back to bed. I have to go to see my mum who is 90, so I'll be out all day. I don't know whether to try to make him a Drs appt or leave him to sleep on the hope that he might feel better.

 

[Amigo]

I'm sorry to hear he's suffering like this Chrissie but don't be put off, insist on further medical exploration. Sickness, diahorrea and the runs suggests it might be a gastric problem and he needs the full array of tests a gastroenterologist can do. It could be so many things not easily detected on scans. Has he had an endoscopy and colonoscopy and the test for coeliac disease? It could well be his back aggravating the pain but the sickness and runs suggest he needs a much closer look at things. I had gastritis and it's very painful. Anxiety and stress aggravate it. Is the functioning of his pancreas/gall bladder ok? Have they considered inflammatory bowel disease? I'm just throwing out ideas here to discuss with his doctor.

You need a doctor who will listen and pursue things further. Wishing him improved health soon.

 

[Chrissie Wa]

I have left him in bed. He's not hungry so don't know how it will affect the diabetes if he doesn't eat, I phoned the Dr and managed to get him an appointment in 1 week so he can get results of latest tests. I will ask then if he can see a gastroenterologist. I'm worried about the weeken, hope we don't end up in A&E again. We are self employed which is adding to his stress.

 

[Amigo]

I have left him in bed. He's not hungry so don't know how it will affect the diabetes if he doesn't eat, I phoned the Dr and managed to get him an appointment in 1 week so he can get results of latest tests. I will ask then if he can see a gastroenterologist. I'm worried about the weeken, hope we don't end up in A&E again. We are self employed which is adding to his stress.

This must be very stressful for you too Chrissie because we feel helpless to know what to do for the best when loved one suffer. If he's a type 2 not on any medication, don't worry too much about the food intake. Very small amounts he can tolerate and plenty of fluids will be fine. I'm diet only and don't have 'proper diabetic hypos' but keep an eye on his levels nonetheless. My BGs never drop too low even if I'm ill and not eating.
Hope he's ok over the weekend and glad you've managed to get another appointment for him but disappointing it's taking another week. Advocate for him and don't let them put you off. Just because they haven't found the cause yet doesn't mean it doesn't exist!

 

[Chrissie Wa]

Well once again he's gone to bed, today's total intake 1 x bowl of oat crunchies with milk plus 1/2 protein drink. Anyone know about diabetic gastroparesis as that's what it sounds like to me, he hasn't been tested for it
Tia
Chrissie - worried sick

 

[Chrissie Wa]

This must be very stressful for you too Chrissie because we feel helpless to know what to do for the best when loved one suffer. If he's a type 2 not on any medication, don't worry too much about the food intake. Very small amounts he can tolerate and plenty of fluids will be fine. I'm diet only and don't have 'proper diabetic hypos' but keep an eye on his levels nonetheless. My BGs never drop too low even if I'm ill and not eating.
Hope he's ok over the weekend and glad you've managed to get another appointment for him but disappointing it's taking another week. Advocate for him and don't let them put you off. Just because they haven't found the cause yet doesn't mean it doesn't exist!

He did his blood earlier it was 8.5

 

[Amigo]

He did his blood earlier it was 8.5

So sorry to hear this is continuing. I know @AJLang on here has gastroparesis and may be able to advise from her personal experience. Hopefully she won't mind me copying her into this but I know she had a bad night.

 

[Chrissie Wa]

I phoned 111 last night after he turned down his dinner, heaved when I put it in front of him. By 10.30 I was exhausted so left him with the phone as they promised to call back within 2 hrs. When I got up this morning there was a message on the ansafine timed 12:15 from a Dr saying she was sorry to have missed us
He got himself some cereal this morning but couldn't eat it so I said, right, A&E
Upshot was they didn't like me mentioning gastro paresis, took full bloods which came back clear, blood glucose was 11 and ketones slightly raised. They sent him away saying they will put him forward for a camera up and down and he can increase the morphine if necessary, try Complan or similar a little and often. He has now taken morphine again, no food and gone back to bed. Surely this can't be right?

 

[Hazel]

how worrying for you. sorry I am not a medically trained person to comment, but no food and morphine does not sound like a good mix

 

[Chrissie Wa]

I don't know what to do, to be sent away from the hospital, there's no place else to go

 

[Amigo]

I don't know what to do, to be sent away from the hospital, there's no place else to go

That's an awful position to be in Chrissie and I feel for you both. He definitely needs the colonoscopy and endoscopy and it sounds like he could possibly have an inflammatory bowel disorder or ulcerative colitis but until further testing is done, they'll never know. There's so many possibilities but nobody is trying to get to the cause. Ideally he would have been kept in for testing and observation. Their actions are not impressive at all! They've obviously done a C Reactive Protein test to see if there's inflammation or infection. Did they not give any indication of what they suspect it to be. It's so irresponsible just dishing out morphine and sending him home.

https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/about-inflammatory-bowel-disease/what-are-the-symptoms

I'd push your own GP tomorrow and stress how urgent it is. He should be able to get him admitted. If the hospital keep messing you about, you need to speak to PALS and report your concerns. Good luck.

 

[AJLang]

So sorry to hear this is continuing. I know @AJLang on here has gastroparesis and may be able to advise from her personal experience. Hopefully she won't mind me copying her into this but I know she had a bad night.

Thanks for alerting me Amigo x The mainsymptoms of diabetic gastroparesis (although it can vary) are nausea, often vomiting up food that is undigested (sorry for the graphic information), erratic blood sugars (from the food being delayed in the stomach), UPPER stomach fullness after not eating much, lack of appetite and sometimes stomach pain. I was in pain the other night but not sure if it was my gastroparesis or severe stress because of my mum dying and falling asleep without having my gastroparesis medication - I think probably the latter for me. I'm lucky that I tend not to vomit but the nausea, upper stomach bloating and lack of appetite (even when my tummy is rumbling) are my main symptoms. If your husband has severe nausea/vomiting, upper stomach bloating, erratic blood sugars AND lack of appetite I would be more inclined to think it is gastroparesis - my GP dismissed my symptoms but fortunately, after maybe a year, my diabetes consultant ordered a gastric emptying studying which is the gold star for diagnosing gastroparesis - but other causes of his symptoms should be ruled first. Sorry for the long message 🙂 Please excuse the capital letters that I've used for emphasis.

 

[Copepod]

I phoned 111 last night after he turned down his dinner, heaved when I put it in front of him. By 10.30 I was exhausted so left him with the phone as they promised to call back within 2 hrs. When I got up this morning there was a message on the ansafine timed 12:15 from a Dr saying she was sorry to have missed us
He got himself some cereal this morning but couldn't eat it so I said, right, A&E
Upshot was they didn't like me mentioning gastro paresis, took full bloods which came back clear, blood glucose was 11 and ketones slightly raised. They sent him away saying they will put him forward for a camera up and down and he can increase the morphine if necessary, try Complan or similar a little and often. He has now taken morphine again, no food and gone back to bed. Surely this can't be right?

Is he able to keep fluids down, whether liquids or with food powders such as Complan? Definitely worth an emergency GP appointment tomorrow, taking along any documents or notes you have from A&E.

 

[Chrissie Wa]

That's an awful position to be in Chrissie and I feel for you both. He definitely needs the colonoscopy and endoscopy and it sounds like he could possibly have an inflammatory bowel disorder or ulcerative colitis but until further testing is done, they'll never know. There's so many possibilities but nobody is trying to get to the cause. Ideally he would have been kept in for testing and observation. Their actions are not impressive at all! They've obviously done a C Reactive Protein test to see if there's inflammation or infection. Did they not give any indication of what they suspect it to be. It's so irresponsible just dishing out morphine and sending him home.

https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/about-inflammatory-bowel-disease/what-are-the-symptoms

I'd push your own GP tomorrow and stress how urgent it is. He should be able to get him admitted. If the hospital keep messing you about, you need to speak to PALS and report your concerns. Good luck.

No one said anything about a C reactive protein test, no

 

[Chrissie Wa]

Is he able to keep fluids down, whether liquids or with food powders such as Complan? Definitely worth an emergency GP appointment tomorrow, taking along any documents or notes you have from A&E.

We have nothing from A&E. I'm trickle feeding him Complan (high in sugar) plus he had 1/4 of a fruit scone (white flour I know but I'm at the stage where it's whatever he fancies). I rang the automated and made an appt for Next Tuesday which is not helpful. Are there any OTC tummy soothing meds I could get? He's also on Buscopan. Thanks all for your input as we have no friends or neighbours/family with diabetes