Hi there all, I was wondering if anyone can really help me out, you see, over the last few months, I have been noticing that I have been experiencing some minor mild symptoms of gastro. Mild bloating, leading upto my next meal, unexpected fluctuations in blood sugars and some abdominal pain. I have been noticing a pattern in my blood sugars, where two hours after eating, my blood sugars are fine, but then five hours after, before meal times, when I check my blood blood sugars, they have shooted upto 14 or 15 mmol. I’ve noticed that it’s been happening a few times, I’ve also gone back to going low carb, to see if that helps, & I’m really worried that it may affect my health in the long term. The pain sometimes comes, very rarely, on my left side of the stomach, like a sharp pain and sometimes under both my ribs. Currently my hba1c is low, so I’m safe for the time being, but if this carries on, then I’m worried that it will increase my A1c and increase my chances of complications. I know that the alternative is to eat smaller meals, but geez, that sounds really painful . I don’t really have any other symptoms, besides those and my appetite is pretty good, even though I’m still full, 3 hours after eating. I’m made an appointment with my doctor to be seen in a fortnight and to ask to be referred to a specialist, to undergo tests, to get a better diagnosis. This is the thing right, having just gastro is bad enough, on its own, but when having it with diabetes, it can make it more difficult and very daunting and severely depressing. I’m in a constant rut and some days I just cry and cry and have so many negative thoughts and emotions. I’m mentally drained out and suffer with severe anxiety and depression. Overall my tir is pretty good, most weeks, also on another note, these past two weeks, with the frequent fluctuations, I have been slightly down, with a viral infection and I’m currently on my period, so I don’t know if it’s cos of that.
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Gastric symptoms and blood fluctuations
- Thread starter Isma1123
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HayleyR
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nonethewiser
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Thank you, fingers crossed
Hey there, thanks for replying. I’ve had it since 2001. So it could be a good enough reason, that I may have it, having had it that long. I pray though, fingers crossed, that it’s due to other reasons, such as miscounting carbs, or maybe stress, or like I mentioned before, being that time of the month. Plus I’ve had a viral infection, for nearly two weeks. But deep down I know that it could be gastro. I’m just in denial. Do you find this pattern also, with your blood sugars at times, that they spike significantly, after 5 hours, or are you all goodHi @Isma1123 so sorry to hear that you're going through such a very tough time, it's not surprising you feel very low.. I'm glad you've got an initial GP appointment to talk things through and hopefully one with a specialist soon to work out a treatment plan. How long have you had Diabetes?
Inka
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@Isma1123 looking back at your previous posts, you said you were worried that you might have gastroparesis, and then some months later that you had mild gastroparesis.
Have you actually been diagnosed with gastroparesis? If so, are you concerned that this is a worsening of it? Or is your concern ‘just’ the erratic sugars, which are recent? Or, haven’t you been diagnosed with gastroparesis at all?
Anxiety can cause unpleasant physical symptoms so I think you’re right to bear that in mind.
Have you actually been diagnosed with gastroparesis? If so, are you concerned that this is a worsening of it? Or is your concern ‘just’ the erratic sugars, which are recent? Or, haven’t you been diagnosed with gastroparesis at all?
Anxiety can cause unpleasant physical symptoms so I think you’re right to bear that in mind.
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Inka
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Gastroparesis isn’t a common complication @Isma1123 Apparently, it affects less than 5% of people with Type 1. Any bowel/abdominal problems are unpleasant, even if it’s something simple, and they impact on your life even if they’re ‘just’ caused by anxiety because they can cause pain or discomfort and can put you off your food, which sometimes causes a vicious circle as not eating properly can make things worse.
I hope you get some relief from your problems, including your anxiety and depression x
I hope you get some relief from your problems, including your anxiety and depression x
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Sorry to hear about your difficult symptoms @Isma1123
Like @Inka I’m wondering about gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying). Do you have a diagnosis with that? Who are you seeing for it? Are you taking any medication to help with it?
Delayed stomach emptying could give rise to nausea, feelings of uncomfortable fullness, and delayed rise in BG levels.
But as others have said, worry and anxiety can have a significant impact on the digestive system, so it can be very difficult to unpick what is going on sometimes.
Like @Inka I’m wondering about gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying). Do you have a diagnosis with that? Who are you seeing for it? Are you taking any medication to help with it?
Delayed stomach emptying could give rise to nausea, feelings of uncomfortable fullness, and delayed rise in BG levels.
But as others have said, worry and anxiety can have a significant impact on the digestive system, so it can be very difficult to unpick what is going on sometimes.
Inka
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That’s why I’m confused, @everydayupsanddowns From @Isma1123 ’s earlier threads, it sounded like she didn’t have many of the symptoms of gastroparesis. I think she said herself she had very few of them. But clearly she does have a worry about getting it.
There are lots of other things it could be @Isma1123 so I wouldn’t assume it’s anything to do with your diabetes and I definitely wouldn’t assume it’s gastroparesis.
There are lots of other things it could be @Isma1123 so I wouldn’t assume it’s anything to do with your diabetes and I definitely wouldn’t assume it’s gastroparesis.
Thank you for the response, its very reassuring to hear that it may not be the case, but for a peice of mind, I want to get a proper diagnosis
Yeah of course, I do suffer with extreme anxiety also and that also results in fast heart palpitations for me, not a very nice feeling. I haven’t got a diagnosis done yet, but I’m waiting for a referral from the gp, I only have a few of the minor symptoms, none of the extreme.
I don’t have any extreme abdominal discomfort, no nausea and never have vomited and thankfully I have a pretty good appetite and have a good relationship with my food. Thank you for your support xxx
Inka
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That’s understandable. What confused me was here:
Post in thread 'After hypo blood readings'
http://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/after-hypo-blood-readings.112623/post-1358081
Where you said:
“My gastroparesis is under control and does not have an impact on my blood sugars”.
And:
Post in thread 'Gastroparesis and diabetes'
http://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/gastroparesis-and-diabetes.56785/post-1311598
“I’ve recently found out I have gastroparesis too.”
As you haven’t actually been diagnosed with gastroparesis, I think it’s wise to keep an open mind as to the cause. Not just to reduce anxiety but because by assuming it’s one thing, you might miss what it actually is. It might be something completely separate from your diabetes.
I note you said you’re eating low carb. How many carbs are you having roughly? Low carb can cause late rises in blood sugar, ie some hours after eating. This is due to the body breaking down protein in the absence of sufficient carbs and be a real nuisance, taking more effort to control than a normal meal with a reasonable amount of carbs. Higher fat meals can also cause later rises. Just one idea. I also note you say low carb works for you - could this be because you’ve unwittingly cut out or reduced a troublesome food? That is, it’s actually the missing food that’s the issue?
Another useful thing you could consider doing is to keep a food diary and add any symptoms to that too. That might help you identify any foods that trigger issues for you. It would also be helpful to show any specialist. You could also add the days of your menstrual cycle in case the abdominal issues are linked to that, as you mention in your first post.
It’s often more a case of ruling things out, which is tedious, but will hopefully give you an answer. You can probably do some of the ruling out yourself. If you think it might be IBS, there’s a useful diet called the Low Fodmap diet (and an app that helps you follow it by Monash).
On your thread from a year or so ago, it sounded like you were having issues with constipation and weren’t eating much fibre at some points. Perhaps some gradual, simple adjustments to your diet will help? Did you manage to get on a DAFNE course? Type 1s can eat a normal healthy diet, with normal foods like cereal, pulses, pasta, veg, fruit, etc etc, all of which will help your fibre intake @Isma1123
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