I got an endoscopy 4 months ago which luckily ruled out celiac and chrone's. Coming out of the procedure, the nurse told me my stomach was imflammed and I should stop drinking coffee. I was groggy and ignored him, I mean I only drink 1-2 cups a day. Then, my GI doc was on maternity leave. I finally saw her for a follow-up, and she said the nurse (who in hindsight had no idea what he was talking about) was talking about gastritis. I asked what it was, and she said it was likely related to the T1. I guess slight or early gastroparesis can lead it it. It's not serious, but just makes me a little gassy.
But, now I'm depressed. Does this mean I have a complication already? I had poor control until I was 16, a mix of hormones, less advanced technology/insulins, and general lack of foresight in children. But, I've had a1c's in the 7's since I was 16, and in the 6's and 5's since I was 28. (I'm 32 now.) Did my early aic's of 8 and 9 lead to this? I'm feeling down about it b/c I've been so "good" in recent years. I'm freaking out that there are more problems to come!
Thanks for your support! I really need to vent about this...
I wouldn't consider it a complication. Until it requires medication or is "not serious", i wouldn't count it!
i mean, yeah as diabetics we are more likely to get this or that, especially if we don't have decent control, but it your doctor isn't saying it's serious and all of that, then i don't think you should worry about it more than just keeping an eye on it with them.
i have at least one problem that they could possibly rule as a "complication" of diabetes but with no proof it was caused by my diabetes/the struggle for control i've had since i was 6, and no idea what has caused it anyways..i don't count it. :)
i have gastroparesis. i've had it for about 7 years.
something like 60% of all patients with gastroparesis are diabetic (i can't remember the exact statistics). gastroparesis is nerve damage in the stomach, causing the food to digest slower than normal. it can be uncomfortable at times, causing stomach pain, bloating, cramping, nausea/vomiting, possibly diarrhea.
it can be easily controlled through small, frequent meals and snacks. instead of 3 meals and 2-3 snacks per day, someone can eat 6 small meals a couple hours apart. this gives the tummy time to digest small amounts of food before more is put into it. if this doesn't work, small diet changes can be made (lower fat, less red meat, smaller amounts of dairy at a time, increased fiber) to try to speed up digestion. and if this still doesn't work, you can take pills.
i tried the pills very very briefly, but had some wretched side effects (muscle spasms), so i stopped taking them. i control my gastroparesis very easily by eating frequently, small amounts throughout the day. the only time i find myself in trouble is around the holidays when there are TONS of goodies around i only get once a year. then i go a little hog wild... then i puke everything up, feel sick for a couple days, and am back to normal after that :o)
whatever i would eat at my normal meal, i just spread it out over a couple hours. for example: lunch i usually have a sandwich, salad, veggies, and baked chips. i'll have the salad and the sandwich at noon, then eat the veggies and baked chips around 3pm. i do the same thing for lunch and dinner too. if i get hungry between meals, i'll have something small like a carton of yogurt, crackers, or fruit.
Yes, it does. But the rate all depends on how much you've eaten and what you've eaten. If you've eaten a lot of especially fatty and/or hard to digest food, then the slowed digestion slows your absorption rate, so you may find yourself having a low fairly soon after you've eaten. Then, once the food starts moving again, you may experience a high since the food is absorbed at an unpredicatable time. The absolute best thing that's worked for me is as C has suggested. Smaller amounts of food spaced out through the day, avoid caffeine and fatty foods. If it's really bad, then I pretty much switch to broth and crackers for at least a half day just because I feel so cruddy. Activity (light exercise) also seems to help get things moving, although it's the last thing you want to do when you're bloated like you just swallowed a bowling ball. I've tried pills for it as well, and the side effect I had was anxiety attacks. Gads, they were awful!!
I have also had gastroparesis for about 4 years now. I have had a VERY hard time finding anything that works... I have a slew of other problems though and I'm sure they all act together to cause my symptoms. My latest is peripheral neuropathy which seems to also affect my appetite horribly, or maybe it's the medication, but some days I cannot force myself to eat for most of the day; I find on these days I feel A LOT better over all. So strange, seems like the more food and insulin in a day causes everything in my body to freak out, terrible pain all day, can't stop eating, high blood sugars... Anyway my point is that everyone is different, I guess we just have to experiment and find what works for us:) I also tried medication for the gastroparesis and my side affect was that I couldn't stay awake no matter what I was doing about 30 min after taking it.... As far as being depressed about having a complication, I know how easy it is to feel defeated, but in my experience giving in to that only makes things worse, dwelling on it seems to make it all stand out more.
Hmm thats interesting sarah, I get an upset stomach after drinking coffee... is this what you experience? I don't know if I have signs of gastroparesis though because I seem to absorb foods extremely quickly. I've gone over in my mind how I would respond if I was diagnosed with a complication (although it doesn't sound like you have one!!) and I think I'd decide that the past is the past (I had poor control while I was in high school), and all I can control is the now, which I'm doing my best at, so don't stop doing what you are because your clearly doing a great job now, and I'm fairly certain good control can halt/reduce the progression of complications and in some cases even reverse it (although, once again it doesn't sound like you have a complication here)
an upset stomach after drinking coffee (or spicy foods or other caffeinated beverages) would probably be something more like GERD. coffee has a lot of acid in it, which can irritate the tummy.