Treatment and recommendations for homeless patients with diabetes

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October 28, 2004

Remember that the information presented here is not intended to replace the care of your own doctor. Before making any changes in the management of your own illness, you should consult your physician or other qualified medical professionals.

Question

My son, who has had diabetes for 15 years, is in the hospital again with uncontrolled vomiting. It seems to have no connection with his blood sugars. He tries so hard to keep his sugars under control, but no matter what he does, he can't get a handle on the vomiting. He dehydrates so quickly that it is neccessary to get him to the hospital. It used to happen once or twice a year and now it's monthly.

Do you know of other people with diabetes with this same problem? I'd be interested in any information you may have or if you know of a website where I could find help.

Answer

This chronic and serious problem require a thorough work-up by a stomach specialist, a gastroenterologist. This could be symptoms related to diabetic gastroparesis and usually are difficult to correlate to blood glucose levels, as you indicate. Diabetic gastroparesis is a long term complication of diabetes and the possibility of this complication should be evaluated.

slb

See diabetes and the gut for more information on gastroparesis.