Hi. I'm gonna apologise in advance for the long winded post it's my first time, but my fiancé and I are in need of some advice if anyone can help?
I'll give a little background info before I get into our problem
My fiancé is a type 1 Diabetic, and has been for the past 22 years. Around her late teens to early 20s, her blood sugars weren't controlled greatly, sometimes not at all. She was hospitalised with DKA twice. In the 5 years we've been together, her control has improved, and I'm so proud of her for doing so!
The reason for my post is this:
She's been complaining of stomach pains for the past 8-9 years. She had blood tests to rule some things out, nothing showed up. Happy days. Her old GP did no further investigation, claimed it was IBS. She was told to try the FODMAP diet, find her triggers, avoid those foods where possible. Which we did. And found it made no difference. Tried smaller portions, and that seemed to make the littlest difference. Over lockdown, things got a little worse. To the point where she was in tears with the pain. So, we got in touch with her doctor's surgery, and we spoke to someone different this time. Happy days! A second opinion. We explained all the symptoms over the phone, and he decided it wasn't IBS, or just IBS anyway. He agreed to a face to face appointment, and had a hunch it could be gastroparesis.
So we attended the appointment, and he instantly started focusing on her bowels.....not her stomach. After explaining that she eats an average amount of fruit and veg in her diet, and having a feel around her bowel area (not her stomach), he ruled out gastroparesis, diagnosed it as 9 years of constant constipation. My fiancé got incredibly upset, told him he ignored the stomach pain completely and cried her way out of the office. She was given a prescription for Fybrogel on her way out. All of the doctors she has seen, tend to ignore the stomach pain and focus on her bowels.
So, diagnosis in hand, we came home, and I did my usual bit of Internet research. Whilst looking at "diabetes and constipation", I found an article on this website, and as much as it said there was no real worry, I stumbled across an article on Autonomic Neuropathy. I know this could be a grasp at straws, but hang on 2 secs....
She was told by her doctor of 10 years she has erratic blood pressure
She has dizzy spells
She's on Oxybutin(?) For excessive sweating
She has stomach pains and issues
Our sex life is.....complicated, because she has arousal issues and when she is interested, she struggles with lubrication issues (sorry. TMI I imagine, I always put it down to her depression)
Her last eye exam shows signs of retinopathy
All of which her regular doctor is aware of (ok, maybe not the sex life part). But is it possible these are all related?! Are they focusing on one thing at a time, and maybe missing a bigger picture? Or am I potentially clutching at straws with the idea? I have emailed her Diabetes team asking for advice too. But thought I would see if anyone had any opinions on here while I waited
Thanks for taking the time to read this essay, and I apologise for it being so long. I just can't stand to see her so defeated all the time over it all.
I'll give a little background info before I get into our problem
My fiancé is a type 1 Diabetic, and has been for the past 22 years. Around her late teens to early 20s, her blood sugars weren't controlled greatly, sometimes not at all. She was hospitalised with DKA twice. In the 5 years we've been together, her control has improved, and I'm so proud of her for doing so!
The reason for my post is this:
She's been complaining of stomach pains for the past 8-9 years. She had blood tests to rule some things out, nothing showed up. Happy days. Her old GP did no further investigation, claimed it was IBS. She was told to try the FODMAP diet, find her triggers, avoid those foods where possible. Which we did. And found it made no difference. Tried smaller portions, and that seemed to make the littlest difference. Over lockdown, things got a little worse. To the point where she was in tears with the pain. So, we got in touch with her doctor's surgery, and we spoke to someone different this time. Happy days! A second opinion. We explained all the symptoms over the phone, and he decided it wasn't IBS, or just IBS anyway. He agreed to a face to face appointment, and had a hunch it could be gastroparesis.
So we attended the appointment, and he instantly started focusing on her bowels.....not her stomach. After explaining that she eats an average amount of fruit and veg in her diet, and having a feel around her bowel area (not her stomach), he ruled out gastroparesis, diagnosed it as 9 years of constant constipation. My fiancé got incredibly upset, told him he ignored the stomach pain completely and cried her way out of the office. She was given a prescription for Fybrogel on her way out. All of the doctors she has seen, tend to ignore the stomach pain and focus on her bowels.
So, diagnosis in hand, we came home, and I did my usual bit of Internet research. Whilst looking at "diabetes and constipation", I found an article on this website, and as much as it said there was no real worry, I stumbled across an article on Autonomic Neuropathy. I know this could be a grasp at straws, but hang on 2 secs....
She was told by her doctor of 10 years she has erratic blood pressure
She has dizzy spells
She's on Oxybutin(?) For excessive sweating
She has stomach pains and issues
Our sex life is.....complicated, because she has arousal issues and when she is interested, she struggles with lubrication issues (sorry. TMI I imagine, I always put it down to her depression)
Her last eye exam shows signs of retinopathy
All of which her regular doctor is aware of (ok, maybe not the sex life part). But is it possible these are all related?! Are they focusing on one thing at a time, and maybe missing a bigger picture? Or am I potentially clutching at straws with the idea? I have emailed her Diabetes team asking for advice too. But thought I would see if anyone had any opinions on here while I waited
Thanks for taking the time to read this essay, and I apologise for it being so long. I just can't stand to see her so defeated all the time over it all.