Strange Symptoms, Worry

I have just read the doctor's notes online, from last Wednesday's appointment.

1. AODM [adult-onset diabetes mellitus]. I will check his hemoglobin A1C to see if this is in as good range as it has been with him working on diet, exercise and his weight reduction.

2. Abdominal symptoms of unclear etiology. I am not exactly sure why he would be having episodes of constipation unless this was stress induced. His diet has not changed. His abdominal CT scan was unremarkable months ago and his colonoscopy was unremarkable at the beginning of the year. I am going to check labs. I would also with the burning over his bladder like to check his urine culture to make sure that he does not have a UTI.

My symptoms are still the same (a whole week with this constant-peeing now). Hopefully progress in diagnosis soon. I am rooting for a banal UTI.

Bluetit1802 said:

I suggested before that these are the symptom I get when I have an IBS flare up. Not diarrhea, not constipation ... not bunged up ... just the opposite. Perfectly normal stools, but several of them over an hour or two, preceded by the abdominal pain, which goes after each "evacuation" then returns before the next.

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Thanks. I can't believe we are discussing this, but it helps to Tell Things As They Are.

I am increasingly of the opinion that there is no connection between the constipation episodes and the peeing thing, although confusingly they happened at the same time, and passing stools also relieved the peeing thing, for a little while. I now think it was just a weird coincidence.

I am hoping that the two episodes of extreme constipation are just a one-off, and the doctor hints in his notes that they may be stress-related. (I am currently under a lot of work-related stress and this is something that I told the doctor about.)

The constant-peeing is what I worry the most about right now, for obvious reasons, as a T2D person. The doctor does not seem to be focusing on that possible connection and I find that encouraging!

I am sure the mystery will be solved soon. The lab does seem to have bungled things so it could take a day or two before we get the relevant tests back.

Bluetit1802 said:

Have a Google for IBS. That can also be stress related, and can be caused by certain food triggers.

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Thanks. Your symptoms of the constipation episodes do match mine exactly. Will follow up.

The main mystery is solved. I passed a kidney stone tonight, the second one in my life. The first one was six months ago.

In my opinion, this explains most or all of the abdominal pain episodes over the past three weeks. It also, I believe, explains why for the past 10 days I wanted to pee all the time (that urge has disappeared after passing the stone).

The kidney specialist I have been seeing had, in fact, largely ruled out the possibility of a new stone. Hence all the um-ing and ah-ing by my GP who was trying to figure out what else it could be. I am seeing the specialist soon and will give him the stone. It is 6mm long (ouch!) and shiny-crystalline in appearance. Rather like a rough, small shard of brown sugar. (Yeah, I know, too much information.)

In some ways I am relieved (sorry, awful pun) since the explanation for my strange symptoms is now clear. It is of course a bother to have a recurring "kidney stone problem." I will work on my diet, and also see what the kidney specialist has to say. Among other things, I believe I may be eating too many nuts. These have been my favorite snack food since going low-carb, but they are a known causation factor for kidney stones.

Anyway, It Was Not Diabetes!

(The severe constipation episodes are, in my opinion, a separate issue. They have not recurred. I think they may be stress-related and so does my GP.)

The medical soap opera continues. Quite a year.

Bluetit1802 said:

Ouch! It must be a big relief to know what it was and that it was nothing sinister. The stress will also have diminished I expect.

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Yes, I am quite serene today. The past days have been good too, having tackled some important business stuff after putting it off for no good reason. That nebulous thing "stress" is definitely Very Bad For You but often hard to pin down the true physical fallout. I am almost sure that it had an effect in my T2D, not as a first-line causative thing but it surely speeded up the progress of the disease in the years and months prior to diagnosis.

I now apparently have a history of renal calculii and that is not much fun. The first one, in May, was the worst pain I have experienced in my life (even worse than fracturing my hip while playing tennis, and that is saying something). The second one was preceded by several bouts of abdominal pain, but fortunately not quite as bad -- I was right on the edge of heading for A&E but stuck it out. I have some of the really strong painkillers left over (I only took one dose, in the original episode) which I am saving for a possible recurrence (to be taken only on medical advice, but at least I don't have to get the prescription).

Edited to add: I think I need to reduce the nuts in my diet. I really have been going it a bit with those! Probably should compensate by upping the fats in my diet.

Bluetit1802 said:

I don't know the first thing about kidney stones. All I know about kidneys is they need flushing out constantly, so water, water, water. Did you look at your kidney function blood test results and eGFR, and were they normal?

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They tested me up the wazoo (almost literally!) and found all my kidney functions normal. The blood (and urine) tests were all over the place during the actual "episode" but quickly returned to normal. BTW one of the key indicators of kidney stones is blood in the urine, although this is subtle enough that you would not be able to see it yourself (cloudiness/color might be a bit unusual though). Yes, I know, "too much information" but perhaps it will help someone.

There are other kidney-stone sufferers on this forum but to my knowledge no connection with T2D. In my case though, it was probably brought on in part by failure to hydrate enough when I started exercising a lot more, just after the T2 diagnosis. It was deep winter, I was wearing many layers of clothing, and coming home from my strenuous walks sweating like a donkey. Nowadays, I make sure to drink at least a liter of water during my daily walks.

Jo_the_boat said:

Just on the hydrating point, I really think it is so important to take on enough fluid.

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That is clearly the case. What is confusing is that most people just don't feel all that thirsty, most of the time. And yet, we are advised to drink quite a lot of water; several liters a day. (I now drink about 2 liters between meals, plus whatever fluids are consumed during the meal.)

I have read that this is especially the case among older people. As we age, the "thirst" reflex dims, apparently. This explains in part why the elderly are more vulnerable during heat waves in summer: they just don't drink enough fluids. This is partly because (in my experience from talking to elderly relatives) they find it too inconvenient because of the frequent trips to the toilet, especially at night.

Squire Fulwood said:

As for your constipation issues I hope they will also soon be resolved but I would like to bring up a subject that no-one has so far and it is this. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastroparesis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355787. I am not saying that I think you have gastroparesis, I am offering it as something else to read. I find that if you look up ED, polyuria or gastroparesis the vagus nerve seems to get a mention.

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Thanks, I took a look at it and it is suggestive. For the time being I am going to put the constipation issue to one side, unless it happens again.

Edited to add: Thank you so much to all the people who posted in this thread. It turned out to be wildly Off Topic with no connection to diabetes! Still, I appreciate the concern and information a lot.