Gastroparesis . . .

As a Diabetic you soon learn there are lots of secondary conditions that follow you around.  One those is Gastroparesis.  Basicially that means the stomach does not empty in the small intestine like it is supposed to do.

I first discovered this condition when my breakfast cereal did not empty into the digestive tract like it is supposed to do.  The acid builds up in your stomach and the cereal balls up into a sour mass.  After about 12 hours, maybe ten hours or even 14 or 15 hours after you eat, your stomach lets you know all is not well.  And it empties itself the only way it can, by causing you to throw up.  After tossing your cookies everything seems to return to normal.

Well I can usually detect when the stomach is building up.  It lets you know it is not happy.  I have been on occasion able to clear my stomach by contracting my diaphragm which sort squeezes your stomach into properly emptying.  It does not always work and when it doesn't you will end up hugging the while porcelain fixture in the bathroom, the toilet.  You have no choice.

Last night I had a severe attack and ended up emptying my stomach into the toilet.  This time it was cereal, it was all liquid in nature.  And that is a change for me.  Usually I have no trouble with liquids but I had drank a cup of coffee after dinner.  I always take coffee with half and half cream, and that turned sour on me.  I had had a bowl of commercial frozen Gumbo which was very soupy, or if you will liquid instead of being a solid.  Yes, there were a few crummy shrimp in the Gumbo but there were soft so pretty much turned to liquid in my stomach.

So a 1:30AM the attack began.  I tried contracting my diaphragm several times with no relief.  Then the stomach notified me things were going to come up.  I trotted off the bathroom and sure enough just made it in time when stomach contents started flowing up.  Not pleasant but necessary.  After the regurgitation things returned to normal and I went off to sleep.

Diabetes, as in my case Type II, is an autoimmune disease.  Once you have it, it will be with you the rest of your life.  Some once asked what causes it and we do not know what that it is.  In some cases reducing weight can cause Type II to go into remission.  But it will pop up again when you least expect it.  In my case I probably have severe liver damage due to absorption of Agent Orange.  There is no cure, one must learn to manage their Diabetes.

Agent Orange, so named because it came in orange barrels, was defoliant sprayed in View Nam to remove the cover from use by the Viet Cong.  The primary bad actor in Agent Orange is Dioxen.  Dioxen is common in 2-4-D used by all of us to get rid of weeds or other plant growth we do not want or like.  The Agent Orange used a lot of it, in a most potent vein.  It was sprayed by C-123 aircraft.  And they were all over the flight line where I commonly worked.  We even used the barrels as trash barrels and modified some of them into Bar-B-Que pits.  We had no idea how bad the stuff was.  And that contamination was ramped. it was everywhere on a Air Base.  Dioxen gets into your liver and makes it intolerant to insulin.

Today all Viet Nam Veterans are subject to a myriad of diseases and cancers all caused by Agent Orange.  Many have died due to the onset of cancer including Prostate Cancer and Parkinson's Disease.  Fortunately for me, I have no cancer but I do have Diabetes Type II.  As a result I have Peripheral Neuropathy in both feet and both hands.  That is I am losing sensitivity in my hands and feet.  Diabetes attacks your nervous system.

A while back, several years ago, I noted I was getting quite obese.  So I set about losing some weight.  I lost over forty pounds and my normal weight now days is 190 pounds.  I think I had topped out a 243 pounds at one time.  I did this by not eating any lunch and I still more or less maintain a no lunch diet.  I figure in ancient times one at breakfast and then dinner.  So I figured lunch was just a luxury.  People told me Diabetics should not avoid meals, that is baloney.  Diabetics should avoid carbohydrates with a passion.  So I am mindful of my diet all the time.  I have rice and corn are very high in carbohydrates.  So I avoid those, as do I avoid sugar and sugary drinks.  Alcohol does not have sugar but does have empty calories.  So I do not drink as much as I once did.

So Gastroparesis is just another health element you have do deal with as a Diabetic.  You get used to it over time.   Metphormen is a common drug for Type II treatment and it can also stimulate your appetite.  I take it and Januvia to control my blood sugar.  My body produces insulin but my liver is intolerant to the insulin.  Those drugs essentially make the liver work like it should.