“What is the cause of loss of appetite in my mother?”
My mother is 70 years old and is suffering from loss of appetite. She feels full and bloated most of the times and every time she sits to eat food she feels nausea. She is suffering from kidney disease due to diabetes. Could these two be related?
5 Answers
Your mother's situation is tough because her symptoms of fullness, bloating, nausea, and poor appetite are rather vague and can be caused by many things. But overall, yes, it is possible that underlying diabetes and kidney disease could be contributing to the symptoms. It's very important to keep the blood glucose controlled at all times over 24 hours. Optimizing kidney function by a nephrologist is important too. Lastly, there could also be GI-specific reasons (delayed gastric emptying, H pylori, carbohydrate malabsorption, functional disease, etc.) for those symptoms, so a visit to a gastroenterologist would be reasonable.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Loss of appetite in elderly patients can be from multiple conditions. Your mom's complaint of feeling bloated easily could be related to her diabetes as well as kidney disease. She could have Gastroparesis, which is associated with diabetes when the stomach does not empty in 2-4 hrs. In any case, she needs to have an upper endoscopy for further evaluation of her symptoms. You have to consult a gastroenterologist who will be able schedule that.
Yes. This condition requires a gastroenterology consultation to exclude gastrointestinal causes.
Michael
Michael
Diabetes can be related. It causes gastroparesis, which stops the stomach from contracting. She needs to see a gastroenterologist right away. This could be due to many things, including some bad ones. Don’t waste your time with a primary care physician
Alain Ades, M.D.
Alain Ades, M.D.
Both long standing diabetes and renal failure can cause these symptoms. She needs to be evaluated by her physician.
