Belly

Question

I have a question, I (16) have per se already a big belly (respectively a bit a big one) due to CF and diabetes. However, now it gets worse, I have quite much air in it.... as it turs out to be worse and worse with the belly (thus bigger and all) this bothers me a lot...can one do something about this?

Answer

Hello,
you have problems with your belly/abdomen (circumference of the belly?). You observe that your belly turns out to get bigger and bigger and that you have quite a lot flatulences. You assume a connection with the diabetes, from which you suffer besides CF and ask about a possible solution of those problems.
In order to be able to judge your situation correctly, one should know, how the relation weight/height has been before the onset of the diabetes and if probably a longer phase of cortison therapy preceeded the onset of the diabetes. Furthermore it is important to know if you do sports or at least do some other physical work or if you are more an easy and a bit inactive person.
Probably, due to the cortison therapy you have buit up certain fat stores, which now even increased under a well adjusted insulin therapy with an accompanying high-calory nutrition. It is therefore necessary, that you discuss in detail with the staff of the diabetes clinic, which amount of calories you should take in per day. Due to the described increased affinity to flatulences it should at the same time be discussed if a change in the composition of food has to be done. In this context one has to pay also attention to regular bowel movements as a part of your problems could be due to an affinity to obstipation.
Furthermore, it is of course very important, that you do sports regularly. This is helpful with respect to the underlying disease CF and helps of course also to get rid of unwanted fat stores. In case the increase in the circumference of the belly should be exclusively due to fat stores in the abdominal skin and in case you inject insulin mostly in the abdominal skin, the insulin injection should be changed e.g. to the upper legs.
We hope to have helped you with this information.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. H.-G. Posselt

16.04.2013