Type 1 diabetes/ juvenile diabetes

amother

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 12:40 am

DC has some very worrying behaviors and symptoms. The dr had us test his blood sugar levels in the morning after not eating all night for a week and they ranged from 98-123. The dr said no..thats fine. Meanwhile dc's issues are getting worse. I plan on taking him back and requesting it gets looked into further, just wondering if anyone's child has diabetes and what happened or what symptoms did you see before they were diagnosed.

I keep thinking I'm nuts for worrying about this, but really everything points to it. Any advice?

spoiled

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 2:22 am

Drinking a lot and going a lot to the bathroom are the first symptoms, also no apettite.
these can't go on for too long for a type 1, he would go into a coma, with a type 2, this can go on for years.
123 for the morning isn't very good, but also not "bad".
What do you mean by everything points to it? what are his symptoms?

rovacat

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 2:53 am

is dc losing weight? does he have an insatiable thirst? really you should give him a couple glasses of orange juice or something, then test his sugar. I don't understand how morning numbers would help. it would also depend on what he ate for dinner the night before. if he had chicken and broccoli, his numbers should stay fine.

amother

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 9:23 am

Hello - I am a diabetes educator. I do not give specific advice to strangers on the internet, but I would be glad to share some general information. Onset of Type 1 DM is generally characterized by excessive thirst, excessive urination, hunger, weight loss, fatigue and blurry vision. Not all of the symptoms may be present. Onset is usually but not always abrupt and obvious. Blood sugar levels will be markedly elevated if untreated. Type 2 DM can occur in children, especially if obese, but the onset tends to be more subtle. There are other conditions resulting in high blood sugar as well.

There are several ways to diagnose diabetes, but home testing, while useful for management, is not accurate enough for diagnosis. In general, fasting levels over 125 (from the lab) on more than one occasion or a non-fasting level over 200 is diagnostic. Please note that lab norms may be slightly different. One-hour glucose challenge or three-hour glucose tolerance tests may also be used, and hemoglobin a1c (a 3-month average of blood sugar) may be evaluated as well.

It is hard to interpret home readings without knowing the normal level for your strips. (Lab norms may vary as well). Morning (fasting) levels should be around 100, but 80-120 is generally considered normal - once again, interpreted in the context of your strips' normal range.

There are two parts to diabetes management, which also apply to diagnosis: fasting and non-fasting. Fasting levels show how well the body regulates its baseline glucose level, while non-fasting levels show what happens after food is introduced into the system. One and three hour testing evaluates both parts.

What are the symptoms that worried you?

amother

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 10:53 am

originally we were worried that he was hypoglycemic which is why we tested his blood sugar fasting in the morning. He would become unreasonable and combative while experiencing intense hunger at various times of the day, but then to get him to eat we would practically have to shove the food down his throat and only then could he calm down and return to his normal cute self.

Then other things started happening. He is not fully potty trained even at 5, he wets himself so much at night thta even with a pullup on AND he gets up 1-2 x a night he usually leaks through the pullup by the morning. Now with intense hunger he has intense thirst too, and to top it off , while he used to be kinda chunky he is now rail thin. Additionally he has no energy, he used to super active now after walking a in or two outside he tells me he has to lie down.

I know he is not at a point yet where he has had a crisis, but then again I'd rather not get to that.

And that is why I am nervous.

Supermom#1

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 12:09 pm

My DD has Type 1. it's interesting - the symptoms you describe in your latest post do point to type 1, but the #'s point more in the direction of type 2. Although your doc said that 120 BG (blood glucose) before eating in the morning is normal, it absolutely is not!
The basic rule for diagnosing Type 2 is this: 100 or below - normal, 100-120 - pre diabetes, above 120 - diabetes. if your child's BG is 120 before eating, its very possible that his BG goes really high after eating which can cause real health problems long-term.
Here's what I suggest: get hold of a glucose meter to check your child's BG at home for a few days, record the #'s & see how it goes. Check first thing in the morning, and also 1 hour after meals as suggested by Rabbi Meisels of Friends with Diabetes. if the BG turns out to be normal, great! Just continue to feed your kid healthy food - cut down on sugar & white flour - & make sure he gets some exercise every day.
If the BG is elevated, see a dr asap, preferably not the one you saw before, perhaps a competent endocrinologist would be a better way to go.
Let me know if I could be of any more help, & I sure hope your child is ok!