My four-year-old daughter was diagnosed two months ago with Type 1 diabetes. The doctor told me that we caught it very early that she had probably had it less than a month. Could they tell that by her A1C tests that is possibly wasn’t very elevated? When she was one, she contracted Lyme disease and was on the antibiotic regime. Is there any link between Lyme disease and diabetes? I understand that Lyme can bring about other diseases even though the Lyme itself has been treated.

Present understanding is that your daughter almost certainly has Type 1A (autoimmune) diabetes and therefore that the process of gradual destruction of her insulin producing cells would have started many months before the clinical onset. I doubt if the Lyme disease influenced this process although it might have hastened the process a little at the time.

DOB
Additional comments from Dr. Robertson:

It is, of course, tempting to link the Lyme disease with later onset of diabetes and I can’t say that it didn’t have a part to play. However, since we don’t know exactly what triggers diabetes, this is a rather academic argument. What is important now is that you learn how to manage your daughter’s diabetes and, in time, teach her how to do it in such a way that she doesn’t miss out on all the experiences that her friends are having.

KJR
Additional comments from Dr. Deeb:
I don’t know of Lyme and diabetes; there’s no good reason to think they are linked. The A1c does tell how long the glucose has been high.

LD