November 21, 2002
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Birjand, Khorassan, Iran:
My seven year old son was diagnosed with type�1 diabetes a little over a month ago, and I’m not sure about this at all. He is in his honeymoon as they say. Can I eliminate his insulin completely? What kind of comprehensive tests can he have to be sure about diagnosing the disease?
About a month before the beginning of his diabetes he was terribly frightened twice. Sometime before it he complained about a kind of pain in his knees. Is there any other possible diagnoses for him?
Answer:
Without knowing the details of your child, it is difficult to give you advice. However, diagnosing diabetes in children is usually straightforward.
It is very important that your child continues on regular insulin. Although occasionally during the honeymoon phase, some children can stop insulin for a while, this is quite unusual, and usually a reduction of dose is needed only. The length of time the honeymoon phase lasts is quite variable, lasting from a few weeks to several months.
JS
