
April 8, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Spencer, Virginia, USA:
When my daughter was younger, I was told that she had borderline diabetes, but now every time I go to the doctor they tell me all her problems are related to her ADHD. I am really concerned because she urinates a lot, drinks a lot, and when she eats sugar, she gets really bad headaches, very tired and worn out. Is this diabetes or is my daughter’s ADHD causing her problems? Is there a such thing as borderline diabetes? How do you control a chid’s diabetes if she has ADHD?
Answer:
Ask your daughter’s doctor to do a glucose check. If the glucose is normal, it isn’t diabetes. See Classification and Diagnosis of Diabetes.
Can diet affect ADHD? Randomized clinical trials say no, but parents say yes. However, it’s hard to defy science. Since I don’t profess to be an expert in ADHD, I won’t go further, but can tell you how to be sure about diabetes.
LD