My four year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes almost three months ago. She is already out of her honeymoon phase. The endocrinologist has run typical blood and urine tests that are common with diabetes (too many to list). He said that she has high cholesterol, the bad kind, and that she has protein in her urine. He said this is common and not to worry and that the protein could just go away. He will retest again later. But, I am concerned about kidney disease now. Is it common to have protein in urine only three months after being diagnosed? By the way, her sugars where leveling off. Now, they are going high again.

It certainly would be uncommon for a child to have a diabetes honeymoon to last only three months. It is even rarer still, if not unheard of, for there to be diabetes-related kidney disease after having diabetes but for three months. Diabetes-related kidney disease occurs after poorly controlled diabetes for a number of years, often more than five years of poor control. I would seriously doubt your daughter has diabetes-related kidney disease. Similarly, to have cholesterol issues or nervous system issues, or eye issues this soon into the diagnosis would be essentially unheard of.

Could she have some other kidney issue unrelated to diabetes? I agree with your endocrinologist to test again after some time. But work NOW to get the glucose levels in control. I wonder if the honeymoon is really over and if it really is, whether or not you can induce a second one. There are several good pediatric endocrinologists in your area.

DS