June 5, 2005
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Kenton, Tennessee, USA:
My four year old daughter began complaining of abdominal pain intermittently and I noticed she looked thinner than usual. Her appetite was increased much more than usual and she began drinking a lot more and waking at night asking for something to drink, which was very unusual for her. I checked her blood sugar with a her grandfather’s monitor (random) and it was 270 mg/dl [15.0 mmol/L].
We went for a fasting test the next morning and it was normal. We then had a OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test) and her 30 minute reading was 243 mg/dl [13.5 mmol/L]. Her one hour reading was 150 mg/dl [8.3 mmol/L] and her three hour reading was normal. We then saw a pediatric endocrinologist who determined her A1c was 5.4; ICA-512, negative; and GAD 65, 2.07. We have monitored her blood sugars and they have all been normal. We have also had her on an ADA diet. She has gained her weight back and is no longer symptomatic. What could have caused this increase in blood sugar? We have gone back to a regular diet and limited her sugar intake now and her blood sugars have all been normal.
Answer:
Stress, even the stress associated with having blood tests, can temporarily increase the glucose level. However, it sounds as if your daughter’s sugar control was temporarily disrupted and this could have been associated with a viral infection. Although not very likely, it is possible that this was an early warning of diabetes in the future, so it is important not to ignore it if her symptoms return.
KJR
