January 4, 2006
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Vancouver, Washington, USA:
My son just turned four and is exhibiting signs of hyperglycemia, large thirst and hunger, excessive urination, and slight weight loss. To make a long story short, he was treated almost two years ago for type 1. We did insulin for about five months then it went away. I forget the tests that they ran at the time, some sort of antibody testing. The tests were negative.
The endocrinologist thought that it was transient and that he was not at risk for later becoming diabetic. Well, now I am wondering if perhaps that was incorrect. I went to the drug store and got test strips for our meter yesterday. My son’s fasting level was 147 mg/dl [8.2 mmol/L] and his urine showed mild ketones, no glucose. He is otherwise well and healthy. Any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Does this sound like diabetes or something else? Should I monitor his blood sugar? At what point should I contact the doctor?
Answer:
This does not sound normal from the information you provided. His pancreas could be making insufficient insulin once again and, so, this could be diabetes. I would agree with your idea to monitor his blood sugar readings for the next three to four days, four or five times each day and look at what happens before and one hour after eating. Then, I would suggest that you share this information, plus what symptoms he is having, with your endocrinologist. They will likely want to se him and recheck the same antibody tests. If he is losing weight, urinating excessively or the blood glucose levels are over 140 mg/dl [7.8 mmol/L], then this is definitely not normal and insulin may be needed once again. All will depend on the actual blood glucose levels. But, stay in close contact with our medical and diabetes team so that they can give you specific advice.
SB
