Question from Michigan, USA:

Last week, I took my four year old son to the Emergency Room (ER) because of severe stomach pain. The doctor said he was constipated, that his entire colon was full of stool, but they also found sugar in his urine. They did a glucose finger stick and his reading was 107 mg/dl [5.9 mmol/L] about six hours after dinner. The doctor told me to give him some juice (with his Miralax) and a snack. So, I did that and put him to bed. Two hours later, I tested his glucose and he was 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L].

The next day, I tested him and his glucoses were all in the normal range. I have continued to test for the past three days, in the morning and after meals. His fastings for the past three days have been 123 mg/dl [6.8 mmol/L], 153 mg/dl [8.5 mmol/L], and 94 mg/dl [5.2 mmol/L]. After one meal, his glucose was 159 mg/dl [8.8 mmol/L]. Other than that, they have been normal.

In the mornings, he wakes up starving. He eats and eats and eats. He has no other symptoms. I have tested him for glucose and ketones. He is usually negative for glucose, but has trace ketones.

I have had a hard time getting my doctor’s office to make an appointment because they think I have been overreacting, because I have not had any readings over 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L] and he has had no more stomach pains since the ER visit.

Could this be early symptoms of diabetes? Or, is it normal for kids as I have been told?

My son is four and weighs about 40 pounds. His dad has type 1.5 and there are several other autoimmune diseases in the family history.