Question from Catlett, Virginia, USA:

My six year old son had sugar in his urine on two different occasions following a routine check up in the doctor’s office. Because of our family history, his doctor said to periodically check his blood sugars and report any highs or symptoms. That was four months ago.

Then, one day, my son began requesting drink after drink so we just tested his blood sugar and he was 231 mg/dl [12.8 mmol/L]. We checked it throughout that evening and, finally, at bedtime, he returned to a normal level of 86 mg/dl [4.8 mmol/L]. I spoke with our doctor and he said if it went above 120 mg/dl [6.7 mmol/L] to call him back, above 200 mg/dl [1’1.1 mmol/L], go to the Emergency Room (ER).

The next morning, he was 76 mg/dl [4.2 mmol/L] prior to breakfast. One hour post-prandial, he was 276 mg/dl [15.3 mmol/L]. Ninety minutes post-prandial, he was 353 mg/dl [19.6 mmol/L], so off to the ER. When we arrived there, he was hypoglycemic (we live a few hours from the hospital). At the hospital, they gave him a four ounce container of juice and 20 minutes later, his blood sugar was 121 mg/dl [6.7 mmol/L]. Within an hour, they checked his laboratory results and he was 47 mg/dl [2.6 mmol/L]. They sent us home and told us to follow up with an endocrinologist.

After several attempts to get in to one, our doctor spoke to an endocrinologist who requested we do fasting and two hour post-prandial readings prior to making an appointment. We did. His fasting blood sugar was 47 mg/dl [2.6 mmol/L] and his post-prandial reading was 305 mg/dl [16.9 mmol/L]. He was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of early onset type 1 diabetes. After a horrible experience in the hospital, where his sugars were checked way off schedule, we were sent home and told just to monitor his sugars and placed him on a low carbohydrate diet. We were to report to them only if he had two blood glucoses over 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L].

I called them to tell him he was 247 mg/dl [13.7 mmol/L] and then 218 mg/dl [12.1 mmol/L] yesterday and they informed me that he is what they call “glucose intolerant” and not diabetic because he does not have the antibodies. They also said that, until his morning levels go above 150 mg/dl [8.3 mmol/L], there is nothing they can do for him. His morning pre-breakfast numbers range from 47 to 89 mg/dl [2.6 to 4.9 mmol/L]. My concern is these highs and lows and how they are affecting his body. Is there anything that can be done? We have an appointment with another endocrinologist, but it is several months before we can get in. I should also mention my son has speech apraxia and is developmentally delayed, therefore, he cannot tell us when he has highs or lows. Any suggestions or information would be helpful.