September 8, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Summertown, Tennessee, USA:
My 30 year old husband has had type 1 diabetes since he was five years old. So far in his family, it has not skipped a generation, and it is also genetic on my side of the family. We have three children together so we do worry that they may develop diabetes.
Our eight year old son is has been having some health problems lately, and I know they say that one of the symptoms of diabetes is drinking all the time. He does that, goes to the bathroom a lot, and when he goes, his urine is very yellow. He has started getting really bad headaches and has had some weight loss also. We sometimes check his blood sugar, and the other day it was 120 mg/dl [6.7 mmol/L], even though he had not eaten breakfast.
I worry that, if I go to his doctor with my concerns, they will say he is going through a growth spurt or something like that. Do I have a reason to be concerned about this?
Answer:
While your strong family history is of course a factor, I think it is unlikely that your son has diabetes just now. Since you say he has some health problems he is presumably being seen by a pediatrician, and you must discuss your concerns openly so that the appropriate tests can be done.
KJR
