I have an 8 year old daughter who weighs about 43 pounds (fully dressed). She has been having a lot of trouble being very tried, drinking all the time, and going to the restroom very often. I took her to her doctor’s office where they did a blood sugar test. The first time it was 147. Then she drank some kind of drink. They checked her blood sugar did it again and it was 31. They ran more tests and said she has polyuria polydipsia. I have to check her blood sugar 4 times a day at home, but her sugar levels are always different. They have been ranging from 22 and 56 early in the morning to 113 and 153 in the evening. She does not eat very well, wets her bed at night, and sometimes is extremely tired for a couple of days at of time. All of this stuff has been going on for a while. Also, she complains of being dizzy, having headaches a lot and very shaky hands. What does this mean? Are these levels about right?

Your 8 year old daughter’s story indeed suggests diabetes. However the blood sugars you measured at home seem to be much more normal; but I am wondering if you are measuring them correctly: it is easy to get values that are too low depending upon how they are being measured. If you haven’t been instructed in the correct technique by a CDE, it would be worthwhile to spend some time to be sure your technique is appropriate.

I would suggest that you call the doctor and ask about an ‘antibody’ test which would help to be certain whether she had the usual childhood form of diabetes or not. The number to call to get details is 1-800-425-8361. I should perhaps add that if your daughter is of Hispanic or African American descent she may have a negative test; but still have a different form of diabetes.

The shaking hands could possibly be due to a low blood sugar; but that would be very unusual to be due to diabetes at her age. Because of her small size I would also ask about getting a test done for too little thyroid hormone.

DOB