May 10, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Huron, Ohio, USA:
For approximately a year and a half, my five year old son has had episodes of vomiting, excessive thirst, and excessive urination which usually last approximately one to four days, with about one episode per month. During the episodes he is very sick and lethargic. He is not night potty trained, but during these times there is more urine at night than usual.The vomiting also occurs without the excess urination and thirst during other periods. Maybe once or twice a week, usually around meal time.
I’ve taken him to see his physician and he says if it were diabetes, that he could not have symptoms for such a long time without becoming extremely sick, so there was no need to do any testing. He says the vomiting may be caused by acid reflux. Still, I wonder why all these events seem to occur at the same time. Is it possible for a young child to have a “mild” case of diabetes?
Answer:
Your physician is probably correct: if this were diabetes “smoldering” for a year and a half, then you’d think this five year old would be much sicker. Nevertheless, your child is having atypical behaviors with vomiting and urination. Just because your doctor does not think this is diabetes does not preclude for assessing for other things. Offhand, I can think of several things that might have similar symptoms. Please discuss with your son’s doctor. If he/she is not interested, then consider a second opinion.
Yes, it is easy to screen for diabetes with a blood glucose meter that you can purchase at the pharmacy, but it is a screening device only, and I would not bet the farm. A fasting blood glucose done in the hospital laboratory is best. But a test during one of these episodes might be revealing.
DS
