My child has sudden mood changes. She’s so nice and then she changes her behavior in a second. Is this common in children with diabetes? Or, has her mental health been altered since she was in a diabetic coma? Does she need to see a psychologist?

Sudden emotional changes in someone with diabetes could indicate rapid changes, usually decreases in blood glucose levels. Such hypoglycemia sometimes only is recognized by mood changes. When this happens, it would be important to check blood glucose levels since hypoglycemia could be corrected and the mood change improved dramatically. If these mood changes occur, they could also be related to very high blood glucose levels as well. In some people, just rapid blood glucose changes are associated with mood swings. If blood glucose levels are stable and the mood changes still take place, it would be important to discuss this with the diabetes team and also to consider psychological assessment.

SB