July 4, 2007
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Catlin, illinois, USA:
My almost nine-year-old has been having dizziness and headaches for about a year or so now. She skips some meals, mainly breakfast and or lunch because she says she isn’t hungry. She has gained a few pounds over the last year, but remains small. I have blamed her headaches/dizziness on not eating. The other day, at a friend’s, she was having these symptoms and we used their meter to check her sugar which I figured would be low because all she ate was a small piece of pizza around 1 p.m. and it was then 5 p.m. Her level was 208 mg/dl [11.6 mmol/L]. We just lost our insurance the same day so I was wondering if we should have her diagnosed or could it wait?
Answer:
I think just one measurement of blood sugar level doesn’t exclude the possibility that your daughter’s symptoms might be due to lower blood sugar levels, even if not in the fully hypoglycemic ranges. Try to monitor her blood sugar levels over a week, five or six times a day. You can wait, but don’t wait too long.
MS
[Editor’s comment: For more information about the symptoms of diabetes, see please see What is Type 1 Diabetes? and Type 2 Diabetes.
BH]
