April 22, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Jacksonville, Florida, USA:
About a week ago, my nine year old daughter woke up and told me she was shaking, and days before she was complaining of having itchiness when urinating and her skin is getting very dry. I heard those were signs of diabetes, so without giving something to eat, I used a home monitor and did a finger stick test which was 159 mg/dl [8.8 mmol/L].
I called her physician who said it was high and ordered an a A1c test the same day. When the results came back, I received a call from his nurse saying that the result shows that my daughter’s sugar level is above average, but there is nothing to be concerned about, at this point. What is the proper A1c level? When should I be concerned? What should my next step be ? What should I do if she have another high sugar level of sugar? Should I continue testing my daughter or not?
Answer:
I would agree 159 mg/dl [8.8 mmol/L] is high. But a hemoglobin A1c isn’t a way to diagnose diabetes. You need two fasting glucoses at the lab. If over 126 mg/dl [7 mmol/L], it is diabetes and needs attention.
Is your daughter overweight? Is she a member of a minority group? Is there diabetes in the family, especially type 2? If yes, she may have type 2 diabetes.
LD
