October 31, 2000
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Kodiak, Alaska, USA:
My five year old daughter seems to exhibit some symptoms of diabetes. She has mental confusion, fatigue, mood swings, and sometimes gets very thirsty. She was recently taken in for a high temp (104F) and sugar was found in her urine. The doctor immediately tested her blood sugar with normal results (98 mg/dl [5.4 mmol/L]). I have one uncle who has diabetes, but no other relatives and my wife has no immediate family with diabetes. What conditions cause sugar in the urine but normal blood sugar?
Answer:
There are other conditions that can cause sugar in the urine, but they are rare. I would suggest if sugar has been found in the urine, that she have routine checks of her urine at your physician’s office (or he may wish to have you test some at home also). In addition, he may wish to do other screening tests for diabetes over the next few months.
MSB
