My son was at my mom’s house. She is a diabetic. My son wanted her to prick his finger, too. It was in the morning and he had just awakened. His blood sugar was 160 mg/dl [8.9 mmol/L]. Later that week, she did the same thing and his blood sugar was 152 mg/dl [8.4 mmol/L]. He does drink a lot and, I guess, has a normal amount of wet diapers. Should I be concerned? Both my family and my husband’s family have a history of type 2 diabetes. Should I discuss this with the doctor? My mother also has Bartter’s syndrome. Am I just worrying too much?

Blood sugars of 160 mg/dl [8.9 mmol/L] and 152 mg/dl [8.4 mmol/L] are abnormal. You are correct to be concerned. This should be reviewed with your pediatrician or family doctor from whom you need a referral to a pediatric diabetologist. Most of us would get you a blood glucose meter and ask for some before and after meal blood glucose testing for three or four days. This would define the problem and then more detailed testing could be done to see if this is early diabetes or not, what needs to be done for ongoing monitoring, antibody testing, dietary changes, etc. If there is weight loss coupled with excessive urination, excessive thirst, etc., this is more worrisome and needs more urgent evaluation. If there is any delay in getting evaluated, then you may consider urgent care or emergency room evaluation. That would get you to see the pediatric diabetes people right then without any delays.

SB