July 9, 2007
Diagnosis and Symptoms, Hyperglycemia and DKA
Question from Magog, Quebec, Canada:
My brother’s father-in-law was a diabetic, so they checks their kids’ sugar levels every now and then just to be safe. They have four children, including a four-year-old girl who spends time with my little girl, who was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 in November. To me, my niece shows sign of diabetes often, including fatigue. The other day, she even fell asleep at my table. When I woke her up, she complained of a headache. I gave her some Pepsi then she felt better so we walked to her place. Also, she urinates a lot. A few times when my brother checked her sugar, it was in the 14s mmol/L [253 to 270 mg/dl]. Does a nondiabetic’s sugar go that high? If so, how long does it stay that high? When is the best time to check her blood sugar? What should it be?
Answer:
A blood glucose of 14 mmol/L [253 mg/dl] is definitely too high. So, she should be checked by her pediatrician with blood glucose, urinalysis and an A1c, perhaps also islet cell and GAD-65 antibody levels since this may represent very early diabetes. Also, if you are already working with a pediatric diabetes team in your family, you may want to get a consultation visit with them to check this out as well.
SB
