June 29, 2001
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Berwick, Louisiana, USA:
My seven year old son has just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Would it be wise to seek a second opinion? If so, are there any specialists in this field in my area?
Answer:
Type�1 diabetes is not difficult to diagnose. If your son has had two or more of random blood sugars greater than 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L] or fasting blood sugars greater than 126 mg/dl [7 mmol/L] and had an elevated hemoglobin A1c, I don’t think that you need a second opinion on that score.
What I do believe is that the family should make at least one visit (even if you don’t on a regular basis) to a children’s diabetes team which includes a nurse educator,a dietitian and a medical social worker in addition to the doctor.
DOB
[Editor’s comment: See: Classification and Diagnosis of Diabetes Guidelines.
SS]