February 28, 2006
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Nottinghamshire, England:
I took my 19 month old son to the doctor as he was drinking four to five times as much juice as he used to six weeks ago. He is also acting very tried even though he is a good sleeper (12 to 13 hours at night and two hour naps during the day). She took a blood sample and his blood sugar was 11.2 mmol/L [202 mg/dl]. The doctor told me to bring him back first thing next morning with nothing to eat and only water to drink. I took him and his blood sugar was 4.6 mmol/L [83 mg/dl]. So, she said he did not have diabetes. However, he seems to be getting even more tired and drinking lots of juice and is not the same little boy I had six weeks ago. What do you think?
Answer:
A blood sugar of 11.2 mmol/L [202 mg/dl] is clearly abnormal and requires close follow-up to ensure that the child does not have diabetes. If your child had a blood sugar of 11.2 mmol/L [202 mg/dl] and is currently having symptoms of fatigue and dramatic increase in thirst, he very well may have diabetes and needs more thorough testing. One cannot dismiss the diagnosis of diabetes based on a single normal blood sugar test (the test of 4.6 mmol/L [83 mg/dl] that was done as a follow-up test). I would encourage you to talk to your pediatrician about your continued concerns.
MSB
