February 5, 2001
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Romania:
My three and one-half year old son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes three months ago. His blood glucose was about 270 mg/dl [15 mmol/L] and the HbA1c was 9.7%. At that time, he was on 5 units of Actrapid and 5 units of Actrapid with 6 units of Mixtard, but we gradually decreased the insulin doses, in order to maintain the blood glucose balance. Ten weeks after diagnosis, our little boy went completely off of insulin, and 12 weeks after diagnosis, his HbA1c was 5.6%. Is it possible my son was misdiagnosed?
Answer:
No, I don’t think your son was misdiagnosed because his blood glucose and Hemoglobin A1c levels are, without question, consistent with the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.
I think you might be advised to keep your son on insulin treatment, even at a very low dosage, to try to prolong your son’s honeymoon period. The findings you describe are typical of this honeymoon.
MS
