Our 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a year ago. Lately, she has had periodic, short bouts (a few seconds) of dizziness and blackened vision. As well, occasionally she’ll awake in a fever-like state. Her feet, in particular, get very hot. Is this common with Type 1?

A story like this would be very unusual in Type 1 diabetes though there is a possibility that the dizzy spells and eye problems are associated with hypoglycemia. Certainly you should do a blood sugar at the next attack and also develop a profile of blood sugars throughout the 24 hours to see if this could be the answer. At the same time she needs to be fully evaluated by her doctor and if necessary referred to a neurologist. It would also be appropriate especially at her age to consider the possibility that this is an emotional response to the demands of diabetes; if there is a Medical Social Worker attached to your daughter’s diabetes care team, I would certainly seek his/her advice at the same time.

DOB