March 29, 2004
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Carey, Ohio, USA:
My six year old daughter was diagnosed with diabetes in October 2003. She takes two shots a day. Last week, my three year old son was running a fever and had an ear infection so I tested his sugar and it was 325 mg/dl [18.0 mmol/L]. One half hour later, it was 135 mg/dl [7.5 mmol/L]. I took him to the doctor and he put him on an antibiotic and did a A1c. It was 5.3. I checked him every day and his blood sugars were running 90 to 120 mg/dl [5.0 to 6.7 mmol/L]. Yesterday, he seemed to sleep a lot so when he woke up from a nap at 4:00 p.m., I checked his sugar and it was 175 mg/dl [9.7 mmol/L]. Is this the start of diabetes or is it normal for kids to have high sugars sometimes? He hadn’t had anything to eat before I checked it and when I rechecked it a half hour later it was 119 mg/dl [6.6 mmol/L]. Also, is his A1c kind of high for his age?
Answer:
Blood sugar levels as high as 325 mg/dl [18.0 mmol/L} are not normal at all, but home blood glucose monitors are not always so accurate to avoid a mistake. I’d like to reassure you because all the subsequent blood sugar readings were normal and because A1c levels were in the normal range as well. Nevertheless, given the family history for type 1 diabetes in your family (your older daughter) I’d double check your younger son with the assay for auto antibodies such as GADA, IAA, IA-2. Ask your doctor for a quick consultation with a pediatric diabetes team.
MS
