May 31, 2007
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Australia:
Our five-year-old daughter has an undiagnosed condition. We were called to the doctor urgently three years ago and they rushed her to the hospital stating that she has diabetes. The reason was high urine ketones and glucose. The hospital didn’t agree with the diagnosis and we have been going back and forth since. Her symptoms are ketones in her urine at almost every wee, glucose sometimes in urine and protein sometimes in urine. She will go very pale with dark circles under her eyes within five minutes. She has lost weight lately and has excessive thirst, to the point that she will drink from any source including pet water bowls. She has even licked her shoes after walking in the rain! We are desperate to find out if she is diabetic or not. All we have been told is that it is likely she will develop type 1 diabetes and just to “keep an eye on her.” She complains daily of abdominal pain and she takes her clothes of as soon as we get home as she complains that anything on her tummy hurts her. She used to be a wonderful eater, however, now states she is just not hungry. She complains of headaches, her urine smells awful and she is generally irritable. Do you have any ideas or suggestions?
Answer:
It is impossible to make any diagnosis over the Internet. I would urge you to go back to your endocrine/diabetes team and ask for a detailed consultation so that you can have a chance to ask these questions. Some genetic and metabolic syndromes would need to be considered as well as early forms of diabetes. Antibodies for pancreatic inflammatory conditions would also be helpful as would kidney, liver, amino acid and genetic analyses. Celiac disease sometimes also presents in odd ways that should be explored.
SB
