I took my 8 year to the doctor last week for a bladder infection. When they did the urine test she had a high level of glucose and ketones in her urine. She did eat fruity pebbles and have a Gatorade before the appointment if that matters. It concerned them, so they did the finger blood test on her blood sugar levels and it came back a little high 141 I believe. They also did blood work, her A1c came back normal, but the doctor is concerned with the other red flags she may have diabetes. So they referred her to an endocrinologist which I’m still trying to get an appointment for in the mean time they recommended me doing some home testing. So far in the morning and at bedtime her sugar level has been in the 90s, after meals it’s usually 100-125 the highest it’s gotten is after a birthday party she had cake and it was 144 a couple hours later. I don’t know if what she eats affects it but I’m not sure what’s considered high? I have no immediate family history of diabetes she’s otherwise healthy, not overweight actually on the slimmer side for a child her age. So if anyone could tell me what levels are high? Anything in particular that I should be watching for in the meantime while I’m waiting to see the specialist?
140’s after sugary breakfast cereal or cake doesn’t sound particularly alarming, especially if the a1c came back normal. Kids differ from adults, but even what we call “sugar normal” people can have blood sugar spikes: the difference is that they correct rather quickly while we can’t correct them at all without insulin.
The things people usually notice first are frequent urination and thirst, and unexplained weight loss. The acute signals are nausea & vomiting, heavy breathing and strange breath odor. That’s incipient ketoacidosis, which is very dangerous. Doesn’t sound like she’s anywhere in that territory yet.
I’m curious what the other flags are that your doctor cited, as what you’ve reported doesn’t really seem like it should raise concerns.
First, take a deep breath! You just got thrown a scary bombshell. No parent wants to hear this scary kind of news. But it sounds like you have a good medical team who are not taking any chances and doing the tests and requesting a consult. Hang in there and don’t stress when you get a number that might be a little high. You could test your own blood sugars and get a random blood sugar out of the “norm”. Please hang in there! Keep us posted and really push for the consult. Good luck!
This would signal that at one point, her BG was much higher than 141, but then came down. So this means she is definitely producing insulin.
The bladder infection may have contributed to the higher Urine test and ketones.
I think you’re doing the right things, and time will tell. I was diagnosed at age 5, and it was very obvious to my mom that I was drinking and peeing WAY MORE than normal, and she brought me to doctor. No sign of kidney or bladder infection, and doctor smelled my breath, then sent us straight to hospital, over 50 years ago.
Our 8 year old was diagnosed in March. We didn’t suspect anything but we noticed she was drinking all the time and waking up in the night to use the bathroom and drinking Dixie cups of water while she was up. Not knowing the signs we were clueless. We ended up taking her to the doctor to see if something was going on and he asked if she was diabetic. We said “not that we know of”. This was around lunch time and she had not eaten anything since breakfast. Her glucose level was 400 and we were sent straight to the ER.
So with that said, I wouldn’t worry too much about 141.
I believe target ranges can vary but our daughter’s is 80-180.
As said above in the previous message look for extreme thirst and having to pee all the time. One other sign we did not notice (also mentioned above) was she stayed home from school one day when she threw up that morning but she said she felt fine. The next week is when we took her to the doctor just to have her checked out and it is a good thing we did.
Now she is on a G6 and Omnipod pump so while we are still new to T1D life is a bit easier thanks to the technology.