My 7 year old has had some pretty concerning symptoms pop up in the last 3 weeks. Though he has always been a bed wetter he started urinating a lot during the day. Then he started having day accidents. Just two days ago while walking home she had an accident. Now this is incredibly unusual. My first thought was a UTI. A friend had mentioned diabetes. With that I took him to the walk in. They tested him there and the glucose monitor said 160 something. It had been maybe 20 to 30 minutes since he had anything to eat, so the doctor was not overly concerned. There was no glucose in his urine and test results came back normal. Last night he was again peeing constantly and complaining of being thirsty. I have my partner run out and purchase an at home glucose testing device. With it not being a UTI I just have been so worried and wanted to see what was going on from home. The last time he had anything to eat or drink before testing was two hours. It was 276. Called my insurance and talk to a nurse and she wanted us to go in. Within the hour that they checked he was down to 93. Blood test came back normal. The doctor said he does not think it is diabetes. I am not too sure. He told me to follow up with my sons primary but they cannot see him till the week of January 20th. Is it normal for someone to have a number over 270 two hours after eating. I know having the number in the 90s is good, but could you be in early stages. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. You live in a very rule area and I worry that we will not get really good medical care in this area. I recently fractured my wrist and was told by the same hospital bad it was a sprain. After getting the x-ray looked at again they discovered two fractures in my wrist. Obviously after my experience I’m pretty cautious with this facility. Thoughts? Thank you so much.
270 is not normal.
However, sometimes kids have some sugar on their fingers that leads to a falsely high reading.
If you get a high reading, like that, wash hands and re-stick.
If the 2nd reading is high (above 200), go to urgent care.
Keep records. Write down the date, time, and blood sugar value.
If you start to see vomiting, go straight to ER. No sugar soda or fruit juice until this is figured out. Sometimes diabetic kids get really thirsty and drink a lot of sugary fluids, like soda. That can make things much worse, quickly.
I would also get urinalysis dip sticks, too. You’re looking for ketones in the urine, which is definitely not normal (except with really low carb diets). Take a picture of any unusual results, as the sticks keep changing colors, so you have more to show a doctor.
I’m in the same boat, living in a rural area. There is EXACTLY one endocrinologist on the entire western slope of Colorado, and he’s 3 hours away from me. You should have one in your nearest large city. It’s important that you plan to make the drive, though. Trust your instincts, and not your local jokals. Call the endocrinologist and ask to speak with a nurse, then explain your situation. S/he will be able to send a referral request to your primary care, if they think it’s necessary.
You’re right to be concerned, and I applaud your attention… But try to remember that it might actually NOT be diabetes. Children can break all the rules of what we consider “normal” just because their bodies are still developing, even if those symptoms ring all to familiar to us here. Just stay on top of it.
When you say “blood test came back normal” do you mean a blood sugar test? Or hba1c? With all of the symptoms, I would request an hba1c or hemoglobin test…it is what type1s use to gauge a 3 month average… although I’m not sure if it WaS already done…
Oh, yes. Good thinkin’, Rog. I assumed it was a finger stick.
Thank you so much for the information. I did not think the 270 number was normal. He had soda before that, but it had been over 2 hours. He was begging me for juice in that 2 hour because of how thirsty he was. I gave him water but kept away juice. The doctor at the ER wasn’t the most helpful. He didn’t really give any explanation and had the nurse discharge us after the test results came back.
Since then I checked him yesterday morning. He was 95. 30 minutes after breakfast 176. One hour after breakfast 100. He has been at his dads since, so I have not tested. But the first few times his blood was tested it was 160 after school and the 270 in the evening 2 hours after eating. He seems to get crazy hyper in the evening… more so in the past few weeks. Could blood sugar make a kiddo hyper?
He is just so thirsty… wants a lot of juice. He does love water too so we are going to refrain from giving him juice or soda. I hope it isn’t type 1 diabetes but his symptoms are so concerning. I just don’t want to miss something.
We are going to pick some up. I was told there wasn’t glucose in his urine but it is my understanding that it isn’t in their urine all the time… that it could be missed. Is it the same for ketones?
Thank you so much for the advice. I see there is a children’s hospital 2.5 hours. They have a pediatric endocrinologist. I think that is the closest. I am going to reach out to my pediatrician friend and see where she would recommend. I didn’t feel listened to by the local ER doctor. He made me feel like taking my son there was a waste of his time. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time but I also want to make sure that my kiddo isn’t super sick. There seems to have been a lot more information reaching parents about the dangers of undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. Enough for me to know that when I was told Finley does not have a UTI, that his symptoms were awfully suspicious and could be symptoms of type 1.
Thank you so much again and I truly hope it isn’t. My cousin is an adult that has managed her own type 1 diabetes since she was a little girl. I am a school counselor in the schools and work with kiddos that have type one diabetes. These kids are so strong and resilient but it is a challenging disease that never goes away. I was hoping it was a UTI. 
Hopefully his body is doing something different. Thank you again for your response and I hope all is going well with your kiddo.
They did the finger prick one, and the first time was a little high, the second normal. I got the highest one at home with a finger prick one. The tests done on him included labs, so they did both. I do know one of the tests the nurse mentioned was a 3 month average lab test and she said it came back in normal ranges. Could it be too early to have that number out of normal range? The increased urine and thirst has only been going on for 3 weeks. I noticed it getting out of control this week. Poor little guy wet himself on Wednesday while walking home with his sister from school. At the doctors office he peed 5 times in a one hour period.
Your concerns as a parent are legitimate and should not be summarily dismissed by the health professionals. Start a written record of your son’s symptoms to make note of the numbers you measure along with date/time info. This will strengthen your report if this situation continues. Good luck!
Sorry to hear about this. Was he sick recently? They are still unsure of what exactly causes type 1, but it is usually brought on by some sort of virus and the body’s immune system trying to fight the virus, sometimes fighting too aggressively. For now, I would buy ketone strips…usually not too expensive, but you could request a prescription…much easier to pee on the strip and look for ketones…since its a new phenomenon, a c peptide test would tell you if he’s producing insulin… without ketone production, it might be something else…
Problems might not show up in the lab, yet. Your doing the right thing to watch closely. Kids don’t generally loose weight, so sudden weight loss would also be an urgent sign that he is not metabolizing food or holding fluids.
How is he feeling?
Diabetes stands out with the symptoms, but if it’s not, something is wrong. You don’t start being so thirsty, peeing 5 times in an hour and wetting yourself for no reason. Go with your gut and make someone or get someone to pay attention!
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. He was. Nothing too terrible… normal sick winter germs kind of sick. He recovered quickly. This could have been around the time symptoms started. Not too sure though.
I was wondering if that could be a possibility. Thank you so much. I just know how serious this is undiagnosed and untreated. I will keep an eye on his weight from now on too. He is skinny… I wish I had been keeping track. He has been looking bony in the past few days.
He seems to feel good. He has complained of headaches but not in the last week. Recently at night he becomes unusually hyper and thirsty. He will also go to the bathroom frequently. Then he is out… snoring out. He often wets himself and never wakes from the wet. We wouldn’t even know if not for the smell. I feel so bad for him.
I agree… this just isn’t normal. If it isn’t diabetes something abnormal is happening. I want to know what it is and how to keep him healthy. Thank you so much. **[quote=“Marie20, post:12, topic:81101, full:true”]
Diabetes stands out with the symptoms, but if it’s not, something is wrong. You don’t start being so thirsty, peeing 5 times in an hour and wetting yourself for no reason. Go with your gut and make someone or get someone to pay attention!
[/quote]
**
The 3-month average is called an A1C (also HbA1C). It’s a glycated hemoglobin value has a “normal” range, so it would be good to know where in the range it is. You are completely correct that if diabetes has recently developed, it might not be reflected in the value yet.
Hoping for the best for you and your son.
Sadly, I agree, ketone strips are about $10 for 100 or $7 for 50 strips usually and no prescription is needed, do I would start there. Maybe a few extra waterproof mattress fitted pads also
Thank you so much.
I just picked some up. I am trying to get him to pee. His blood sugar has all been normal today but he now has a fever, headache, and stomach ache. God he has me so worried.