My almost 4 year old son has suddenly become this really cranky kid. Being that he was always such a good kid I tested his blood sugar tonight while he was asleep to make sure there was nothing going on. Me being the paraonoid mom who has been a diabetic since age 7. He was 142. That number worries me, its a little high. 3 months ago he was urinating a lot and I also tested his blood and it was also 140 and I brought him to his pediatrician and they checked his urine and it was negative for sugar. Should I be worried? Why does he run this high? He does like his snacks but tonight his last meal was 3 hours prior to testing, however he had a handful or raisinets an hour prior to testing, would those have affected a nondiabetic like that? Am I being paronoid? Does anyone know if 140 is ok for him?
I'd be concerned about 140 but maybe not w/ food ahead of time. It's not totally out of the range for "straight" people?
Re your test, I'd wonder if his hands were clean? I'd also be sort of concerned about a pediatrician who knew the family history and just tested his urine?
You should keep a close eye on him. Don't panic, But keep a close eye on him and check his number once a day. You are a diabetic so don't worry, you know what you are doing. The good thing is that you have noticed changes early. You are doing a GREAT Job. Please don't stress :-D
Thanks for the advice, I tested him this morning before food and hes 120, which is still on the higher side, i guess like you said all I can do is not panic and take things one at a time
Yeah, that seems high. I feel like I was told at one time that children tend to be a little on the lower side when compared to adults, as even non-diabetics naturally lose insulin production with age (thus resulting in higher BGs). And the 120 before breakfast is even more concerning to me.
The good thing is that you know what to do. I'd keep testing him daily and log things. You obviously know what to do if it starts to get higher. Young children can go into DKA pretty quickly, but if you're testing him daily, you'll catch things before they get to that stage.
Have you checked his A1c? I think you should maybe test it at home. There's always the chance that you're just catching a couple of flukes. Also, I don't know what the current school of thought is on this, but some have suggested starting insulin early (rather than waiting) can help preserve some beta cell function, which can make long-term control easier. Maybe a consult with a pediatric endo would be good?
Not to rain on your parade but being you have diabetes I would suspect at that sugar level if its a fasting sugar be prepared for the worst. I've checked my brothers sugar before post meal and he's gotten up around 150 but diabetes runs in our family. My dad got it in his mid 50's. He was originally ok with pills but after a few years he required insulin in the same manor as a completely full blown type 1. Whether he has autoimmune diabetes is questionable. Please don't take this the wrong way but I have a hard time understanding why people with diabetes choose to reproduce as IMO the risk is way to great. I would never be able to live with myself if I had a kid and he to go through a life like mine.
Gary, did you overlook "his last meal was 3 hours prior to testing, however he had a handful or raisinets an hour prior to testing"? Like 80% of what junior ate when she was a kid involved noodles, in which case 3 hours is right in the wheelhouse of the postprandial spike and the Raisinets would be the icing on the cake, so to speak.
It's sunny and I ran 12.6 miles to get ready for the 1/2 marathon last week and had a great selection of my favorite songs on my ipod and now have the overture to the "Abduction from the Seraglio" for my addled, post-run state. My life is ok.
No matter how you want to measure it most people with a proper working pancreas will usually stay under 120 post meal. Yeah there are exceptions but knowing diabetes as well as I do if my child had a sugar that high I would certainly be concerned. Obviously anyone with diabetes knows there is a greater risk of passing the ■■■■ on so as much as they are hoping for the best they shouldn't really be in shock if one of their siblings gets it.
Whether to reproduce or not when you know you have something that can be passed on is a very, very personal choice. I don't think someone is wrong for not wanting to have children because they have diabetes, but I also don't think someone is wrong for WANTING to have children.
My father was a T1 and, yes, I inherited his lazy pancreas. BUT, is my life horrible?? Absolutely not! I have a wonderful life, tons of things that I enjoy, and access to all the stuff I need to stay alive. In some ways, having T1 has made me SO MUCH stronger than the average person. I live life harder and strive to do many things simply because I know some folks think, "Ah, she's diabetic. She can't do that!" I have traveled the world, run marathons, and done a zillion other things that most "normal" folks would never dream of doing. OH, and I'm probably a 1,000 times healthier than the perfectly healthy person. Having T1 has made me much more aware of things like food and exercise than I probably would have been otherwise. Kind of ironic, but that's the way it is.
Another thing...there are plenty of non-diabetic parents who have diabetic children and plenty of T1s who do not pass the condition on. How T1D is inherited/passed down is largely unknown, as it what triggers it. It's not like other genetic conditions (cystic fibrosis, sickle cell, hemophilia, etc) where the pattern of inheritance is defined and well-known. That said, I don't think it's fair to tell someone they should not have children just because there is a small chance that their child will also have T1 (and the chances are actually very small, even smaller when the mother is T1 as compared to the father).
We parents hope always for the best, being it rational or not. And If they told me my daughter had to be type 1, I would have desired her to come to birth the same.
Now she's happy, when she will grow up will se if she loves her life or not, I - we cannot know that now.
We have a 3 years old baby type 1, so we check sometimes her 5 years old sister. Before breakfast she was 56 with a freestyle, 70 with BGStar, so good even if to the lower side.
His BG are a little high, you can only check again at fasting and do a full blood A1c.
If you find more and more "bad" data you and your doctor have to decide if keep going the food lifestyle he has now and wait and see if and when "it" happens, or if things are clearly toward the bad side manage him as if he were in his honeymoon and try to let this last as much as you can with diet exercise and (I don't know if possible now) pharma.
where are you getting that assertion Gary? I posted the link, from some study of CGM data from "straight" people showing data running up to the 140-160 range? Admittedly, I'd wonder for a study like that how reliable the data would be since I seem to have to "babysit" my CGM/BG interface and I'm not sure a straight person would really be motivated to do that. Still, the study shows higher ranging BG than your assertion, which you are posting to support your assertion that everyone should be miserable? I figure everyone I know is tainted a bit however if they need help, I will help them. I don't see sitting in a "notes from the underground" scenario as being realistic. There's 2/22000 members reporting your particular "version" of diabetes. Say we give you a couple hundred or even thousand more, that's still pretty good odds that maybe a kid can beat your outcome? I'd take those any day?
The fact is depression is much greater in the diabetic population then the non diabetic population. Its a very depressing condition to live with despite some people are OK living with it. Then again its fair to say that not everyone has the same symptoms/side effects so though we all have the same disease we really don't. I am very aware that many diabetics live the same type of lives as non-diabetics (not sure how though?) when it robs you of much energy and other things. As far as having kids as long as you know the risks its your choice. Many diabetics that were diagnosed back in the mid 70's were told they probably wouldn't live to a ripe old age so knowing that I have to question the mentality of reproducing. Then again some people are dumb enough to start having kids in their 50's. Also if you look at the stats about half the marriges today end up in divorce.
Hi, Have you thought of supplementing his pediatrician with an endo and taking your records to the endo? e.g., talk it over with your endo.
You are not paranoid. You're incorporating your experience like it ought to be. Urine testing 1is in any event, inappropriate. It never hurts to start moving his snacking to less spikeful items and his meals to non-breaded items.
The truth is if the kid has diabetes brewing there isn't anyone or anything that can save him. If its gonna happen its gonna happen. Maybe its nothing more then someone who is pre disposed to running a little on the higher side but still be prepared for the worst case scenario which is type 1 diabetes. Good luck and here's to hoping your son can avoid the wrath of total destruction.
My understanding is that it is not uncommon for young children to run higher than would be considered healthy for adults. If its something that is causing you concern, I'd reccomend discussing it with your doctor.
I'd have his peditrician run an A1c & an OGTT, or get a home A1c Now test. Children tend to have lower BG than adults. 142 overnight is high, sadly. Non-diabetics come back into range quickly from an occasional spike from a carb laden meal. They remain within a narrow BG range. Hope all will be well. Hate to see another, especially a little one, join our ranks.
Just wanted to chime in on the "diabetics should not reproduce" nonsense. Children are a fullfilling part of any parents life and as previously said, the choice is a personal one. And that has nothing to do with being diabetic or not. The truth is we roll the dice every time. One child may end up T1, while others are being diagnosed with Down Syndrome, autism, even cancer. Ask any of these parents if they 'regret' having these kids. Pretty sure I know the answer. And these children live fufilling lives. Do they endure hardships? Ya, sure. Do kids that are not T1 have hardships? Everone has their own story. Diabetes is merely a chapter in my daughter's book. Should I start telling my 3yr old that she should never dream to have her own kids b/c of diabetes? Would I tell her she couldn't aspire to do whatever she desires in life. Hell no! Honestly, what a ridiculous notion.
