My 16 month old dd drinks lots of water: should I worry about diabetes?

[LaCerbiatta]

She always loved water, but now she seems to drink so much... She'll basically drink all the time if she can. She loves milk and juice as well. Should I worry? She hasn't lost any weight, she's actually put some on recently and I can't see anything else unusual. Is this too early to have diabetes? What are the symptoms at this age? Someone please put my mind at rest or send me to the GP!

[misdee]

is she waking at night for water?

[Spidermama]

Is she drinking loads and weeing loads? It can come on fairly suddenly and if she did have it she'd probably be pretty ill.

Excessive thirst and weeing can also be related to food intolerance.

If you're worried you may as well take a sample of wee to the doctor as he or she can very quickly do a test.

Good luck.

[Spidermama]

My ds has type 1 diabetes btw. He was dxed in Dec 2005. He was pretty skinny and lethargic by then.

[LaCerbiatta]

She doesn't wake at night for water. I suppose she wees as much as she drinks.... I mean, when she has the opportunity to drink a lot than her nappy will be heavier. I suppose it's not easy to tell when they're in nappies? She's not unwell or lethargic at all, she's very active and went up from 25th to 50th percentile in weight recently.
How old was your ds when he was dxed spidermama? Have you heard of any dxis this early?

[Spidermama]

Hi tuga. My ds was 5 going on 6. I've heard of an 18 month old with type one.

[theheadgirl]

Tuga I remember asking my Paediatrician this as my DD3 has Downs so is statistically more like to develop diabetes. She was drinking a lot of water. The Doc said that in general people under the age of 30 develop type I diabetes, which has a more dramatic onset, suffers suddenly lose weight and become poorly. Adults over 30 tend to get type II with a more insidious onset, including drinking lots of water. If drinking water is the only symptoms its unlikely to be diabetes in a 16 mnth old.

[LaCerbiatta]

Thanks everyone! I think I'll just look out for other symptoms for now. Hopefully she just really loves water!

[tangarine]

Hi tugamommy,

My ds1 was diagnosed with diabetes aged 5. He was drinking vast amounts, to the point that he was waking up screaming for water at night, in the run up to diagnosis. Dh and I were of course telling him off for beig "naughty" and waking up his newborn baby brother (cue massive guilt trip once we got the diagnosis). My ds2 also drinks a lot of water and juice and there have been several times in recent years that I have tested him just because he seemed to be drinking lots - but his blood sugars have always been OK. I hope your dc is OK too.

Very young children are increasingly being diagnosed with diabetes.

[mm22bys]

I have Type 1 myself, so I freak out when DS1 asks for a drink. Some days he does drink more than others, and that's when I worry.

I do test his blood sugar if I am too worried, but at this stage he's not showing any symptoms - like weight loss, excess urination (soaking through nappies), lethargy.

It's so hard not too worry, and now there is his brother to worry about too!

If your dd is just drinking more, and there are no other symptoms, it probably isn't d. As pp have said, it does come on very quickly in very young children....

[Druid123]

Looking after my grand daughter as her mum and dad in work just noticed she is drinking loads she is 16 months but I think it is just a habit that she has got into. A comfort thing. As much comes out as goes in .

[Frog100]

My daughter (15 months) wakes up needing water during the night. She can drink the full cup really quickly The falls back to sleep. Although now she cry’s a lot whereas before she slept through the night no problem, sometimes she screams but her eyes are still closed and her body so tense almost like she’s having night terrors. Last week she had a fever of 39 which lasted two days. I feel like this is more than teething or is it a virus, colic, diabetes.... Am I just panicking?

[lennonj]

My son was diagnosed at 9. Children can get type1 at any age. My sons only symptoms were increased thirst (he didn't wake up at night for drinks), increase in gong to the toilet. He did not look ill or lose weight. I think we caught it early, so was only in hospital for the afternoon being shown how to inject etc. Please if you suspect type 1 do not delay asking your GP for a dip test (mine originally only tested for infection who i was told the test was negative but knew something was wrong). Type 1 can be fatal if not detected early enough.

[goose1964]

My grandson drinks a lot and would do more if he was allowed, unless he's busy doing something, which at 3 is more often. I would guess it's a way of getting your attention.