To be sick with worry than DS (12) may have diabetes!

[HumiditySucks]

Please help calm me down until I can get a GP appointment this afternoon.

DS 12 has started drinking a lot more water, saying he feels thirsty. Started about 3 weeks ago while abroad. Obviously it’s hot but this is more than that.

He’s also lost a lost a lot of weight on his stomach. That may be him shooting up in height but he wasn’t over weight before.

Also saying he feels more tired but that could be due to being up until early hours of the morning 😡and sleeping rhythm messed up.

Noticed last night his breath has a chemical smell like acetone.

No Type 1 diabetes in families. MIL was diagnosed in her late 60’s with Type 2.

GP had no appointments by the time I got through this morning so have to try again at 2pm. Aarghhh!

And as usual a thread on mn descends into the trading of personal insults.

Ultimately nobody here is an expert. Or at least nobody here can know whether anyone is an expert.

The OP posted once 3 hours ago, so either she took advice and sought some help or she has stepped away from the thread in the realisation that MN really isn’t the right place to post for medical help because there are too many conflicting opinions and everyone shouts over everyone else insisting that their advice is right.

@GhostFromTheOtherSide

The advice has been to get assessed quickly by a medical professional (i.e. an expert). The frustration comes from people giving advice that will delay that, without showing any awareness of the impact that can have. I don't think this thread is "trading personal insults".

Acetone breath means he could be very unwell. A&E is 100% the right thing to do. It's not about a urine test, it's about doing a suite of biochemistry tests and starting treatment if necessary.

T1 here - I hope he is okay? Do you have an update, OP?

I agree with others about taking him to A+E - I've been T1 for 31 years. A few years ago, I went into A+E with DKA (no excuses - I was suffering a viral infection, and lost someone very close to me two days prior - I let my control slip for a couple days). 5 minutes after entering that A+E, the triage nurse found me a bed; 10 minutes later, I was semi-conscious on the bed, and being attached to a drip. For posters wondering - it is that serious, and that much of an emergency - I was given a bed, and drip within 15 minutes.

Good news - T1 is so manageable now. The technology is amazing now (I wish it had been around when I was diagnosed 31 years ago). Your son will be absolutely fine, and you will cope as a family😊There are many online forums (as well as a few of us here, it seems) who will offer advice, support and help.

Did you get your appointment when you rang at 2pm op?

Exactly this!

@Ithinkthatisenoughnowthanks

This isn't the correct thread (I could go on for a while!) but I completely agree with everything you said. The NHS has been incredibly frustrating and very disappointing at times (although it's not all bad).

The NHS is amazing and I am grateful everyday for not having to worry about paying for insulin and the hundreds of pounds of tech my boy wears everyday.

I just object to people telling us we're not experts because we have a child with type 1. No, I couldn't hook up a drip or understand what is needed to combat DKA but my child is alive years after diagnosis and he didn't manage that on his own!

@User45446

My friend’s son had been feeling tired one weekend but played a lot of sport so they put it down to that. On Monday he said he really didn’t feel well and his dad took him to the GP who diagnosed IBS. When my friend got home from work at around 4pm he said he felt worse, she took him to the (different) GP who fortunately tested his blood sugar and immediately called an ambulance. My friend had to spend the night awake next to her 16 year old son after the doctors told her he should be okay “if he makes it through the night”. She has had to be treated for PTSD and hasn’t slept through the night since.

please don’t delay. You would never forgive yourself if anything happened to your DC. BEST OF LUCK X

You definitely need him to have a fingerprick test as soon as possible. A&E can do that, a pharmacy might do it, but it absolutely can't wait until an appointment becomes available.

Op was ringing for an afternoon appointment at 2pm. Hopefully she's got one.

Hope you're ok and that DS has been seen.

OK. Rang 111 after reading a few replies. They said he needed to seen within a few hours and to go to the Urgent Care Centre (attached to A&E) if GP will not see.

Rang GP, explained symptoms asking if a nurse could see him to do a quick test before going to hospital. They said No and I had to call back at 2pm to get an appointment for afternoon. They were busy and had lots of patients to see😡

So went to Urgent Care. Waited an hour to get urine test. Urine test had glucose in it, so taken straight to A&E! They did a pin prick which was high so told it was diabetes.

Luckily bloods show his body is coping and it’s still in the early stages. He will be admitted shortly.

Cannot believe this has happened. In absolute shock. DS is calm and fine, they put a catheter in his hand and he hardly flinched! Just waiting for DH to come from work now.

Thanks for all the replies.

Glad to hear you pushed!

Glad that you went to A&E. Sorry that he has diabetes. Although it's a very steep learning curve that you will all go through the next few weeks, living with diabetes will get easier. He will be okay. I've had T1 for the past 22 years and I'm healthy and happy and doing whatever I want. It will be okay, just get through the first few weeks. Encourage him positively to do (count, calculate) everything himself. Being self sufficient will give him the freedom that he needs so he can live a normal teenage life.

Well done @HumiditySucks

You have done an amazing job. Your son will be ok and adapt.

If you need support over the coming weeks and months there are loads of T1s and T1 parents on here. It’s a learning curve but there is so much help and support out there and we get the best tech!

Good luck to you and your son xxx

@HumiditySucks

oh OP I am so sorry I had my fingers and toes crossed for you. A massive massive well done for recognising the signs and not hanging around you may well have just saved your sons life.

I'm sure your head is spinning and there will be so much to take in over the next few days, it’s a lot. I remember my mum crying a lot over the first few weeks after my brother was diagnosed (once he was in bed, I’m 8 years older so he never knew how hard she found it at the time) It’s such an adjustment, she said it felt like bringing a newborn home again.

All I wanted to say is in the moment where it feels like nothing will ever be ‘normal’ again please know that it will!!! My brother is in his twenties now and getting married to his gorgeous finance next year, he’s traveler all over, played sports to a professional level, gone to uni, he’s very happy and has never been held back!

You will both be fine xxxx

*fiancé

@HumiditySucks

You have had a very stressful day and a lot to take in, but he is in the best place now, and you got him there. If you want any advice then there are people who have experience of what you are going through. Get as much support as you can from those around you. I would give you a hug if I could!

God job you were clued up to the signs op. I hope you get things sorted quickly.

I’m sorry to hear this, obviously your GPs will need to know but I’d make a complaint as this was the type of situation they should have made time for, or sent you to A&E.

And just to say, the tech available now makes a world of difference. My son is doing amazing.

You will both be OK, my oldest was diagnosed at age 11, steep learning curve but 22 years later and now with insulin pump and Dexcom monitor insulin levels are kept in range. Take a deep breath, ask questions of the paediatric consultant and diabetic nurse , they will assist you. There will be frequent appointments and if the nurse is anything like the lovely one we had, s/he will contact the school and explain what your DS will need to do. You will need to advocate for your DS so that he can keep insulin , and other supplies including emergency sugar with him. Some teachers were great with mine, some just didn't get it.

Sending you all the best.

Fair play to you for recognising the symptoms - many wouldn't. You must be in shock - probably more so than your DS at the moment.

My DH was diagnosed age 9 and is 53 now. Things were very different back then, and the world is a much better place for a diabetic now.
In the 44 years my DH has had diabetes, he has had zero complications. He isn't under any kind of hospital/consultant (he sees the diabetic nurse at the surgery once a year), has had no issues with things like eyesight etc which can be an issue over the long term. With good glucose control, it is entirely possible to maintain normal health and live a normal life. Yes - he gets frustrated with it sometimes, and I get that, but there's nothing he doesn't/can't do because of his diabetes.

One thing I would try and flag early on in his care (ie now) is that NICE guidelines are that all T1 diabetics are entitled to a continuous glucose sensor (like the Libre ones which are often advertised on TV). Not all PCTs have caught up with this yet, and prescribing them can be hit and miss. But push for it. I have a friend who is a diabetic nurse in a hospital, and she says it is now becoming commonplace here for the newly diagnosed to have one from the outset. But it may not have rolled out everywhere. Cite the NICE guidelines though and keep at it if they don't give you one straight away. They make a huge difference to your ongoing management, and will give YOU peace of mind too (trying to persuade an 'on the way to going low' T1D to do a fingerprick test can be a challenge, but getting them to simply take a reading on their phone is much easier) as you can start to learn the signs of high/low blood sugar and encourage a check.

As people have said upthread, do seek out support. I can't give you a parental perspective, but I can offer thoughts on having lived with a diabetic for 25+ years.

And ,yes, undiagnosed type 1 is absolutely a medical emergency. High blood sugars turn into ketoacidosis , and it happens ,very,very quickly. I've called 999 when this has happened and the paramedics know it really is an emergency.