Unsure what to do (daughter can't pee)

[Jourdain11]

Not really an AIBU, unless IAU for not taking her straight to A&E, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever come across something like this? My 10-yeqr-old daughter (who has OCD and can get a bit stressed about going to the toilet) has woken up this morning and "can't pee". She feels like she needs to go but nothing is coming out.

Has anyone ever come across something like this and if so, what did you do? She seems otherwise okay - no temperature, etc. She seems uncomfortable, but not in agony or anything.

Maybe I am being unreasonable in not running her straight to hospital - but I suspect it's going to right itself, although I will follow up because it seems very odd. She has T1 diabetes and OCD as I said, but I don't particularly see how this could be related.

Not always possible which is why I said try. When my kids have been in hospital I've always pushed for investigations to be done before discharge, mostly successfully

Hi my twins are both type one and it is definitely linked. My son had thrush when diagnosed. Utis and thrush are common from the high bloods.
Maybe ring 111? X Good luck.x

Ring 111? Why? The child is in hospital. The OP can ask the doctors there!

OP if there's not a simple answer such as uti and they're still scratching their heads with no idea what it is, please do ask about possible neuropathy in the bladder caused by T1D.

Ask why they are confident it's not that, if they dismiss you.

Diabetes knowledge in general is poor among many doctors and nurses, let alone when it comes to anything around nuanced complications. It's also a weekend...

Don't be fobbed off.

Ask them re fowlers. My cousin and I both have to different degrees (thought to be genetic), both been admitted in retention dozens of times between us. Mine is mostly in remission just now, I just need to be very careful with toileting and drinking and medications/anaesthetics . Stress and anxiety and different toilets also plays a part I’ve found - I can never wee in public toilets!

First symptom for me was going for a wee but needing to strain; and then needing to go back 2 or 3 times after . Eventually ended up in full retention and catheterised for a couple of days . I was taught clean intermittent self catheterisation but haven’t needed to do that for over a year; touch wood.

@GrisleyR You really have to ask that? This whole discussion should never have taken place. The girl would be under a diabetic nurse who should have make the parents aware of anything that they need to be aware of. If not she should make herself aware of all that she needs to know. NOBODY should have a sick child and not be aware of what is or isn't urgent. If not sure why waste time on asking strangers on the internet and not the GP or 111? There are help groups, even that would be better. And you have the stupidity to say really!

Hopefully, they’ll be able to sort her out. Thinking of you.

Maybe read the OPs posts and you will see we have moved on a bit from ringing anyone

This. A key cause of urinary retention in Type 1.

A&E! I know someone who had this, (mid 20s though, not a child) it was stones in the bladder, which then caused a rupture and he nearly died. Not trying to scare you but this can be serious.

Oh bless her - I hope they get to the bottom of it soon OP and she’s relatively comfortable now she’s in hospital?

Sorry DRFT, glad she’s in hospital now and hope all is well soon!

If she can't go it's definitely a&e - it could just be uti but it can be some extremely serious things

Please go

Sorry OP I didn't see your update. Really glad she's in the right place being looked after. Poor thing.

How to kick somebody when they're down eh?

A & E don’t mess around with diabetes, stuff can go badly really quickly

Um, have you read the thread or just the first post and fired in a response?

I said that because OP was already sitting in the hospital.

I just get so frustrated with people who post their great wisdom without bothering to check any updates.

It's still happening now.

@Tlittle sorry to hijack the post to ask a question but I was wondering at what ages your twins were diagnosed with T1. I’m a nurse with an interest (but not specialising) in diabetes. My friends two dc have T1 and my Dgs was dx at 5 years old.

How is she supposed to know what she needs to know? A layperson can't just become a doctor from googling things on the internet. I do agree if you have a child with a medical condition then the first port of call should be a physician, not an internet discussion site.

How is she supposed to know what she needs to know? A layperson can't just become a doctor from googling things on the internet. I do agree if you have a child with a medical condition then the first port of call should be a physician, not an internet discussion site.

Type 1 diabetes is an unusual illness in that yes, as a layperson you really do end up having to become your own doctor to all intents and purposes.

You won't really understand that unless you or your child has diabetes. In the same way that you won't really understand that just being in hospital (with nursing staff who do not understand type 1 and treat it vaguely like type 2) can make you incredibly vulnerable, and at worst be an actively dangerous place, for a type 1 diabetic.

That's not an exaggeration. Often t1ds have the insulin pumps taken away and are put on archaic regimens that lead to much higher blood sugars - which directly affects ability to heal, ability to recover from infection. As one example.

One of the reasons type 1 diabetes is such a brutal disease is that so many healthcare professionals are uneducated and have zero interest in learning. They don't listen to the patient or the parent, and then shrug it off when things go wrong and rapidly snowball into something very serious.

Not kicking when down at all! My first words were I’m glad your dd is being seen as in, getting help/relief, quickly too. But I genuinely don’t understand why OP didn’t go to a+e immediately! It’s a serious issue! I’m also not the only one who’s said this so don’t know why you’ve singled me out? 🤷‍♀️

Firstly, I did try to call the nurses' line and completed 111 questionnaire. But also, it wasn't immediately clear if this is a diabetes-related issue (and still isn't). There has been no issue with her levels.

Also, this is in the context that DD1 has quite severe OCD which can manifest itself in a number of ways. One is that she'll constantly keep going to the toilet and trying to pee even when she doesn't need to. When she first came to me this morning, I thought it's related to this. When I realised that she did actually need to go, I thought maybe she's gotten so anxious and tense about it. And it's still not 100% clear that this isn't the case.

So, it might seem like 100% emergency territory to someone else, but knowing my DD, knowing that her diabetes is well under control and that she hasn't had any significant issues with it lately, and seeing her not acutely unwell (ie no raging fever, writhing in pain) I had to consider that it might be an issue of anxiety and tension causing extreme physical symptoms. In which case, I still feel it's not completely illogical to try to alleviate those symptoms before dashing off to hospital.

Op, ignored all those giving you grief. Totally unfair and unnecessary.

I hope they figure out what's wrong with your dd.

There has been no issue with her levels.

Sometimes diabetes is just an arsehole, OP.

Euglycaemic DKA (ketoacidosis with normal blood sugars) is one good example of that.

Yes, good management is extremely important but sometimes diabetes does shit things to your body just because that's how diabetes can be.

It's important to be aware of this, as your child's advocate.

Good management is no cast iron guarantee that complications won't happen, so be vigilant.