To think this is the start of type 1 diabetes in my 4 year old?

[Hyperemesishell]

My Mum has T1 diabetes (diagnosed late aged 22)

My son drinks a lot and although not dry at night, has never soaked through his nappy. Over the past 2 weeks; more often than not he’s soaking through his happy. He eats CONSTANTLY, much much more than my older child. He’s constantly looking for thinking about or eating food. He’s not overweight at all which is surprising considering the amount he eats and he’s quite a lazy (!) child. Sleeps well but always has done (12 hours a night) recently noticed black bags under his eyes. My Dad commented he thought he’d lost weight and it does look like he’s lost around 3lbs.

Ive been doing his blood sugar over the past couple of days, these are the readings:

13th June
8.2 4pm no food since lunch
7.2 6.30pm after dinner

14th June
6.5 fasted 7.30am
12.1 6.15pm after dinner
6.1 8pm
7.0 10pm

15th June
5.7 6.30am (fasted)
9.7 10.15am after breakfast
7.0 11.15am

Either you think he does, in which case you take him to a&e, or you agree with the dr that he doesn't. Why on earth are you repeatedly testing a 4 year old - poor kid. If you genuinely think he has then get him to a&e, otherwise, leave him alone

The point is he shouldn't be getting above 7 at all ,people are not Trying to be accusatory but DKA can be life threatening, my son nearly died from it last year just take him to A&E and tell them what.you have said on here.

if you think your chid has diabetes, he needs to go straight to hospital, but from what you are now saying, he has been seen by doctors, and they said no, so why are you testing him?

because he has all the signs?
because GPS are notoriously crap at diagnosing and managing Type 1?
because Type 1 doesn’t necessarily happen overnight, more of a gradual happening?

Thank you. I really mean it.

Take care, OP. It is a hellish diagnosis. Be aware of the DKA warnings because you want to avoid that. It does sound like Tyoe 1 is where it's heading - good support on Facebook. Straight to A&E at any point you're concerned

Take him to a and e next time his sugars are high op.
Gp are not equipped to deal with serious diagnoses.. Tell a and e you have a family history and also his sugars keep testing well above normal.
You have to advocate for your son unfortunately in this situation.. Being pushy is the only way to get things sorted.

I'd take him back to DRs tbh with those readings and the tiredness and weight loss.

The nappies wouldn't bother me, he's really far too old for nappies so soaking through them wouldn't strike me as unusual if it's a big wee.

Op I do understand your worries but this is not the way to manage it. DH is type 1 , DS does and still does drink alot, when he was 3/4 he did present a bit like this , though we didn't do serial bloods. I discussed with the health visitor and full bloods were done and checked, he wasn't and still isn't at 21 diabetic. Go and talk to your GP and health visitor again, but be alert for the signs of keto acidosis.

The readings don't mean anything when you're testing straight after meals and not noting his sugar/carb intake during those meals.

If you want to monitor him, get proper advice on how to do it correctly. Ask for an HbA1c test. That would give a better idea of what his blood glucose levels are on average.

OP my child has T1D, diagnosed late like your mum. It developed gradually over a few months and i believe was triggered by a bout of flu.
I'm sorry but it sounds like your son could be heading the same way.

Assuming your testing kit is accurate a blood glucose of 8.4 hours after eating is not good. A spike immediately after eating in people without diabetes isn't unusual its when your blood glucose stays high for hours that indicates your pancreas isn't working properly.

I'd definitely get him to a Dr asap x

Hey if you test it needs to be two hours after eating as eating can cause a spike. It is good that you are taking them in as undiagnosed diabetes can go from bad to worse quickly, it could be early stages or not though with symptoms the readings would likely be higher?
I have twins who are type one. He was aged 3 and blood sugar of 33+ when diagnosed at the doctors as I suspected that he was. She was also 3 and blood sugar of 16, three months after her brother. We caught hers early and had done like you and checked every now and again.
Tbh I drink like a fish and am always hungry and am not type one so I hope that your child is OK in the end and that its nothing to worry about.X

And if they say that they don't then keep an eye on your child still as they said my daughter wasn't and she got diagnosed a month later.

Don't try to diagnose diabetes . If you are concerned , make an appointment with your doctor. Undiagnosed diabetes can be dangerous if not diagnosed and treated properly.

Thanks. We are going back to the GP this morning.

Any update?

She has referred him to the paediatricians. She said she thinks it could be a ‘honeymoon’ period before T1 but obviously as of yet there’s nothing to treat. So she’s asked for them to see him and to do his HBA1C and said any signs of DKA to go straight to A&E. in the meantime, do a couple of blood sugars a day to keep an eye on things.

That’s good. Is it the paeds diabetes team or the general paeds team? There are several research trials trying to identify people in the early stages with the aim of preserving some pancreas function so worth pushing to get him tested for the antibodies that cause t1 as that will give you more of a definitive answer as to whether or not he’s developing it.

My son’s blood glucose was 33 at the first finger prick at the GP so very little doubt it was t1 but he wasn’t in dka as we noticed the symptoms early. The hospital tested him for antibodies that day to confirm the diagnosis. We did meet children (often siblings of
an older diagnosed child) who were diagnosed in the very early stages so had complicated treatment regimes as they still had bursts of insulin naturally as well as the injections.

This is really useful, thank you so much. I actually don’t know which team, but hoping to hear from the hospital quite quickly. She was a little conflicted on what to do as she said usually people present in an ‘acute episode’ like your son.
I had no idea they could test for the antibodies so I will definitely push for that specifically.

Asking for medical advice on MN for a child is ridiculous! Just keep try your GP

That makes NO sense. It's quite the opposite.

@Hyperemesishell Don't panic but take him to be seen, today, wherever you can book an appointment., they're not good readings. It's a horrible diagnosis if he has T1, but far worse not to seen! Thinking of you both.

@Hyperemesishell

sorry, my MN is acting weird,not displaying all posts & I didn't notice the date.

I'm glad it's all being looked into.

I don't think it sounds like t1d, those readings aren't alarming. I'd just be requesting a glucose tolerance test asap to double check

Thanks so much

… I have.

I don’t agree with this. The OP has already been to a GP, I think this thread has resulted in OP to going back and pushing her GP for a referral for her child. GP’s aren’t always the most pleasant to deal with, can you make you feel like you shouldn’t be there…. I went to my twat of a GP, got dismissed and later ended up in hospital.
Have since changed surgeries so I don’t have to deal with the way he treated women anymore- thank fuck.

Hope everything is ok or at least being managed OP.