Diabetic Toddler unwell

[sicktoddlerhelp]

I'm posting here for traffic and I'm very worried
My 2.5 ds who is type 1 diabetic had a high temp 3 days ago and it lasted around 24hours, he had no other symptoms and is completely fine, other than he won't eat. He used to have a big bottle of milk before bed to keep his sugars up so he could sleep in peace. He will hardly eat anything and has to be coaxed with new toys at meal times and be distracted so I can get some food in his mouth. He chews it for a little bit them spits it out. I am really worried and am scared of him taking a hypo at night as he won't eat anything. Please please can someone give some advice xx

Does he have a sore throat, or a sore mouth? That can put small children off eating and drinking. Are you giving Calpol or similar?

If he’s not eating take him to A&E, with him being type 1 you should have a fast track entry to children’s paediatric

We were giving calpol when he had the fever but not since. I had to sneak it into yogurt

We had him at the out of hours when he had the fever, they completely checked him over, no sore throat, ears or any type of infection x

Do you have glucogel? And the emergency injection for severe hypos just in case ?

its definitely worth getting checked at a and e

Would he accept a lolly maybe ? If it’s sugary it will mean he’s eating something and the cold might help

injections or insulin pump ?

Surely OOH or A&E is where you should be not Mumsnet 🤦🏻‍♀️ Jesus wept

I would ring 111 for advice? They would either give advice or tell you to go to the hospital xx

Really not helpful or kind.

His glucose is at 8.6 he is far from hypo just yet. He will eat rubbish and sweets.
I just don't want to go down that line.

You need to contact your local children’s ward and speak to the paediatric registrar/on call doctor. Are you following his sick day rules?

I know it’s not ideal but the best thing is to be getting small amounts of food and insulin into him regularly. Have you checked his ketones

I would try giving him pain relief for the next 24 hours and see if he starts eating and drinking again. How did the out of hours establish that he didn't have a sore throat? I would imagine a sore throat or mouth is the most likely thing tbh!

After an illness lots of kids go off their food for a few days. it’s normal, but obvs with diabetes in the mix you need to be more careful. Will he eat or drink anything? At this point it’s more important he’s eating than worrying about being super healthy.

Does he have a Dexcom or Libre ?
I think I would go to A&E tbh
He's so little and doesn't understand the need to eat
I feel for you my nearly 18 year old is diabetic too but he was diagnosed at 16 so understand, s his diagnosis.

Honestly sounds like he needs his throat looking at again. If it is sore, they could prescribe him a difflam spray to make swallowing feel comfier. Is he even drinking enough?

Do you have an out of hours number for your diabetic team? Ours are always happy for a reassuring phone call when ds (also t1) is poorly. Worse case scenario does he have an open bed in paediatrics?

But I’m not wrong am I 🤷🏻‍♀️

If he's not eating and drinking. You need to go to hospital for IV fluids to keep his sugars up.

8.6 is ok - fever and illness usually means levels go up so you may not have to treat a hypo. You may have to test through the night though if you don’t have a sensor?

But tell your DS’s diabetes nurses too so they’re aware and they’ll tell you sick day rules

You need to contact your child's diabetes nurse for advice on what to do and create a plan for the future especially for things like stomach bugs ect. Until tomorrow just feed him what he will eat and monitor his sugars over night

she should know them already!

Being a parent of a child with T1 is really hard. There is an area for diabetes. You might find people with more knowledge there.

You are allowed to call the Paediatric Assessment Ward directly if you are concerned about a child with Type 1 in our area. This might be the case for you too.

If the BG are 8 then that’s fine. No worry for now. Do you have alarms that will wake you if his BG are dropping? Is he on CGM or finger prick tests?

Get your sick day rules and have them handy.

Your PDSN will be able to talk to you tomorrow. Talk to them honestly about your worries, you should have access to dietetic support to help understand and work on the eating and psychological support for you (it’s very anxiety provoking being the mum to a little one with Type 1) to help you with the understandable impact on your own well-being.

Diabetes UK is a great website, Digibete too. Join a local support group for T1 mums too.

I think, if it eases your anxiety tonight, use whatever food he will have and then call your team in the morning and ask for help to make sure this doesn’t become a longer term struggle. That’s what they are there for and they will be happy to help.

Good luck.

Honestly op, if crap is all he wants to eat, then that’s really not going to matter for a day or two. As long as it’s matching his usual carb intake, which is the main thing. Even regular sipping on a sugary drink is better than nothing.

Does he have a cgms? Are you able to set alerts or alarms on your phone for it if he does? If not then checking every hour or two overnight is best.

sick day rules
https://www.a-c-d-c.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Patient-Advice-for-Management-of-Type-1-Diabetes-Mellitus-during-illness-in-children-and-young-poeple-under-18-years-Sick-Day-Rules-3.pdf

Also, as others have said, call 111 for some advice tonight, and his DSN tomorrow.