Worried about DS2 (18 months) and just been a bit fobbed off by GP

[NoCapes]

I've been worried about DS2 for a long time, still waiting for food allergy tests, he's had acid reflux most of his life and recently there have been some strange new symptoms that I couldn't match up to anything else going on

So I googled, and he has all the symptoms of diabetes (this has come up before as when he was very young he used to smell very very sweet, so made sense)

Took him to the GP this morning and was basically laughed out with a 'if he had diabetes he'd be in a coma' and a refusal to test him
Do I have to wait for him to be critically ill before I get a test? Surely people present with symptoms every day and get tested, without needing to be in a coma??
Should I get a second opinion?

My DH (an experienced GP), saying reading of 10 earlier isn't normal and and strong possibly that your DC is developing T1, says please be very careful and vigilant and listen to your instincts xx

Mrs mulder, the gp didn't even do a urine dip test, painless and non invasive- that's just not good enough.

You say he has a sports bottle that he drains 12-15 times per day. What is it filled with? Water, squash, fruit juice, milk?

When I say I was a bit fobbed off I meant with the statement that 'he's not in a coma he can't have diabetes' which is utter bollocks

Water lougle

And Mrs he could've 'won' by doing a non painful, non invasive urine test or the non painful, non invasive finger prick test which they ended up doing - if a child is presenting with all the symptoms then it's better to be safe than sorry surely?!

And as PP with experience in T1 have said, one normal reading doesn't completely rule it out no

Can't believe people are being arsey in 'Children's Health' - knob off back to AIBU!

A finger prick test is invasive, it breaks the skin and is painful (though short lasting) a urine sample on an 18 month old can take a long time to get, time that GP's don't have. He was well, I can understand why he felt he didn't need further investigations at that point. GP's can't test everyone for everything. He was right, his blood sugar was normal

Oh and cross post, I am not being aresy I am just saying I can see why the GP didn't investigate further. You should have made it clear in the opening post that you wanted everyone to slag the GP off and agree with you

DS has had 3 this afternoon and wasn't in pain atall, didn't even flinch
And yes his blood sugar was normal that time, but he still has symptoms, so once we've ruled out one thing we can try another as there is obviously something wrong

What exactly do you want from me here? I was worried about my babies health and I had it checked out, if it isn't diabetes well then thank the fucking Lord for that, but I'm not going to apologise for anything here
Not sure what your problem is???

Really no need for that outburst

Really no need to lecture me because I got a good result on my babies blood test - normal people would see that as a positive thing?

I was referring to your previous post where you swore at me several times for having an opinion. You are sounding a bit unhinged now

I know what you were referring to
And I stand by it, my patience is thin and you're being an arsehole

nocapes I'm pleased it looks like it's not diabetes and I hope you find out what's wrong and he feels better soon. It must be very stressful for you and you are doing your best and sometimes that means being 'difficult' and demanding more from doctors etc and that's completely fine, it's your boy, of course you want reassurance and answers

Thankyou Fox

I'm not one for name calling and swearing at people tbh but I'm surprised that people would try to make a Mum worried about their child feel even more shit for no apparent reason, and yes those people are arseholes
Grateful for all the lovely helpful posters on here today though (and their GP husbands of course )

To be fair to the GP, by the time a child presents with Type 1 diabetes, because they can't articulate how they feel, they have often reached the 'crisis point' of having extremely high blood sugars so would be very lethargic ( Tired), have noticeably lost weight ( Thin) as well as the Thirst and the frequent Toilet trips.

The other thing is that there is a difference between drinking gallons of water and therefore peeing buckets, which is normal (fluid in=fluid out) and the mechanism of thirst in diabetes, whereby the excess sugar builds up in the blood, the kidneys can't keep up and shunt the sugar out into the urine, dragging the body tissue fluids with it. In that situation (diabetes) the person is thirsty because they are dehydrated from the increased urination. Versus the over-drinking, where the increased urination comes from the increased fluid intake.

Perhaps you could try giving him one drink, then distracting him to lengthen the time between drinks, just to cut down his fluid intake slightly, and see if that has any bearing on his mood, toileting, etc., just for a day or two, while you're waiting until Monday? It would, if nothing else, explore another possibility. I went through similar with DD2 and even ended up on a children's ward - the consultant called it 'squash syndrome', where children get into the habit of drinking and end up drinking too much and it mimics diabetes symptoms.

Nocapes. I hope you can get some answers soon.

Listen to your gut though. You know when things aren't right. Many a time a parents forcefulness has saved a child's life when Drs have been dismissive. Sadly, sometimes parents haven't felt able to be forceful & it's had dire consequences.

I can understand what Lougle is saying, and if he's easily distracted then fine, but the need for water when driven by blood sugar levels is horrible and I'd certainly not want to deprive anyone of water in that situation. It's a sure sign my bloods are well out of whack when I'm drinking the planet dry, you feel like you just can't get enough water. It's annoying though because I then wee like a race horse.

Nocapes I just wanted to add my support and sympathy. It's awful when you're being fobbed off by doctors. There is no reason not to do a simple finger prick test. It's painless and doesn't cause trauma!!! The child is more likely to be traumatised by adult impressions of the test.
My sister experienced the same as you when her DS was 6yrs. Dr refused to test and she refused to leave his office. Long story short he was tested, blue lighted to hospital and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. So never ever ever doubt yourself. I hope you get more good news and reassurance that all is well. Sorry you've been having some negative posts. X

I'm pretty astounded that people are getting at the OP, who's quite obviously massively worried about her DS.
How is he this morning, NoCapes?
I know nothing about diabetes, but I'd be very worried if I were you and all you're asking for is clear answers and support from medical professionals who ought to understand that part of their role is to reassure patients who don't have the knowledge and experience that they have, and testing is one of the tools they have to do that. They can't argue that, on the one hand, medicine is science and evidence based, and then say, on the other hand, I just know what I'm talking about and I'm not giving you the relevant tests.

Now if the Dr had said what lougle had said in her post above, wouldn't the OP have left the surgery feeling a lot better about the situaton, even if the outcome of the consultation (i.e. no test) was the same? Instead, OP was dismissed as being a neurotic, over-protective mother not worthy of a resoned explanation for the Dr's decision.

I hope your DS is better soon, NoCapes.

Did you do a test on waking this morning?

Please keep an eye on him and keep checking his levels. My son wasn't unwell at all the day he was diagnosed with type 1- had been to school as normal, I'd just noticed him drinking and weeing more than usual so took him to the nurse and his blood glucose was 32.9! Testing an hour after a big meal often gives a good indication- non diabetics won't go over 8ish, early type 1s may spike up then come down later. Waking tests aren't helpful at this stage as the pancreas often kicks in overnight. Blood glucose and ketone tests are much better than urine sticks- much more accurate.