17 year old son, GP or A&E?

[Imamumgetmeoutofhere]

My son is 17, almost 18. For the last 3 days he’s been peeing a lot more than normal and drinking a lot more than normal. This morning I found him asleep on the sofa and he said he had been too tired to go up the stairs to bed, but feels ok in himself today, just wiped out.

I said take him to A&E as these sound like possible diabetes symptoms, husband think it sounds like a UTI and has done an e-consult and urine sample for him at our surgery.

Am I over panicking? Or should I be trusting my judgement and taking him to A&E?

Thanks in advance

Thank goodness. So pleased to hear you took him. Good luck to you both.

This thread has really shocked me at the way people happily dispense medical advice about life and death situations they know nothing about,

From the first couple of sentences it was obvious this lad had diabetes and DKA.

Hi @Imamumgetmeoutofhere I read your post amd immediately thought diabetes and saw you'd decided a&e so carried on reading the white thread and didn't comment.
I've just seen your update and wanted to send my love to you and your son. You will be feeling devastated and scared I'm sure, I have no experience of a child with diabetes but I am 21 years into my diagnosis, diagnosed at 23.
You're say you're wondering upon the impact on his life, of course there will be major changes but I just wanted to reassure you life carries on. My diabetes doesn't define me, humans are pretty good at adapting. I enjoy my life, I enjoy cake still even!
You and your son will be feeling all the emotions right now and that's OK, don't fight it, your lives have changed and you need to process that. What I will say is people often overlook the affect diabetes has on our emotions. A slight change in my glucose levels can have big changes in my moods and sometimes a little understanding goes a long way.
I'm married, a mum, I work, holiday abroad, drive, have a social life all the thongs I'd be doing if I didn't have diabetes. You and your family have got this 😘

@Imamumgetmeoutofhere Hello - I've signed up just to write this! This was us 2 years ago. DS was also 17. He suddenly started drinking loads of liquids, really noticeable and I immediately thought Type 1 Diabetes. Then he started getting up for a wee in the night. Took him to GP, and I said suspect T1D. I took urine sample, it tested slightly high. Next day blood test at GP and within 6 hours told to go to A&E as it was T1D. Think we got it early as A&E said lots ended up coming in a coma. Only one night in hospital. Then home to get on with it. It's a pain. It's annoying. But it is not the end of the world. It is only with hindsight that we realised DS had lost a lot of muscle/weight before diagnosis. It's tricky to begin with as there's a honeymoon phase, where suddenly you won't need as much insulin one day as you do the next. But, treatment is far easier these days. He'll have a sensor to wear on his upper arm, and an app on his phone (you can have same app and see all his readings). He'll have an alarm that goes off on his phone when High or Low. I think DS has turned off the high alarm now, but the Low one must stay on. Overtime, I've turned both the alarms off on my phone. You will never stop worrying but it will get easier. ALSO, if A levels next year, you must speak with the school. DS was allowed his phone in the exam room (kept by a moderator) so they could check his levels, he was also allowed Haribo, and as many breaks as he needed. If your DS has just taken his A levels I would still contact the school and ask them to contact Exam boards and advise them of the diagnosis, as he might not have done as well as he could of done with unstable blood sugar levels, and this should be taken into consideration. It's far easier being diagnosed as a 17 year old than it is as a baby (I can't imagine that) as they can deal with it mainly themselves, but it's also a tricky stage as they want to be going out and having fun and not keep checking their glucose levels. I suggest looking at Instagram - there are LOADS of useful people there. Thinking of you. x

Hope he is doing OK.

It’s good news that you took him straight to A and E. Well done 👏.

Well done OP and the sensible people on the thread. It is staggering how many people are unaware that undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes can be fatal.
I know its very early make sure they keep him in mind for a hybrid closed loop pump. Young people are a priority group in the current NICE guidelines.
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/PRN00250-decision-support-tool-making-a-decision-about-managing-type-1-diabetes-v2.pdf

Bless you OP, welcome to this shitty club but you will all be ok.

He will be smashing this injections before you know it.

Thank god you took him. Can people please remember this thread next time. OPs son was fast on his way to being in a coma.

Well done OP for getting him timely help. Hope that he feels better once rehydrated and the insulin brings his sugar and ketone levels down too. Technology is so much better these days with CGM and pumps far easier to monitor and keep sugar levels steady,

When you have time to read this thread, just to say I am thinking of you and wish your son all the best. They will put him on a good treatment plan...

About 20 years ago 2 of my friends got married (in their mid 20's). The husband felt soon after the wedding thirsty all the time, lethargic and had lost a lot of weight. He put it down to the stress of planning a wedding & getting married etc.

His wife insisted he went to the doctors, and yes it was type 1 diabetes requiring daily insulin injections. It hit him hard at first to come to terms with, but he adapted, his health improved...and 20 years on is a father of 4 and he's a happy chap.

As a previous poster said, it doesn't define who you are, you adapt and your son will have a happy life going forward.

Wishing you all the very best 💐

Read the updates - OP's son is in hospital and going straight to A&E may well have saved his life as he was starting to slip into a coma

If you suspect T1 diabetes it is dangerous advice to faff around with borrowing test kits and GP appointments as T1 is not like T2

Is it so interesting now? Lucky OP was sensible enough to trust herself and not people who have no idea what they’re on about.

Thank you so much for coming back to give an update. It was frightening to see how many people thought you were over reacting. The combination of your knowledge of diabetes symptoms and mother’s intuition may well have saved your son’s life and you’ll be the perfect person to help him navigate the life changes that will now come for him.

Clearly shows we need more diabetes awareness campaigns if people don't realise it can so quickly be dangerous.

This waa my son three years ago when he was 16 honestl it is so scary at the time
Three years on hes doing great
And manages his insulin well
.

You're an amazing, AMAZING Mum, OP. You trusted your instinct in the face of a doubting husband and you got your son the medical help he clearly very desperately needed. You should be so freaking proud of yourself. I know you'll have a lot of emotions tonight but let yourself be proud too - you're his protector even at his big age and you did an incredible job of it.

It's really not a GP thing, and it IS a medical emergency.

You're misinformed. He wouldn't slip into a coma (that only happens with low blood sugar). If he is undiagnosed T1 then he won't be producing insulin and his blood sugar will be dangerously high. He risks Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), which means his internal organs can fail and he can die. Immediate treatment is required. My son was blue-lighted from the GP to the hospital, where doctors were waiting for us - he was put on an insulin drip immediately and was in for 5 days. I asked if an ambulance was really necessary - they said it was, it was that urgent.

My DS had the same symptoms btw. He is T1. He didn't have sweet smelling wee, either.

Ok so on which of the THREE DAYS that the OP said her son had been ill would it have become a medical emergency worthy of A&E?

A lesson learned here. I would have gone GP route. Well done fore getting the help your son needed. I hope that things get better for him.

Not the best news but he's in the right place. My exh got diagnosed at that age and lucky to be alive!
I think visiting your GP definitely depends on your actual practice, mine is absolutely rubbish so I'd be straight to a and e.
However there's a great surgery where I work in a different county that would see you same day easily so if it was an hour or so or straight away which does happen, I'd probably go there first.
Main thing is he's your son and you know him and how serious it is unlike randoms on the internet.

Read the updates FFS

And this is why it is so so dangerous to say
'Not A&E, its not a medical emergency'

How the hell do you know?
Very very dangerous advice from afew on here and i hope they have learnt a valuable lesson to NOT give medical advice when they know nothing

A GP would not be best placed to start a 17 year old on insulin same day- which is what he needs if he has diabetes. He needs same day assessment- either by GP (needs blood sugar not just urine dip) who can then refer in or A and E who can sort with Paeds. I hope he’s ok.

Sending strength. My DS was diagnosed aged 13. It's a lot to get your head around to begin with, but you will get there. The technology they will give him (pumps and sensors that work together) is amazing, and makes it so much easier to manage than even a few years ago. And he'll start feeling better quickly now that he's being treated - it's a quick recovery once you start getting insulin again.

DM me if you'd like any advice. T1 is a shit diagnosis, but it can be managed and, 5 years on, it hasn't stopped my DS from doing anything in life. xxx

From the first couple of sentences it was clear this lad had diabetes and dka

Actually that's not true. I took my ds to a&e with identical symptoms (exhaustion, rapid weightloss, thirst, confusion) age 14 and in his case it was crohns disease and incipent kidney failure not diabetes - but he was triaged for dka within 10 min of arrival then admitted for 3 weeks to be stabilised.

The point is it could be diabetes and dka and if they are even suspected a&e is the right place to go.

@Imamumgetmeoutofhere Im sorry you've joined the "parents of children w autoimmune conditions " club - none of us want to be here. Do your crying if you need to but you will be amazed at how both you and he will adapt to this new normal. There are also fantastic new treatments being developed for all sorts of autoimmune conditions so the future for our kids is looking bright.

I’m so sorry OP, but thank goodness you took him to get checked over.
You will be inundated with information in the next few days so I would advise asking DH to bring you a pad and pen when he comes back in.
I feel for you, it’s A LOT, but it can be managed and with CGM’s and pumps (mine won’t have one of these 🙄) there are options to make it easier.

I hope those saying hangover/heat etc learn from this. If you don’t know about a subject, don’t comment!