Anyone with a young child diagnosed with Diabetes

[GoofyG]

What made you know or think your child had it?

I've been concerned about my DD4 for over a yr now. She doesn't ahve many signs, but she drinks and goes tot he bathroom all the time. She wakes up during the night and is crying for a drink, it breaks my heart. I can't get her potty trained at night, she soaks her pullup. I have mentioned this to her pediatrician for a yr now and she keepd telling me she is fine and doesn't show other symptoms. Told me to limit her water, wich I do. But how do you tell your child no who is crying for water. Her therapist asked me the other day, she went tot he bathroom 3 times in a hr and a half,a nd when she went she flowed. They said it was like she had slept all night and it was her morning bathroom time. It;s so frustrating. I'm battleing my pediatricain right now on a bunch of thinks. I'm just curious and frustrated!@!!!!

 

[bookwormde]

Did he bother to tell you what type of Diabetes he thinks she might have and provide you with information about it?
For her thirst to be that acute I would think that her sugar level would be high enough that the doctor would have you monitoring her blood sugar and doing regular urinalysis if not requiring intervention.

There are other types of Diabetes that cause this primarily symptom that are not "sugar" diabetes and cause excessive thirst and failure to concentrate the Urine . The one I know about is Diabetes insipidus, just wondering if she has no or limited other symptoms if this might be what you doctor is talking about and he just did not take the time and provide information adequate to help you to understand. In any case it sounds like your Ped is not communicating very well so I would consider trying another one. Also when does he have your daughter scheduled to see a specialist.

Here is a link to some quick information about the insipidus version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_insipidus#Pathophysiology

Now to give you no confidence in my thoughts the reason I know is that I had a "special needs" cat that had this condition and you description of your daughters thirst is right in line with what we saw. He was managed with a simple (but expensive) pill each day and lived to the age of 13 (100+ in human years).

bookwormde

 

[GoofyG]

Did he bother to tell you what type of Diabetes he thinks she might have and provide you with information about it?
For her thirst to be that acute I would think that her sugar level would be high enough that the doctor would have you monitoring her blood sugar and doing regular urinalysis if not requiring intervention.

There are other types of Diabetes that cause this primarily symptom that are not "sugar" diabetes and cause excessive thirst and failure to concentrate the Urine . The one I know about is Diabetes insipidus, just wondering if she has no or limited other symptoms if this might be what you doctor is talking about and he just did not take the time and provide information adequate to help you to understand. In any case it sounds like your Ped is not communicating very well so I would consider trying another one. Also when does he have your daughter scheduled to see a specialist.

Here is a link to some quick information about the insipidus version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_insipidus#Pathophysiology

Now to give you no confidence in my thoughts the reason I know is that I had a "special needs" cat that had this condition and you description of your daughters thirst is right in line with what we saw. He was managed with a simple (but expensive) pill each day and lived to the age of 13 (100+ in human years).

bookwormde

The problem i'm having right now is her Dr won't even test her for anything. I mention it and the Dr says to just moniter how much she drinks, I try that. But then she just starts crying like she is dying of thirst. Waking up in the middle of the night to get a drink. I'm hypoglycemic and my grandfather is a diabetic. So it's not like it's in the family, i'm just concern. I'm looking around at other Dr's. That is a hard decision to leave your Dr, but i'm tired of ehr not listening. This si the same DD4 that has some special needs problem and this Dr just ignores me. Luckily the speech therapist caught onto some of the problems. UGH

 

[bookwormde]

Definately new ped time, sorry you are having a hard time with the one you have. Be sure an tell the ped why you are leaving, many it will help wake her up. IF you can find one a good developmental ped would be ideal.

bookwormde

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I'd be looking for a new pediatrician if I were you

My DS has diabetes, and was diagnosed at 20 months old. His came on quickly (over 1-2 weeks, tops), but his A1c at diagnosis would indicate he had been developing it for a bit longer. I would think that if she's been thirsty and peeing a lot for a year now, that it might not be diabetes, as it would have progressed by now. Usually with Type 1, it seems to get worse and worse until they get on insulin, as they aren't producing any of their own.

Even if your ped isn't missing diabetes, the fact he won't listen would be enough to get me to find someone new. There's a lot to be said for Mommy intuition, and if he isn't willing to address concerns you've had for over a year, then it's time to bring it up with him, or move on to another doctor.

Good luck figuring everything out! Hopefully your DD is just wicked thirsty

 

[GoofyG]

Thanks!

 

[Chloesmom]

I would also get a new ped.. the fact he isnt listening is enough. On the brightside I doubt she is diabetic simply from the time frame you gave. If she has been doing this for a year then type 1 would have advanced to a point where she would have gotten severly ill. My dd was 6 when she was diagnosed and she had symptoms for a few weeks before she was diagnosed and almost in a coma. It is true that extreme thirst is a sign but not the only sign. My DD also begged for drinks and would go to the potty a few times an hour at times but she also lost excessive weight ( about 10 pounds in 3 weeks), ate everything that wouldnt run away, and had a funky smell from her breath.
Something you may consider is going to any drug store and buying urine glucose test strips. Have your dd pee on one and it will tell you if there is glucose in her urine. If there is then you have a problem. This is what I did. I was putting all of her symptoms together and was at the store and saw the strips and thought " hmmm.. I wonder". well her glucose was off the little chart so I called my ped immediately and she had us rush to the Childrens Hosp. ER. They said she was within days of being in a coma.
I am not familiar with much beyond diabetes so I cannot tell you what else the thirst may indicate... but I would suggest trying the strips just to give you some peace of mind.

 

[GoofyG]

I would also get a new ped.. the fact he isnt listening is enough. On the brightside I doubt she is diabetic simply from the time frame you gave. If she has been doing this for a year then type 1 would have advanced to a point where she would have gotten severly ill. My dd was 6 when she was diagnosed and she had symptoms for a few weeks before she was diagnosed and almost in a coma. It is true that extreme thirst is a sign but not the only sign. My DD also begged for drinks and would go to the potty a few times an hour at times but she also lost excessive weight ( about 10 pounds in 3 weeks), ate everything that wouldnt run away, and had a funky smell from her breath.
Something you may consider is going to any drug store and buying urine glucose test strips. Have your dd pee on one and it will tell you if there is glucose in her urine. If there is then you have a problem. This is what I did. I was putting all of her symptoms together and was at the store and saw the strips and thought " hmmm.. I wonder". well her glucose was off the little chart so I called my ped immediately and she had us rush to the Childrens Hosp. ER. They said she was within days of being in a coma.
I am not familiar with much beyond diabetes so I cannot tell you what else the thirst may indicate... but I would suggest trying the strips just to give you some peace of mind.

Thanks, didn't know there were strips. I will keep my eyes open, your right it will give me a peace of mind!

 

[WheeledTraveler]

While I agree with the others that it's probably not diabetes mellitus (what is commonly referred to as "diabetes"), there is a completely different condition called diabetes insipidus (has nothing to do with insulin or glucose at all), which is characterized by extreme thirst and large amounts of diluted urine (the important thing here is that even if less water is consumed, the urine is still diluted). I don't know how common it is in kids, but it's probably on the list of possible things with her symptoms.

I do agree with everyone, as well, that you need to find a new doctor for her because this one is obviously not taking you seriously about anything.

 

[katml14]

Def. time for a new pedi! And I agree with previous posters- if this has been going on for more than a year, chances are that it's not diabetes mellitus. My daughter is a T1 diabetic, she was diagnosed the day after her first birthday. She got sick FAST- started showing symptoms Thursday night and by Saturday we were medflighted to Children's hospital with a BG level of
1240. I am not saying that all children with diabetes decline so quickly, but I don't think they also could go undiagnosed for a year.

 

[Alice clones]

Any updates? i learned the hard way to not ignore my mommy intuition. My DD7 was very sick last thanksgiving. i knew it was beyond the flu, but when we took her into an urgent care visit the doctor mis-diagnosed her and sent us home. i knew in my gut that he was wrong, but hoped that he was right. The next day she was in a coma, and spent 3 days in ICU. We had no clue that she had diabetes, and had a severe learning curve! while i agree that it doesn't sound like type 1 either, just the duration, i wouldn't count it completly out either. My daughters progression wasn't typical either, she had severe rapid onset, backed up by her initial A1C. By the time she was diagnosed she was no longer making any insulin, also not typical. i also know another type 1 that took over a year before he actually needed insulin, so they can drasticly vary. i hope you find the answers you are looking for. not knowing is the hardest thing. will be praying for you!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I absolutely agree that it's time for a new pediatrician. He's supposed to listen to your concerns.

My daughter was constantly drinking and peeing as well. In her case, it's a bladder issue. Her pediatrician kept testing for UTIs but her urinalysis was coming back normal. Or so I thought. I saw what he wrote in the chart one day and it turns out a few markers were slightly elevated each time but not enough to be clinically significant for diabetes or UTIs. IMO the consistency of these slightly elevated numbers was enough to get me researching possible causes which led me to seek out a urologist (after getting those test strips and seeing that everything was normal on that end). She has a form of cystitis which is a type of chronic bladder inflamation. She's actually doing really well right now since I was able to find a list of common trigger foods and we've been able to figure out which of those foods cause flares so we could eliminate them from her diet. I had a nephrologist try to tell me it was being caused by constipation of all thing but through logging her bms and ultrasounds by the urologist we were able to rule that out before we ever saw the nephrologist (urologist sent us to the nephrologist to rule out kidney problems but the nephrologist was a real tool).

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I would do a blood sugar test from your or the grandpa's monitor. Change the lancet before and after. I would hope for a number around 100 if she has not eaten in a couple hours. I would have anything over 150 checked by a doctor.
Let us know how you are all doing.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

The time frame is not always conclusive. In some people with Type 1, onset is slower, so it is possible (ot probable, but possible) that she is developing it over time.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Not to be a Debbie Downer here, but I feel like it needs to be said. What if you go to a different doctor and they say the same thing?

I'm not trying to be a jerk or mean or anything, but it's really something to think about. I understand you're frustrated, and I'm sure your little one is frustrated at it too. I understand that you want to know what's going on, give a name to it and treat it.

The thing to keep in mind is switching doctors may not be the eureka moment. I don't think switching is a bad idea at all, but I just urge you to keep in mind it may be more of the same thing.

As odd as this will sound, I was rewatched old Grey's Anatomy episodes and one featured a man with constant thirst, and it was caused by a tiny tumor on his pituitary gland. I'm not offering that as a diagnosis or solution, just a reminder that medically, things aren't always as they seem..

I hope you figure this all out, really, I just don't want you to make the switch with doctors and end up just as or more frustrated over it.