teen and elevated glucose level

[Tiggeroo]

My son had a severe stomach virus. Throwing up, diarhea, fever, etc. Wed. 4am he called dh and myself, we ran in to see what was wrong and that quick he passed out and dh caught him. He carried him into the living room where son regained consciousness but didn't seem coherent. We called the ambulance who took him to the hospital. There they ran blood and said he was slightly dehydrated. While there his heart rate and blood pressure were all over the place. At first they were elevated, but then bp was super low while hr was very high. It would get worst whenever he sat up. They kept giving him iv fluids and claiming he was dehydrated. Eventually it normalized and sent him home. He is gradually feeling a bit better, but still not quite right. Still has stomach pains and a bit of nausea.
Now, my concern. When I look at his blood results his glucose is slightly high. 130. Neither his dr. or the hospital seems especially concerned about this. His dr. says we'll re-run the blood in a week or two when he's been eating and drinking normally for awhile. His dr. will not be in tomorrow. Does anybody know if the vomiting or dehyd. could cause this? I'm considering taking him to er tomorrow just to have them re-run his blood. As he's feeling better I know he will be resuming activities tomorrow and I'm afraid of his bp and hr doing this again when he starts getting active. It seems like an odd thing to take somebody to an er for, but I'm just feeling a bit worried. It is definitely a virus. It swept thru all my extended family who were at a party together last weekend. Now son number 2 has it. Thanks if anybody has any thoughts.
Yes, if I see a change for the worst I will be taking him anyway, just so nobody thinks I will neglect him.

 

[phillybeth]

Stress can cause elevated blood sugar. My DH was in the emergency room for an abdominal tear and hernia and his bs was over 130. He was concerned since diabetes runs in his family, so after surgery the dr retested and he was well within the normal range.

 

[Tiggeroo]

My worry is he's going back to school. He's a competitive runner and has a really big track meet on Thurs. He's missed several days of practice and two races with this bug. He wants to run tomorrow and dr. says he can if he's feeling ok. He no longer has the signs of dehydration and is able to keep food down, no diarhea or vomiting for over 24 hours. I'm worried about letting him run, but would also feel terrible if I made him miss the tri-county race just because I'm being an over protective mother.

 

[FranP]

Don't want to scare you, but google "Diabetic Ketoacidosis" and read the symptoms - I have some experience with this. All of the symptoms he had could (and I mean "could" since I'm no doctor) point to this. This is very serious and can lead to coma. I might suggest another trip to the ER or walk in clinic if the vomiting, etc. and incoherence start up again. GOOD LUCK and I really hope it's just a bad virus.

Fran

 

[Tiggeroo]

I know. I read this and this is what scared me so badly. He hasn't vomited for since he left the er on Wed. night and no more incoherence. But he has had stomach pains and diarrhea. His twin brother has been vomiting for the past 3 hrs so it's definitely a virus. But I am wondering if he has a blood sugar problem and this is why it was worst with him and why he passed out.
ER said vomiting can lead to pressure on the vagus nerve triggering the unconsciousness.
I called er nurse a few minutes ago and she said no need to worry. This number, while high is not high enough to cause the symptoms we saw. Most likely the number was high because when you vomit alot and loose fluids your body tries to compensate for this loss.

 

[FranP]

Thank God = hope he feels better soon!

 

[Tiggeroo]

When son passed out, then seeing him in the ambulance, and watching him sleeping in the hospital bed with tubes and monitors.... The scariest moment of dh and my life. And I kept thinking what if it was worst. When we got home and things had settled I read my two sons the riot act, in a loving way. I said if they ever did anything stupid, like drugs or getting into a car when the driver has been drinking I would kill them. I have a good son but when they were first trying to figure out what was wrong and he seemed so out of it, I thought what if he took something. DH even asked him that if there might be anything like this to just tell him. No punishment, just wanted to be sure he got the right treatment.
I'm actually thanking God that son number 2 is vomiting now. This helps me be sure that it is not a blood sugar or food poisoning issue. It is truly the worst stomach bug I've ever seen.

 

[Talking Hands]

To be showing ketoacidosis his blood sugars would have been way higher than 130. Normal is 115 and below. But 130 in a stressed state isn't really high at all.
When I was diagnosed I had a blood sugar over 800 and was throwing ketones. You could smell them in my urine and sweat. Smells like nail polish remover.
Yes some of the symptoms of diabetes will mimic the flu but his blood sugars would have been much higher and he would still be having symptoms.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Thank you TH. It's just that I've never seen a stomach bug last so long. And he has been sleeping so much and complaining that his muscles hurt and everything just aches. And he has had alot of stomach pain.

 

[DebbieB]

When my niece was diagnosed with diabetes she had similiar symptoms but her blood sugar was 600, much much higher than your son. She had also been tired, was thirsty and wet the bed once (she was 11). If his doctor and the ER nurse said not to worry, I wouldn't. Can the school nurse do a stick test?

 

[Christine]

When did they draw his blood? Sometimes the IV solutions they use can cause the elevated blood sugar.

 

[lsyorke]

Like someone said a sugar of 130 in a stressful situation is normal. DKA(diabetic ketoacidosis) would be MUCH higher that 130. In stressful situations the liver produces sugar(fight or flight) when the dietary intake is low. Don't sweat a sugar of 130!