Concerns About 2 Year Old

[greenfly]

Can somebody please help me understand some concerns I have about my 2 year old son? When he gets sick he gets really sick and usually ends up in hospital for one reason or another. Febrile convulsions, difficulty breathing, the worst chicken pox you have ever seen.

Anyway when he was about 18months he had his blood sugar tested and the nurse told me it was a little high. I think it was 8. This wasn't ever mentioned again.

Around Christmas time last year he was drinking a lot. At times he seemed to have a thirst that he just couldn't quench. Both my husband and my mum had mentioned this to me. I mean he would drink 5 small cups of water in one go. So I took him to the doctors and had his urine tested which came back fine and because I was still concerned I got them to test his blood sugar and it came back as 8.5 (I think). The doctor told me everything was fine and off I went.

Over the past year he has been into hospital on 4 different occasions with breathing problems. They listen to his chest and tell me it's not a chest infection (one time they did a chest x-ray and said he did have a chest infection) and they try him with an inhaler that doesn't really work so they say it's not asthma. So they look at him puzzled, say they don't know why he is struggling to breath, keep him in over night then send him away with antibiotics. The breathing usually goes back to normal 2-4 days after.

The last time he had one of these episodes he said "mummy I can't see" I said "what can't you see?" He said "my hands.... I can't see anything" so I held up my phone and said "what is this?" He said "your phone" I just put this down to him being light headed because of how he was breathing. Bare in mind he is only 3 in October so I wouldn't be able to get anymore info out of him than this.

He is away on holiday with my mum right now. After 2 days of him being away I realised his potty in his bedroom had wee in it that he must've done just before he left (I have been enjoying being child free so hadn't entered his bedroom). When i poured out the wee a bit had dried and was stuck to the bottom of the potty. So I wiped it with toilet paper and I noticed it was gritty. So I looked at the tissue and it was sparkling. There were what looked like pieces of sugar all over the tissue. I did it again and the same happen.

My mum has also told me while he is on holiday he is weeing a lot. But that could be because it's hot and he is drinking a lot.

Can anybody please shed some light on my concerns? Could this be diabetes?

 

[himtoo]

hi there
as we are not doctors we can't diagnose over the internet.

I would suggest that you take him back to the doctor as soon as you are able.
I know as a small child he can't tell you properly what is going on , which is why they have urine and blood tests to check these things out.,

 

[greenfly]

hi there
as we are not doctors we can't diagnose over the internet.

I would suggest that you take him back to the doctor as soon as you are able.
I know as a small child he can't tell you properly what is going on , which is why they have urine and blood tests to check these things out.,

He has an appointment with a peadiatric doctor at the end of the month but I can't help but think they are going to tell me he is all fine like they have all the other times before. So I want to inform myself as much as possible before he sees them. With regards to the what looked like sugar in his wee, is that something anyone else has experienced?

 

[Dark Horse]

There are lots of different crystals that can form when urine evaporates:-
http://www.eclinpath.com/urinalysis/crystals/

 

[lucylocket61]

are you in the UK?

 

[Circuspony]

Can you ask them to run a hba1c test? It's a measure of glucose levels over about 90 days and is a much better indicator than a one-off test. Hope you get it sorted soon

 

[greenfly]

are you in the UK?

Yes I am in the uk.

 

[DCUKMod]

He has an appointment with a peadiatric doctor at the end of the month but I can't help but think they are going to tell me he is all fine like they have all the other times before. So I want to inform myself as much as possible before he sees them. With regards to the what looked like sugar in his wee, is that something anyone else has experienced?

To be honest greenfly, considering any diagnosis or even pointers from a urine sample at least 2 days old, that has sat, open to the elements, in hot weather weather is totally unreasonable. Almost anything evaorating become concentrated, and probably will leave a bit of a tide mark around the vessel, never mind body waste fluids.

I'm sorry your little guy is having some symptoms you are concerned about, but please don't become focused on the solution and try to make circumstances fit. That is a potential recipe for disaster.

 

[greenfly]

To be honest greenfly, considering any diagnosis or even pointers from a urine sample at least 2 days old, that has sat, open to the elements, in hot weather weather is totally unreasonable. Almost anything evaorating become concentrated, and probably will leave a bit of a tide mark around the vessel, never mind body waste fluids.

I'm sorry your little guy is having some symptoms you are concerned about, but please don't become focused on the solution and try to make circumstances fit. That is a potential recipe for disaster.

Thank you for your input. I most certainly wasn't looking for a diagnoses from a two day old sample or even asking an Internet forum to diagnose my son. I think I would be leaving that to the experts.

I am not sure why looking at the whole picture of my sons health concerns is a potential recipe for a disaster. Surely ignoring possible health problems would be a recipe for disaster. I am not just plucking out tiny aspects of my sons health and focusing on them. He has had a range of health problems that I am going to inform the paediatric doctor of so they will be better informed to make a diagnosis (or hopefully not make a diagnosis and he never has any health problems again and doesn't end up lying in a hospital bed again struggling to breath on oxygen). I just wanted to speak to people on this forum to find out more about diabetes and the symptoms to help point his doctor in the right direction (that directions hopefully isn't diabetes). They are puzzled as much as I am. I am sure you can appreciate when a doctor looks at my child and says they are concerned but can't tell me why he is having these health problems that I would be concerned and do everything to find a "solution".

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @greenfly Children who are diagnosed with type 1 fall ill very quickly so symptoms can be seen over a few days/week and they will deteriorate rapidly, so as a parent you would be thinking about a trip to either your GP or A&E, symptoms include dehydration, constant thirst so continual drinking (thirst does not become quenched at all with this), constant peeing, weight loss, extreme fatigue, blurred vision and pear breath, they will exhibit all of these as they indicate ketoacidosis and requires insulin therapy as quickly as possible.

As a parent, if my child was unwell then I wouldn't wait for an appointment but would ask to be seen straight away, even if it was the GP, to at least put my mind at rest.

I hope you can appreciate when anyone asks questions about diabetes and children, due to the danger of ketoacidosis and the fact that children can become unwell very quickly and if not treated this is fatal, that if any of these symptoms are being seen that we would encourage you to visit your GP as soon as, sometimes symptoms can be confused with other illnesses, but regardless it should still be checked with your GP.

 

[shivles]

8s aren't unusual when fighting an illness in a non t1 however along with the excessive drinking and urinating I would be concerned. Make another appointment at your GP and feed him something high in carbs/sugar about an hour before. Tell the doctor you suspect diabetes and demand a finger prick test. A reading over 9 is a concern and 1hr after the meal is when blood sugar peaks.

In the early days of t1 there is still some pancreas function and so levels come down overnight and between meals. First signs are excessive blood sugar spikes within 2hrs of a meal, this is why fasting blood test is ineffective to diagnosis type 1 in its early stages. If his 1hr post meal blood glucose is in the normal range you can rest easy that it's not diabetes

Hope this helps! And I hope your son is better soon and doesn't have to join the club

 

[magsollie]

Hi, I read your post and as a newbe Mum to this I felt I should post a comment. My daughter is 10 & was diagnosed T1 6 months ago. She is non insulin dependent still... & together she & I watch her diet.
On intial diagnosis her urine smelt strong. I knew it wasn’t a UTI but dipsticked it. She had 3 + glucose. On fasting blood sugar level the next day at the GP she was 8.9 mmol\L. We were sent to A&E, diabetic clinic & returned home that evening with a diagnosis of T1. Heartbreaking..

Bloods have been sent off for MODY. I have also enrolled her in a research trail which may help.
However, this is my child’s journey.. not yours.

All I can offer is a little Mum to Mum advice. Early diagnosis T1 is rare. Children usually present with the symptoms, which I’m sure you’re aware of & unfortunately crash through the doors of A&E relatively ill.
However, a few are caught early with T1. I’m suggesting.. nothing else, that you ask your GP for an HB1ac ... urine dipstick & a Blood sugar level..as advised in a previous post & see what happens. I hope all goes well xx