(new) Does My Child Most Likely Have Diabetes?

[Thewomanintrouble]

Hello all,

I’m very new to this forum and just joined !

I’m very worried about my son and would like some advice.

Recently, my son had a blood test, not related to suspected diabetes, his doctor noticed, on his blood test, the HBaC1 (I think that’s the right acronym) was slightly high, his result was 6.3. Since then, the GP ordered for my son to have the fasting blood test and a glucose blood test. We are awaiting results.

My son also has severe Eczema, and we have been using a high potent steroid cream to control this but I’m seizing off this as I’m worried it’s contributing to his sugar levels.

In the meantime, we have been given a glucose blood monitor and have been instructed to test my son’s sugar levels, before meals (in his case, only to test before he has his breakfast) and after 2 hours (in his case, to test only after he has had his dinner), till we see a specialist endocrinologist. I have to test him, at most, four times a week.

I have noticed some patterns, before breakfast, my son’s sugar levels is always within 4-5.5 mmol. However, two hours after dinner, his sugar levels are still quite high. For example, he had Salmon, oven chips, baked beans and peas, and his blood result was 7.1 mmol. On another day, after dinner, he had chicken skewers (marinated chicken, red peppers, courgette and onions), with brown rice and broccoli, after two hours, his test was 7.3 and another day, he had a sausage and tomato sauce pasta with brown pasta and broccoli and his result came up to 6.8.

Today, I decided to randomly test his sugar levels in the afternoon, and they were 7.7, I tested again, and it was 9.6 this time !!!! I don’t know how it got so high. My son had a banana for breakfast, as he wasn’t feeling having cereal, after football, in the afternoon, he had a crisp and juice and don’t eat again till we came back home.However, my son has an extreme needle phobia and hates having his blood glucose tests, he was getting very stressed, crying whilst tRying to take his test. I’m not sure if the 9.6 result effected this.

Anyway, later on that day, after dinner, which was the Salmon, his two hour after result was 7.1.

My son is extremely a picky eater and is allergic to egg, wheat, nuts, soya, gluten, his diet is limited as it is and I must admit, he mainly eats carbohydrates as his so picky.

From his readings, is it likely he has diabetes? Am I doing anything wrong ?

Thanks for your help.

 

[lucylocket61]

How old is your son?

Welcome, we will offer all the support we can.

 

[EllieM]

Well, usual disclaimers about not being a doctor and we can't diagnose BUT

Those results aren't bad, but they're fairly inconclusive which is why the doctor is ordering more tests.
How old is your son?

My googling suggests that it's normal for children to have a wider blood sugar range than adults, and none of those figures are out of order, even the 9.6.

The hba1c of 6.3 is slightly higher than normal, (hence the extra tests) but even this doesn't mean your child is necessarily diabetic.

I think you're just going to have to be patient and do all the tests asked for by the doctor. (Personally, given your child's needle phobia, I wouldn't do more blood tests than suggested.)

The good news is, even if your son does become diabetic, you've caught it incredibly early, before high blood sugars have caused any harm to your child. (Many T1 diabetics get diagnosed very late, after falling unconscious with blood sugars in the high 20s.)
T2 diabetes is rare but not unknown in children - is your child overweight? (Obesity makes it more likely.) That develops much more slowly and is basically an intolerance for carbohydrates. In the (even more unlikely) event your child has this then you'll probably need to reduce the carbohydrates in his diet, but I personally wouldn't make any changes till you've got a definite diagnosis, specially given all his allergies.

So, I know it's hard not to panic when you fear a diagnosis of diabetes, but it's really best not to. Good luck. If you do end up with bad news there'll be help for you on these forums.

 

[Thewomanintrouble]

Well, usual disclaimers about not being a doctor and we can't diagnose BUT

Those results aren't bad, but they're fairly inconclusive which is why the doctor is ordering more tests.
How old is your son?

My googling suggests that it's normal for children to have a wider blood sugar range than adults, and none of those figures are out of order, even the 9.6.

The hba1c of 6.3 is slightly higher than normal, (hence the extra tests) but even this doesn't mean your child is necessarily diabetic.

I think you're just going to have to be patient and do all the tests asked for by the doctor. (Personally, given your child's needle phobia, I wouldn't do more blood tests than suggested.)

The good news is, even if your son does become diabetic, you've caught it incredibly early, before high blood sugars have caused any harm to your child. (Many T1 diabetics get diagnosed very late, after falling unconscious with blood sugars in the high 20s.)
T2 diabetes is rare but not unknown in children - is your child overweight? (Obesity makes it more likely.) That develops much more slowly and is basically an intolerance for carbohydrates. In the (even more unlikely) event your child has this then you'll probably need to reduce the carbohydrates in his diet, but I personally wouldn't make any changes till you've got a definite diagnosis, specially given all his allergies.

So, I know it's hard not to panic when you fear a diagnosis of diabetes, but it's really best not to. Good luck. If you do end up with bad news there'll be help for you on these forums.

Thank you !

My son is 8 years old and is very slim.

 

[Thewomanintrouble]

How old is your son?

Welcome, we will offer all the support we can.

Thanks ! His 8

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome,

could I just clarify a couple of things?
You mentioned that your son is allergic to wheat, but also said that he had been eating pasta, brown pasta, a sausage and marinaded chicken. Were those all checked for being wheat and grain free? I know from personal experience that gluten and wheat products are in most processed foods, and the only ones we can rely on as being wheat free are the ones clearly labelled as such.

The reason I ask is that we have a few (a VERY few) posters on the forum (including myself) who find that food intolerances can affect blood glucose. The degree to which this happens does, of course, depend on the individual.

Having said that, like others above, I would work with your doc, and go with all the testing he suggests. The blood glucose figs you describe are in the grey area of 'highish normal for adults' but I don't know enough about children's blood glucose levels to draw any conclusions at all. If your child is developing T1 diabetes, then as said above, it has been caught brilliantly early, and you are in a good postion to monitor it.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Hello all,

I’m very new to this forum and just joined !

I’m very worried about my son and would like some advice.

Recently, my son had a blood test, not related to suspected diabetes, his doctor noticed, on his blood test, the HBaC1 (I think that’s the right acronym) was slightly high, his result was 6.3. Since then, the GP ordered for my son to have the fasting blood test and a glucose blood test. We are awaiting results.

My son also has severe Eczema, and we have been using a high potent steroid cream to control this but I’m seizing off this as I’m worried it’s contributing to his sugar levels.

In the meantime, we have been given a glucose blood monitor and have been instructed to test my son’s sugar levels, before meals (in his case, only to test before he has his breakfast) and after 2 hours (in his case, to test only after he has had his dinner), till we see a specialist endocrinologist. I have to test him, at most, four times a week.

I have noticed some patterns, before breakfast, my son’s sugar levels is always within 4-5.5 mmol. However, two hours after dinner, his sugar levels are still quite high. For example, he had Salmon, oven chips, baked beans and peas, and his blood result was 7.1 mmol. On another day, after dinner, he had chicken skewers (marinated chicken, red peppers, courgette and onions), with brown rice and broccoli, after two hours, his test was 7.3 and another day, he had a sausage and tomato sauce pasta with brown pasta and broccoli and his result came up to 6.8.

Today, I decided to randomly test his sugar levels in the afternoon, and they were 7.7, I tested again, and it was 9.6 this time !!!! I don’t know how it got so high. My son had a banana for breakfast, as he wasn’t feeling having cereal, after football, in the afternoon, he had a crisp and juice and don’t eat again till we came back home.However, my son has an extreme needle phobia and hates having his blood glucose tests, he was getting very stressed, crying whilst tRying to take his test. I’m not sure if the 9.6 result effected this.

Anyway, later on that day, after dinner, which was the Salmon, his two hour after result was 7.1.

My son is extremely a picky eater and is allergic to egg, wheat, nuts, soya, gluten, his diet is limited as it is and I must admit, he mainly eats carbohydrates as his so picky.

From his readings, is it likely he has diabetes? Am I doing anything wrong ?

Thanks for your help.

Well from the tests you have done his blood glocose seem to be pretty normal after eating but the next blood test will tell you for sure The 9.6 one when he was very upset was probably due to that stress can raise BG

 

[Thewomanintrouble]

Hi and welcome,

could I just clarify a couple of things?
You mentioned that your son is allergic to wheat, but also said that he had been eating pasta, brown pasta, a sausage and marinaded chicken. Were those all checked for being wheat and grain free? I know from personal experience that gluten and wheat products are in most processed foods, and the only ones we can rely on as being wheat free are the ones clearly labelled as such.

The reason I ask is that we have a few (a VERY few) posters on the forum (including myself) who find that food intolerances can affect blood glucose. The degree to which this happens does, of course, depend on the individual.

Having said that, like others above, I would work with your doc, and go with all the testing he suggests. The blood glucose figs you describe are in the grey area of 'highish normal for adults' but I don't know enough about children's blood glucose levels to draw any conclusions at all. If your child is developing T1 diabetes, then as said above, it has been caught brilliantly early, and you are in a good postion to monitor it.

Hello !

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, my son only eats gluten/ wheat free produce, including pasta, bread and the rest of it.

 

[Thewomanintrouble]

Well from the tests you have done his blood glocose seem to be pretty normal after eating but the next blood test will tell you for sure The 9.6 one when he was very upset was probably due to that stress can raise BG

But, doesn’t your blood sugar levels go down after you eat ? I was expecting his blood sugar levels to go down to his first morning reading.

 

[Thewomanintrouble]

Hello !

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, my son only eats gluten/ wheat free produce, including pasta, bread and the rest of it.

However ! He sneaks the occasional wheat stuff.

 

[bulkbiker]

But, doesn’t your blood sugar levels go down after you eat ? I was expecting his blood sugar levels to go down to his first morning reading.

Not usually, depending on what you eat, but most people's blood sugars will go up as the carbohydrate content of the meal is digested by the body. It marks the distribution of the sugars in the food around the bloodstream. Insulin reaction then comes into play to lower the blood sugars by triggering storage of the sugar in the body for use later.

 

[therower]

@Thewomanintrouble . Welcome to the forum.
As above I suggest you go along with what your gp has suggested.
Don't make any alterations to your sons everyday life and eating habits. Doing this will only lead to skewed information going forward which could ultimately affect results which could in turn affect a diagnosis.
I think, naturally, as a mother you are worried but from what you have said so far there is far less to be concerned about than there could be.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. The docs are doing the right thing. Currently your son seems OK but with a hint of poor blood sugar control. Now you have the meter as well as the ongoing tests you can check every so often and take action when needed. Keep the carb content of food under sensible control and although bananas are healthy in many ways they do increase BS so don't let him eat too many!

 

[Thewomanintrouble]

Well from the tests you have done his blood glocose seem to be pretty normal after eating but the next blood test will tell you for sure The 9.6 one when he was very upset was probably due to that stress can raise BG

Can stress really cause high blood sugar levels ? I assumed it was a myth.

 

[Thewomanintrouble]

I have a feeling he may get diagnosed with pre- diabetes. What exactly is that ? There appears to be not much information when I search on Google, and the information about pre-diabetes are usually on American websites. Do they diagnose that in the UK ?

Do you need medication for pre-diabetics ?

 

[Pinkorchid]

Can stress really cause high blood sugar levels ? I assumed it was a myth.

Yes stress can definitely cause a blood glucose rise even in a non diabetic

 

[Diakat]

@Thewomanintrouble - stop internet searching right now! Just keep an eye on your son and listen to the doctor. If it is diagnosed as diabetes, come back and ask all the questions you like. In the meantime enjoy your little one as he is.