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Undiagnosed 16yr old - low reading

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alital

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Hello everyone. I am mum to a 16yr old girl who has been fainting for years. After loads of different tests (mainly heart) they are now looking at the possibility of diabetes. My daughter just ran home from school (uphill and about a mile) and was shaking and felt faint. She did the blood test for the very first time and it came up with E-4. We are TOTALLY naive about all this so can you tell us what that means please? She went out without eating a thing and the last time she ate was about 5pm yesterday which was pasta. She is very hyperactive and very slim (she wears 13yr old clothes) but when she eats, she eats tons. Thanks for reading this and any help/advice is most welcome since I cant get hold of our diabetic nurse at the moment. Alison
 
Hi there,is the E4 reading on a Glucometer? If so I believe it is an error, you need to test your daughter every time she feels like this, it sounds very likely to be low sugar levels (under 4mmol with symptoms), if this turns out to be the case make sure you give your daughter Gluco tabs, Lucozade or something to bring her sugar levels up.Try getting your daughter to eat little and often to help avoid lows especially if she is active. Regular low sugar episodes can leave you feeling absolutely terrible, if your daughter is recording low levels on her meter you need to get her in to see the doctor.Let us know what your daughters levels are.It may be worth while you checking your daughters levels 1 then 2 hours after she starts eatng a meal also, see if she is gong high as well.You should be able to get a meter and strips from your surgery(if you havent already) they are more likely to give them for Hypos as they can be dangerous x
 
Hello Daisy. Yes she has the meter and strips. She has just porrage and her reading is still E-4 . She seems absolutely fine now though.
 
alital said:
Hello everyone. I am mum to a 16yr old girl who has been fainting for years. After loads of different tests (mainly heart) they are now looking at the possibility of diabetes. My daughter just ran home from school (uphill and about a mile) and was shaking and felt faint. She did the blood test for the very first time and it came up with E-4. We are TOTALLY naive about all this so can you tell us what that means please? She went out without eating a thing and the last time she ate was about 5pm yesterday which was pasta. She is very hyperactive and very slim (she wears 13yr old clothes) but when she eats, she eats tons. Thanks for reading this and any help/advice is most welcome since I cant get hold of our diabetic nurse at the moment. Alison
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Hi Alison,

Is it worth asking for your daughter to have her thyroid checked. An overactive thyroid will make you very hungry, eat lots and loose weight. ( I have had an over active thyroid ) Also a rapid pulse, palpitations. sweaty, shaky anxious yet also feel wired yet tired. I also used to faint alot. I have quite low blood preaaure and it didnt take much if my bp was to drop I would faint. ( especially as I was quite squeamish.)

Hope you find out what it is.

Lucy.
 
Hi I am sure E4 is an error, maybe your meter is not set up right, make sure to wash hand thoroughly so there are no traces of food etc.You shoul be gettng number readings, eg, 7.1, 11.9, 4.2 displayed on your screen.Try checking an hour then 2 hours after her porridge x
 
My meter came with a booklet with the instructions and a list of the Error codes at the back. I dont know what sort of meter you have, but maybe the booklet, or contacting the manufacturer will tell you what the code means.

Sometimes the problem is as simple as putting the strip in the wrong way round, or the wrong side facing up, or not enough blood for the machine to take a proper sample.

Best wishes to you both.
 
I'd say E4 is an error also. Mine certainly comes up with lots of E codes when there is something wrong... eg. flat battery. Also there is a condition called hypoglycemia which is not diabetes in itself... that is a possibility for your daughter too. I know someone who has this condition and they get hypos like a diabetic would... but they do not have diabetes.... eg. their sugar levels do not go high as is often the case for diabetics. Hopefully the doc can check for diabetes at least by starting with the HbA1c test to see what your daughters average sugar level has been for the past 60 days. Wishing you and your daughter the best. :D
 
Hi again, thank you all for your help. Lucy I wondered if she has an over active thyroid but again that hasn't been tested. She shakes a lot (her hands especially) and faints after exercise. The last time she had a severe episode was late March when she felt faint in PE. She went and sat on chair in the nurses station, promptly melted 5 ice packs at alarming speed and when she stood up she left a puddle on the chair of sweat. The two nurses were shocked.

I just found the booklet that came with the Accu-chek meter and you are right, it's an error reading (not enough blood). Philippa just said "but there was loads on there". Yes, right. She will have to do it again and see what the reading is now but as she feels fine I daresay it will be normal. When the nurse came she was bang on normal.
 
A Technique tip:

When I started testing i got lots of blood, but I didnt realise i have to angle the strip to suck up the blood. I was dipping it and hoping.

There may be a picture in the instruction booklet of how to slurp up enough blood to get it into the test strip properly
 
quick question - have you had her iron levels checked? low iron can be unpleasant... I should know I'm dealing with it right now. If your daughter has anemia, it could cause her to faint, etc. My colleague has pernicious anemia and she has fainted a fair bit... plus when her iron is real low her hands shake like crazy. She has to get regular iron infusions.
 
alital said:
Hi again, thank you all for your help. Lucy I wondered if she has an over active thyroid but again that hasn't been tested. She shakes a lot (her hands especially) and faints after exercise. The last time she had a severe episode was late March when she felt faint in PE. She went and sat on chair in the nurses station, promptly melted 5 ice packs at alarming speed and when she stood up she left a puddle on the chair of sweat. The two nurses were shocked.

I just found the booklet that came with the Accu-chek meter and you are right, it's an error reading (not enough blood). Philippa just said "but there was loads on there". Yes, right. She will have to do it again and see what the reading is now but as she feels fine I daresay it will be normal. When the nurse came she was bang on normal.
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Hi Alison,

Yes a tremor is one of the symptoms of an overactive thyroid. The fainting may or may not be related needs checking too though. I was tested for aneamia. It is worth saying too that eating regularly and low GI foods will keep blood sugars stable. I would definately have her thyroid checked though.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Lucy.
 
Blimey I am getting better advice on here than I do with the family doctor. I wish they could find out the cause so we can deal with it. The fainting is definetly getting less often now but her symptoms are worse ie the shaking, dripping in sweat. But this ONLY happens after exercise, never just walking around etc. She is very competitive and wants to win every race so pushes herself hard. She did a treadmill test at Bristol (we live in Bideford, North Devon) and she went on to run for 21 mins which was level 7. The consultant there said fitness wise she is on par with the GB rower (someone famous apparently but he wouldnt say who) who had been in for the same fitness test that morning. They said she is the sort of person who should seriously think about a career in sport and even said she was Olympic material which seems a hypocritical thing to say when she faints. To say thay were impressed with her is an understatement. We have been told she has sinus arrythmia which is something top athletes get and is a blip in their breathing due to their sport.

Mep I think her iron levels have probably been checked already but I will ask my doctor that.
 
Alital
Look in the meter booklet. I suspect E -4 refers to error number 4. A reading of 4 for a non-diabetic isn't anything to botherer about.
Is your daughter always eating properly for her level of activity? Lots of teenage girls restrict their food[ hiding the fact from their parrents] so as not to gain weight.
One thing that would be worth noting is the regularity of her periods. Too little nutrition leads to irregularity and even cessation.
Try to get her to eat a nutrient dense diet.ie lots of protein, fats and minerals and vitamins. keep of most "junk" foods
Hana
 
alital said:
Hi again. she has just come back from yet another exam. She did another test and it is now 4.3. Isn't that a bit low?
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anything below 4 is considered low :D But if you notice your daughter is getting these symptoms mostly when she hasn't been eating correctly and exercising a lot it could be something else entirely different and not diabetes. Diabetes impacts on people regardless of whether they don't eat or exercise. I mentioned earlier that it could be hypoglycemia which is a condition in itself... but I guess only docs can really figure it out. Hopefully they can get to the bottom of it for your peace of mind.
 
alital said:
Hi again. she has just come back from yet another exam. She did another test and it is now 4.3. Isn't that a bit low?
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A reading of 4.3 mmol/l for a non-diabetic is perfectly normal. I have tested myself in the past and often have readings around this level, I'm a non-diabetic. I'm not a doctor or a health professional but in my opinion the symptoms you describe and a reading of 4.3 mmol/l does not sound like diabetes to me. I hope you can find out what is the matter, it must be frustrating for you both not knowing what it is and how to treat it.
 
Might be stating the obvious, but diabetes is a condition of hyperglycemia rather than hypoglycemia (hight blood sugars rather than low). When diabetics get low blood sugars it's usually because of the medication they take (usually insulin). Undiagnosed diabetics don't report with low-blood sugars, that just isn't diabetes.
 
I would tend to agree with what's been posted... my gut feeling is that this isn't type I diabetes.. If you are still concerned I would ask for a GAD test which will show if your daughter is producing the antibodies that attack the pancreas.

For reference 'normal' fasting blood glucose are around 3.6 - 4.6 mmol/l depending on the time of day (with them being lower in the morning).. children can and do often run a little lower than this.
 
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