• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • Screening for type 1 diabetes: We now have a new forum section which is for parents who, after having their child screened for type 1, have received a positive result that at some stage their child will be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Where possible, please do offer your support and experiences of having a child diagnosed. https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/screening-for-type-1-community-chat.59/
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Looking for advice

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
L

Lakesmum

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
My son is 5 and over the last 2 weeks we have noticed him drinking and peeing a lot. We took him to out of hours on sat, they dipped his urine and no glucose. He's even worse now, no sign of uti but must have been to toilet over 20 times today and drunk around 3-4 litres if water. He's getting up to wee at night and had an accident weeing in car seat today which he has never done before.

He was born at 28 wks, v low birth weight of 2lbs 1oz but now average height/weight.

Is it possible that glucose would not show in urine in early diabetes?

Thanks to anyone with advice.
 
Absolutely yes!!! My daughter was 6 when she was diagnosed, I took her to the GP suspecting diabetes but hoping there might be some other explanation. Her urine test was also apparently normal, the GP wanted to send me home but luckily had the sense to realise that he wouldn't be doing his job properly if he didn't do further tests with the symptoms I was describing. So sent her for blood tests, unfortunately he insisted on a fasting test (correct for diagnosing type 2 in older people but not for suspected type 1 in a young child, unfortunately at the time I didn't know enough about it to argue and was just pleased that he was doing something). We couldn’t get in for the blood test until 5 days later, then were called back urgently the next morning, her fasting blood glucose had come back at 18 (should be more like 5). Finger prick blood test that morning was off the scale and urine now full of sugar and ketones and we had to rush her straight to hospital, her condition had also deteriorated so far in the previous couple of days that she could barely stand up and would probably have gone into a coma if we'd waited one more day.

I don't want to scare you but please please get your son back to a doctor or even A&E and insist on a fingerprick blood sugar test. Normal range is approx. 4-8, if it comes out higher than that it should tell them that further testing is needed urgently. Good luck, let us know how you get on.

I really don't know why GPs don't just do a finger prick test to start with in situations like this, it would be much more accurate and useful! (Actually I can guess, urine strips are probably cheaper, but a lot less useful 😡)
 
Agree with above post. Urine can be normal and it still be diabetes. I cannot understand why they do not do a blood test when the symptoms suggest diabetes. Hope we are wrong and it is something less life changing but important to get it sorted pronto. If the GP won't do a blood test, go to a walk in centre or A&E.
 
Hello @Lakesmum , welcome to the forum. I see @Sally71 has already given you some great info, so I won’t repeat it. What I will add is get your son to the gp urgently insist on a finger prick and a blood test.
Hopefully this won’t happen but if your lad should start to feel poorly, don’t bother with gp or your out if hours service get him to A & E fast.
 
Last edited:
I too cannot understand why they don’t do a finger prick test when someone presents with those symptoms.
 
Lakesmum said:
Thank you both, I'll keep checking him tonight and go to GP in the morning.
Click to expand...
Yes please let us know how you get on.
I know you just be very very worried and I guess you are going to have a sleepless night.
We do have some night owls on here who may be around if you want some info or just a chat .
 
Hi @Lakesmum. You’ve made the right decision to go to the GP. My son had a blood and urine test a few weeks before he was diagnosed – they came back clear. If you can’t get an appointment tomorrow, please take him to A&E. On a national level, hospitals are trying to reduce the number of admissions of newly diagnosed patients in DKA, so they won’t mind you taking him. If he is type 1, the earlier it is diagnosed, the better.

Let us know what happens.
 
I hope you’ve managed to get a GP appointment and a finger prick. Has he lost weight as well as the thirst & weeing?
 
Hi,
No appts at surgery but have been told to drop off another urine sample this morning and can go at 5 for emergency wait slot. I'm going to take him in at 5.

Haven't noticed any weight loss.
 
The surgery called this afternoon and said urine fine and receptionist actually said he can't have diabetes if it came back clear. Ugh! I asked for an urgent appt or phone call from Dr. A nurse practitioner called me who had spoken with a paediatric diabetic nurse who has asked for bloods to be checked in the morning. They said that it can be hard to detect in the early stages? So I've to give him a carb rich snack an hour before the blood test. Hope that makes sense!
 
Glad they’ve taken some advice and they’re looking further into it. It’s good that you’re aware and getting him checked out.
 
I'm pleased that someone has spoken to a diabetes nurse, if it's a proper one they know what they are talking about. If he does have diabetes then his body won’t be able to cope with the carb rich snack and his blood sugar will go even higher. Let's hope it isn't that, if you haven't noticed any weight loss then that might be a good sign, my daughter went so thin that all her bones were sticking out! But at least he's getting checked out properly now. Good luck, please let us know what happens 🙂
 
Phew. Well done that nurse in contacting the paediatric diabetes nurse for advise. I am really sorry you have had a bit of battle to get this far. Hopefully you won’t have to wait too much longer for the results.
 
Results were clear, big relief. He was great getting the blood taken on Wednesday and got results this afternoon with blood glucose and sodium all in normal range. Still a mystery as to why he is drinking and weeing so much but will keep an eye on it.

Many thanks to everyone for your advice.
 
Lakesmum said:
Results were clear, big relief. He was great getting the blood taken on Wednesday and got results this afternoon with blood glucose and sodium all in normal range. Still a mystery as to why he is drinking and weeing so much but will keep an eye on it.

Many thanks to everyone for your advice.
Click to expand...
That is great news.
As you say there is still the mystery of excess drinking and seeking to keep an eye on.
I hope that things settle soon.
 
That’s great news.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top