possible t1d??

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matthewthomas

matthewthomas

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Type 1
hi all. my cousin who’s 18 months old has been showing some symptoms of type one diabetes. she’s under the care of a doctor rn, but i just wanted to see what y’all think. the doctor seems to think she has an overactive thyroid, but i’m almost 100% sure she has diabetes. i did my research on the thyroid and she has more of diabetes than that. her symptoms are: drinking a lot, peeing so much it leaks through, she’s lost a lot of weight and on a before breakfast blood glucose test (it was a random check) she was 7.5 mmol and it says anything over 7 is high. i’m pretty sure this is prediabtes and that her pancreas is still working, but it’s slowly dying. she also had bloods taken and my aunts says they were negative, but i did some research and i found out that you can still have t1d but test negative for the antibodies. what do y’all think, do you think it’s diabetes or something else? any help/feedback would be much appreciated. me and her mom are looking for answers

(she’s currently having more blood tests)
 
7.5 for a pre food blood test seems a little high...when i was 1st diagnosed i got down to that with tablets but they said it was't low enough and put me on insulin. But the physiology of an 18 month old may be very different, and it sounds like its only one test, and sickness can also elevate blood sugars. Probably one of those areas where you have to trust the doctors...
 
I thought pre-diabetes was a precursor to type 2 diabetes, not Type 1.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition and, in children, the insulin producing beta cells die pretty quickly.
@matthewthomas Type 1 diabetes is a possibility but blood tests are the way to diagnose. There are other conditions with similar symptoms and doctors who know your cousin are better suited to diagnose than Dr Google.
7.5 is higher than one would expect someone without diabetes (sickness only elevates blood sugars of people who are unable to regulate them) but it is a single, isolated reading.
It must be frustrating for your aunt not to know but I think the best advise is to keep a close eye on your cousin, if her symptoms get worse, contact 111 or, even 999 and trust the doctors.
 
Type 1 usually comes on quickly in toddlers and they become very ill. Of course, Type 1 is always a possibility and should be kept in mind, but there are other things it could be, especially in a young child who can’t explain how they’re feeling.

It’s good they’re doing further blood tests @matthewthomas and it’s clear they thought about diabetes, so that’s good too. Try not to worry. It sounds like she’s getting good care. I hope there are some answers soon.
 
Repeated blood tests will give more info. If it is T1D then it will become clearer over time. As long as the doctors are checking then it’s good.
 
Does your cousin still have a milk feed in the night? For some 18 month olds a pre-breakfast glucose would be fasting, but a lot are still waking in the night (and often being given milk whether breast or bottle or cup), or even having milk first thing before breakfast. How many nappy changes is she having in a day? If she's peeing so much that a nappy put on half an hour before (and not first thing in the morning) is full to bursting and overflowing then yes that might indicate a problem, but nappies can leak because they are slightly the wrong size (too big or too small) or because a toddler is very active, or sometimes because they aren't changed often enough (for example, if she does sleep for 12 hours at night and not wake for a drink she may not be changed, but if her body hasn't started producing the hormone that slows down urine production at night then she may be producing more wee than the nappy can hold overnight - most children start to produce it somewhere between 18 months and 6 years old).

There is clearly something wrong if she is losing weight, but there are multiple possibilities for what it may be, and if the doctor is continuing to investigate then I'm sure they will work out what it is, whether it is thyroid or diabetes or something else
 
It depends on how much weight she is losing because as a toddler becomes more active and starts to have real food and less milk they will probably not put on weight as quickly as they have before and their shape will change.
Is she drinking lots of liquid because she is thirsty or if she is still having a bottle for drinks then it could be for comfort rather than actually being thirtsy.
Hopefully the doctor is on to it and they get an answer soon.
 
Leadinglights said:
It depends on how much weight she is losing because as a toddler becomes more active and starts to have real food and less milk they will probably not put on weight as quickly as they have before and their shape will change.
Is she drinking lots of liquid because she is thirsty or if she is still having a bottle for drinks then it could be for comfort rather than actually being thirtsy.
Hopefully the doctor is on to it and they get an answer soon.
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They won't put on weight as quickly, but a toddler should not be  losing weight even if they are on the late side with walking and only just started being more active. Losing weight (apart from a small amount in the initial few days after birth when babies are getting used to having to feed) indicates something is wrong. That might be a simple viral illness or it might be something more serious
 
Sorry to hear about your cousin @matthewthomas - the weight loss does sound concerning.

Hope the family get some clarity around that is behind things soon.

When I was diagnosed (much later in life in my 20s) it wasn’t until my BGs had risen to double figures that I started getting the symptoms of thirst and needing the toilet more often.
 
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everydayupsanddowns said:
When I was diagnosed (muchlster in life in my 20s) it wasn’t until my BGs had risen to double figures that I started getting the symptoms of thirst and needing the toilet more often.
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That occurred to me too but maybe babies are different. In adults those symptoms would be very unlikely to occur until BG levels were persistently mid teens or above.
 
42istheanswer said:
Does your cousin still have a milk feed in the night? For some 18 month olds a pre-breakfast glucose would be fasting, but a lot are still waking in the night (and often being given milk whether breast or bottle or cup), or even having milk first thing before breakfast. How many nappy changes is she having in a day? If she's peeing so much that a nappy put on half an hour before (and not first thing in the morning) is full to bursting and overflowing then yes that might indicate a problem, but nappies can leak because they are slightly the wrong size (too big or too small) or because a toddler is very active, or sometimes because they aren't changed often enough (for example, if she does sleep for 12 hours at night and not wake for a drink she may not be changed, but if her body hasn't started producing the hormone that slows down urine production at night then she may be producing more wee than the nappy can hold overnight - most children start to produce it somewhere between 18 months and 6 years old).

There is clearly something wrong if she is losing weight, but there are multiple possibilities for what it may be, and if the doctor is continuing to investigate then I'm sure they will work out what it is, whether it is thyroid or diabetes or something else
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she’s stopped all milk and is only drinking water. i’m not sure exact amount of changes, but i’m thinking between 4-6. some days it’s more. thank you for your help, it’s very appreciated 🙂
 
Leadinglights said:
It depends on how much weight she is losing because as a toddler becomes more active and starts to have real food and less milk they will probably not put on weight as quickly as they have before and their shape will change.
Is she drinking lots of liquid because she is thirsty or if she is still having a bottle for drinks then it could be for comfort rather than actually being thirtsy.
Hopefully the doctor is on to it and they get an answer soon.
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she drinks only water and when her cup is empty, she asks for more. i think it’s thirst cause she’ll drink fast as if she hasn’t had a drink in a while but she literally just had one lol. thank you for your help, it’s very appreciated 🙂
 
rebrascora said:
That occurred to me too but maybe babies are different. In adults those symptoms would be very unlikely to occur until BG levels were persistently mid teens or above.
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i feel like she has those high symptoms cause her bg may be going from in range to slightly above and so she feels the raise, but i’m not sure. i did know someone who knew she was developing t1d by trialnet, and when she was going to higher numbers (9’s,10’s) she’d feel them a lot. i’m just looking for answers cause it’s been going on a few months
 
I think you have to rely on the doctors as they have the results of tests that have been done and can order further tests if appropriate.
If she is showing signs of being unwell then call 111 to be on the safe side as things can change quickly in small children.
 
The symptoms of weeing lots and thirst are caused by the kidneys trying to remove surplus glucose from the blood stream via urine. They don't do this until levels are persistently high otherwise those of us using insulin would be suffering them a lot of the time.
I can sometimes feel it when my levels get above 8 and certainly above 10, but it is just a feeling of my legs being a bit heavy and it being a bit harder to do stuff, rather any really obvious symptoms.

Persistent readings in the mid teens or above would be a clear indication that diabetes was an issue, so I would not be too concerned until you see numbers like that and even then they are not desperately dangerous at that level but obviously would warrant treatment. Generally we advise adults to go to A&E if their levels hit the 30s. I went up to 27 one night and managed to bring it down by drinking plenty of water with no ill effects other than panic over possibly having to go to hospital and explain how I had stupidly done this to myself by eating a large packet of Jacobs salt and vinegar crackers 🙄
 
From everything you’ve said the only cause for immediate concern currently is any weight loss and even then that can happen as toddlers get more mobile so it’s worth keeping an eye on and seeing if the trend continues. It’s normal for them to wee lots. Before potty training it can be hard to get nappies that contain a full wee. There is a lot of natural variance in how much toddlers drink and wee but if BG isn’t consistently high (well above 10) then it’s unlikely to be diabetes related. 7.5 is on the higher end of normal but one reading doesn’t tell you much and because of the way meters work it could be 7.5 on one reading and 6.5 on the same finger prick at the same time. The only way to know is with repeated readings and there’s no need to put a toddler through that if the GP is checking things over. I know it can be hard to trust the system but as long as the GP is taking concerns seriously and checking things out then you need to let all of that play out.
 
matthewthomas said:
she’s stopped all milk and is only drinking water. i’m not sure exact amount of changes, but i’m thinking between 4-6. some days it’s more. thank you for your help, it’s very appreciated 🙂
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4-6 nappy changes in a day is a normal amount for her age
 
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