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Signs and symptoms

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mum25

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hi all,
I'm new here and after some advice please. My little girl aged 10 is showing signs of diabetes and I could really do with some advice on what to do next.

She has been seriously bed wetting for the last few weeks and there is no sign of this easing up. To give you an idea of the amount she is losing, she has a waterproof mattress protector, normal protector, 2 rubber backed large bed pads, 3 disposable bed pads, her sheet and 2 towels on her bed plus we have put her into pull up style pants for children that wet overnight (to which she was mortified). She wets through this lot every night right down to the waterproof mattress protector :( We are waking her up a couple of times a night, she has already wet and still goes for another wee.

On top of this she is extremely thirsty, all the time, she will drink and then ask for another. We have tried to cut her down at night time but it makes no difference at all to the amount of fluid she loses and I am worried that she will dehydrate. She is weeing approx every half hour through the day too.

She has started to tire very easily, a short walk, or going up the stairs makes her breathless (this is new since Monday)

Last night she complained of stomach pains after she'd eaten.

Yesterday she has really cold and couldn't warm up, this has on reflection been ongoing for a few weeks but getting worse.

I took her to the Dr on Monday who did a urine stick test, I'm not entirely sure what level of positive showed up but she had glucose in her urine as well as an infection. The dr has given her trimethoprim (antibiotics) for the infection and our daughter is on day 2.5 of taking them (no improvements in her symptoms at all). She had a blood test yesterday for:
glucose levels (she fasted 12 hours), kidney, liver and thyroid function, bone profile, full blood count, vit D, B12, iron and pituitary gland and c reactive protein. The phlebotomist advised me it would take 2-3 days for the results to get back but wasn't sure how Easter may affect timings.

The GP advised us to make another appointment in 2 weeks but the nearest we can get is 12 April and in the meantime I'm panicking 😱 I've googled to my hearts content and that could of retrospectively been the worse thing I could of done or the best. Do I try to get her back to the GP or take her straight to A and E or see if the antibiotics start to kick in? I'm always mindful that our drs etc are flat out and I could just be a paranoid parent but she is seriously worrying me.

Any advice really appreciated.

Thanks
 
How distressing for both of you!

Speaking as a mum here and not an expert but - I would contact your surgery and ask if the nurse can do a finger prick test for you. The antibiotics may take a few days to work if it is a particularly bad infection so it could be a bit soon.

I do hope your daughter gets some relief soon.

Report back with what the surgery says.
 
Hi there

Oh I do feel for you! Unfortunately most GPs see very few type 1s and seem to base all their diabetes knowledge on type 2 and they are treating your daughter as such, with T2 they have more time to mess around before deciding on diagnosis, unfortunately a child with suspected T1 can deteriorate VERY rapidly! I was in the same situation and unfortunately didn't know enough about it to argue at the time, I was just pleased that something was being done. Our daughter was less than 24 hours away from going into a coma when we finally got her to hospital, this was less than a week after the GP declared her urine test normal!

Urine tests are a waste of time in my opinion, ask your GP if your daughter can have a finger prick blood glucose test, they must have all the kit there and it takes seconds to do and get the result. If that shows anywhere above 8 (which it almost certainly will if she has glucose in her urine) then she should be referred immediately to a paediatric specialist diabetes team at hospital. If the GP route doesn't work then get her straight to A&E!

Sorry to sound like a panic merchant, but it really is critical, your daughter is displaying all the signs of type 1 and if she has indeed got it then she needs to be started on insulin as soon as possible, or she will go into DKA which is life threatening. Therefore you need to get the correct diagnosis urgently, 2-3 days time might be ok for most illnesses but it isn't good enough in this case!

Good luck, let us know what happens 🙂
 
Thank you both. I've just spoken to our GP surgery and they've said finger prick testing for diabetes isn't a service they offer. My daughter's blood results aren't back yet but if I want to phone back tomorrow afternoon they may be in then, they're shut this afternoon.......
 
Hi mum25. I'm sorry to hear you and your daughter are having such a struggle.
Having worked in A/E reception for many years I would suggest taking your daughter there straight away. Even if it isn't diabetes it sounds like your daughter needs attention now. I know A/E dept is always busy but no one would consider you a time waster taking along a child with the symptoms you've described.
Good luck to you both and hope she's soon feeling much better.
 
I hope thing work out for your daughter but if you are still very worried, I would take her to A and E.
 
OMG I can't believe that!!! When my daughter was diagnosed the GP said the urine test was normal. But to be on the safe side we should do a fasting blood test (which I've since found out is correct for diagnosing T2 but not T1 which should be treated as an emergency, unfortunately not many GPs seem to realise this!). Not knowing any better I agreed and was pleased that the doctor was being thorough and doing lots of tests. We had to wait 5 days for the appointment for the test, and unfortunately daughter started going downhill fast during that time. Had the test on a Tues morning, by Tues evening daughter was getting weaker by the minute and not eating anything at all. Wed am GP rang at 8.05 am to ask if we could bring her back in. By that stage she was so weak she could barely stand up, never mind walk, and hubby had to carry her everywhere. Blood test had come back with everything normal except glucose which was 18 (should be about 5). They did a finger prick test pretty sharpish then, and it was off the scale! And this was only 6 days after urine test was apparently normal!!

Please, please take your daughter to A&E today, explain what's happened and that you just want to know for sure whether he she has type 1 or not. If by some miracle she hasn't then you can probably breathe a sigh of relief and wait for the GP's test results. But if she has got it, and to be honest high blood sugar can cause all sorts of other problems like urine infections, then you will be in the right place. Honestly, another couple of days might make all the difference :(

Sorry to sound so pushy but I've been there and got the t-shirt :(
 
mum25 said:
I've just spoken to our GP surgery and they've said finger prick testing for diabetes isn't a service they offer.
Click to expand...
😱😱😱🙄
It's such a simple, quick and (relatively) cheap test to offer. 🙄 I believe some large pharmacies (such as Superdrug) offer this test. But I agree with the other replies; your little one needs to get to A&E sharpish. 2-3 days could be pushing it.
 
Thanks for your replies, you have all confirmed my instinct so I will be taking her to a and e. I didn't realise that the fasting test is just for type 2, so is the only way they can diagnose type 1 by the finger prick test?
 
mum25 said:
Thanks for your replies, you have all confirmed my instinct so I will be taking her to a and e. I didn't realise that the fasting test is just for type 2, so is the only way they can diagnose type 1 by the finger prick test?
Click to expand...
The finger prick test should be used in the light of your daughter's clear symptoms of potential Type 1. They should also do a test for blood ketones, which can be another indicator of Type 1. I agree with the others, your surgery clearly do not understand the urgency of the situation and A&E should be your next port of call. The sooner you get clarification, the better - even if it is not diabetes, the risks that it is and remains untreated are too great to ignore. Good luck, let us know how things go. Does her breath smell of pear drops, by any chance? This is an indicator of high ketones.
 
mum25 said:
Thanks for your replies, you have all confirmed my instinct so I will be taking her to a and e. I didn't realise that the fasting test is just for type 2, so is the only way they can diagnose type 1 by the finger prick test?
Click to expand...
A fasting test can diagnose T1 as it will show that the blood sugar is too high, as in my daughter's case. But a child with undiagnosed T1 can deteriorate extremely rapidly, as I think my daughter's case shows, to the point where they have life-threatening symptoms. Therefore there really isn't time to faff about doing fasting tests, a finger prick can be done on the spot and the result reads out within seconds, if that shows anything above normal then you should be referred to hospital without delay to get more detailed lab tests done, and then appropriate treatment as quickly as possible. As Northerner says they can also do a blood ketone test which will also show the likelihood of diabetes.

Whereas type 2 comes on much slower so there is time to do fasting tests and take their time to make an accurate diagnosis as a few days longer in that situation makes no difference at all.

My daughter had an apparently normal urine test, followed 6 days later by another which was full of glucose and ketones, fasting blood glucose of 18, finger prick test off the scale (more than 33) and laboratory glucose test of 46 (normal levels are approx 4-8)!

I realise that GPs are a bit of a "jack of all trades" and can't be expected to know everything about every possible illness or medical condition, they really ought to be able to spot potentially life threatening symptoms though, which undiagnosed T1 is if it progresses to DKA. I remember our diabetes team talking about this not long after my daughter was diagnosed, they said GPs should have more training in this. Sadly that hasn't happened :(
 
This reminds me of another family I know who have a teenage boy with T1. When he was diagnosed the GP was a bit more switched on than mine and did a finger prick blood ketone test. The result was so high that she thought the machine was broken! So she fetched a different meter and new packet of strips, only to get the same result. Her reaction was "I didn't know ketones could go that high - hospital NOW!"

Good luck mum25, I hope your daughter is soon sorted.
 
Hi. I am a bit of a lurker, but your post has made me want to comment. If your daughter starts to vomit, please get her to A & E quickly. High ketone levels can cause vomiting and this can very quickly become very serious, and she will need hospital care, whatever the Drs surgery says. You will not be wasting anybody's time by taking her to A & E to get a diabetes diagnosis confirmed or otherwise. With all best wishes.
 
Thank you, am heading off to a and e with her, assuming this is type 1, is it likely she will be staying overnight? sorry to sound naive totally overwhelmed by this whole prospect and need to get childcare organised etc
 
mum25 said:
Thank you, am heading off to a and e with her, assuming this is type 1, is it likely she will be staying overnight? sorry to sound naive totally overwhelmed by this whole prospect and need to get childcare organised etc
Click to expand...
Yes, if it is Type 1 it is very likely she will be kept in overnight, particularly if ketones are high as they will want to start her on insulin. It's possible that you may have caught things early enough though, but I would bank on her being kept in. Good wishes to you.
 
Yes probably, my daughter was in for 2 nights. If it is T1 they will have to monitor her until she's down to safe levels and then teach you how to manage it at home, they won't let you out until they are happy that you can cope with it ok.

((((((hugs)))))) to you and your daughter.
 
Hi Mum25
I hope that you have now got a clear diagnosis.
Let us know how things are going when you have time.
 
OMG - poor thing!

When you have a minute - which could be a while I know that - take your GP surgery to the cleaners - I don't mean monetarily but that is absolutely DISGUSTING behaviour with a child with those sumptoms!! It still would be with an adult. You must must must OFFICIALLY complain - in writing. They really should NOT be endangering anyone's life in this way. And frankly - they have.
 
Wishing you and your daughter all the best. Hope a&e is proving helpful and you get some answers and help.
 
Thank you all SO much, blood sugars 19.2, ketone 6.8. Awaiting the dr at the mo. Will keep you updated but just wanted to say a massive thank you. I believe my daughter was really in danger, her breathing is laboured and she can hardly walk.
 
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