I'm in total panic mode today.  Youngest son is nearly 14 and fit strong and very sporty.  Over the past week or so, he's been getting up in the night to pee, 2 or 3 times at least.  His thirst is insatiable (he drank 5 pints of water this morning and it's not hot here) and he's lost weight.  I asked him today if he felt tired and his response was 'yes - unless I eat then I feel better'.

Of course it's the weekend and there's nothing I can do until tomorrow.  Although I know about family history on my side, I know less about his paternal side (and that's all very complex).  I think his paternal great grandfather was diabetic but possibly because he was the size of the double decker bus he used to drive!

Can anybody advise?  I appreciate that I could be totally over reacting here.....

I think you could well be on to something but I don't think you have to panic. Nothing is going to happen imminently and if it does turn out to be diabetes you will both cope with that as thousands have before you :)
I would just have him eat a sugar free diet until you can take him to the doctors tomorrow and see what they say.

He might be diabetic but it won't stop him leading an active life Sir Steve Redgrave is one sportsman who is diabetic & it certainly didn't stop him !

One thing that would help the doctor would be a urine sample from early morning & he might have to have a starvation blood test(not food/drink from 10 pm until the test)to confirm if it is diabetes

I'm a diabetic & I have always drunk loads of water from beinmg small. A normal amount of water to drink is at least two litres a day & I drink quite a lot more(as does my diabetic cousin)

It's not necessary for him to be on a "sugar" free diet, but slow release carbohydrates are better for everyone not just diabetics so oat cereals, wholemeal bread, fruit(not grapes) etc are better than wheat cereals, white bread, cakes, sweets etc. A low fat diet will also help(olive oil spreads for example are better than butter as they have good cholrestorals)

If he is a juvenile diabetic he will get loads of help with diet etc from your GP surgery

Thank you both.  I know we'll cope - we always do!  He's just drunk three pints of sugar free squash, one before, one during and one after tea.

I know it's not the end of the world if that's what it is but as a mum you can't help but worry.  I'll book an appt for tomorrow but at the moment I'm in two minds whether or not to send him to school.  He's certainly uncharacteristically lethargic today and he'll be constantly interrupted by the need to drink and wee!  I don't want to jump the gun and presume the worst but I'm not sure what else to do. 

Hi Jackyjat

I think if he is feeling lethargic I would let him have the day off and concentrate on getting to the doctors and arranging the necessary tests.  The drinking as you know is a definite sign, I am not diabetic myself but my sister, parents and grandparents all are and one thing I do know is that when there sugar levels are unbalanced they all say "I just feel awful but cant really describe it" - its possible your son is feeling a bit rough too.

Hope you get it sorted,

Maxine

I was 9 years old and just over 2 stone when diagnosed with diabetes, I'm now 44 and so far no problems what so ever, had 4 pregnancies with 4 healthy babies.

Get him to the doctors, and tested then at least if it is diabetes it's early days and should be quite straight forward to control, it's when it's left undiagnosed that problems start.

Good luck.

Sounds like you're possibly right. Hubby was diagnosed as diabetic at 15. His link was his maternal grandmother and apparently it's quite normal to skip a generation. As others have said, with good control it doesn't mean any change in the sports and activities you can do :) It does however mean a three year driving licence when he's old enough and free reign for companies touting for insurance :rolleyes:

Hope he's ok :)

<<<<sigh>>>> it seems like one thing after another at the moment!

He's now in bed but only after lying on the sofa to watch TV all evening which is highly unusual.  Normally he's hopping from one foot to another playing keepie uppie with a ball in the living room or out in the garage on the punch bag.  It's a rare event to see him sat down when not playing on the Xbox; even then he doesn't stay still.  I've sent him off to bed complete with paracetamol for a headache.  We've calculated that he must have drunk at least 15 pints today.  I bought two litre bottles of yoghurt drink and he drunk both!

I'd have loved a moments rest after having my bcc removed from my eyelid but guess that isn't to be.  He'll be fine, that much I know and have confidence in, it's just the wait for normality that's so disruptive!

Thanks everyone.  I'll post after docs visit tomorrow.

Edited to add:  after he was born he didn't gain weight and only weighed 9lbs at 6 months old.  Doctors thought he had cystic fibrosis.  Once he started to grow at 9 months he caught up in a matter of weeks but they never did find out what caused it despite regular hospital admission and supervision.  At 13 he was the largest in his year and bigger than his 22yr old brother!  My worst fear was that one day it would all re-surface and bite us in the rear! 

We've calculated that he must have drunk at least 15 pints today.  I bought two litre bottles of yoghurt drink and he drunk both!


I think that is excessive even for diabetes.  Good luck let us know. :-)

Just caught up on this :( How did the appointment go ?

Lucy
xx

The thirst etc doesn't just generally start at once it is a gradual thing I think but best get him checked. Dont get the urine sugar test insist they take blood and send it away..  Your relative that has it who is over weight I suspect has type 2, the age of your son IF he had it would likely be type 1 two totally different things. Almost like 2 different ilnesses to be honest.

How did you get on at the doctors?

I do hope he is okay, my husband is diabetic and has been for over 30 years.  I have two boys and i am always on the lookout for signs.  Hopefully they have booked him in to do a tolerancy test, and taken bloods.  Good luck hope all is okay.
Yvonne

Hope all's OK?   Thinking about you both.
Diane

Hope your son is feeling better now

Maxine

Hi All, thanks for thinking of us.  Just got back from hospital as he was admitted on Monday morning after being rushed in straight from doctors.  For those of you that know about these things his bm was 30+ and he had ketones too - hence a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus.

We've now been allocated a diabetic nurse, etc and he's injecting 6 times daily and did it himself from the second jab!  He's been a star.

I know diabetes isn't a life sentence but it's not what you'd choose for your child.  I feel a bit shocked still but I know we'll get there in the end.

Sorry to hear this, but I'm glad that you now have a diagnosis and that he's managing so well. Look after yourself as well - it's probably more of a shock for you than for him...kids are, fortunately, amazingly resilient.

I hope it settles down soon and he starts to feel more like himself

Maxine

Just proves our instincts are right with our children, I can remember my 13 yr old being ill as a baby (from 4 wks on) and lots of health professionals thought i was a paranoid mother but having 3 other healthy children i knew i wasn't paranoid and it was proven in time that I was right she had a stomach tumour.  Mothers instinct. 

All the best to you and your son, he sound like he's coping really well and I'm sure he'll be just fine when all is settled. 

Juvenile Diabetes can be to get the dosage right but at least if he's doing his own injections that a big hurdle over. The DM's are brilliant

He will be able to cope much better now you know what it is. He still needs to drinks the 2 litres of water a day

Fingers/paws crossed for you both

Don't forget to get him a kidsac

Well done for reacting so quickly :) Ketones aren't nice and need sorting out quickly!!

My daughter was diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy at 14, so I sympathise with your feelings right now but I do know that things settle into a routine and medication becomes the "norm", sort of "keys, tissues, medication". Best wishes sent your way and a friendly punch for your son who probably won't appreciate a hug!! Big ((HUG)) for you though :)

Thanks Malakai; MM I think that if I produced a Kidsac I'd get a similar reaction from him that the on-ward teacher did when she popped her head round the door to ask if he wanted any school work to do before asking if he'd like to paint a picture of a pirate!!  He's a huge great hulk of a nearly-14yr old who isn't given to teddy's!  However, he did get a rather nice teenage rucksack instead packed full of very non-teenage type of things such as needles and insulin!!!

I've asked to see his teacher tomorrow and the diabetic nurse is coming to visit us at home, and GP too, so I feel he'll be too busy for school this week.  It's just occurred to me that I've dropped work too and not even given it a second thought.  There are so many things to do like order a mobile phone so I can keep in contact with him by phone to reduce the worries.  We've then got to work out how to fit his heavy sporting schedule (rugby, football, athletics and boxing) into and around food and injections!

The dogs were pleased to see us but something tells me someone might have been upstairs in our absence.  Charlie forgot we were home and happily trotted upstairs (previously unheard of!!).

Wow, so lucky that you realised the signs.  My dad is an insulin dependant diabetic too and has been for about 20 years now!  He was petrified at the thought of having to use needles but he got used to it straight away.

Hope things improve and we're thinking about you both at the moment.

At least you know what the problem is and James is a sensible lad so hopefully he can manage his condition well with the help of his lovely mum ;)

Lucy
xx

Wow, his BM was high at 30+   I've been insulin dependant diabetic for 35 years now and am in full working order, so far no problems at all.  My BM is running at 5.  I was in hospital for 6 weeks when first diagnosed at the age of 9.  You just have to tell yourself this is now a way of life and NOT an illness.   I have 2 injections a day.

Good luck