Low blood sugar = future Diabetes

[camjen1]

Hi ya'll I have a question regarding my son.

Last night just out of the blue I wanted to check my almost 8-year-old son blood sugars. I thought that it would be worth it after all he goes to the bathroom ALL the time. Well to my surprise it was a low 22. This was before we ate dinner so I made him eat a protein-carb packed dinner. An hour and a half later I check him again and it was 39. I checked myself and I was 163 and I checked my daughter and she was 99.

I was a little panicked because it was so low so I figured I would get a fasting blood sugar test on him in the morning. I checked him at about 7:30 am and it was 30. Now I am going to take him to the DR. today but I need to know what this could mean? I called my mom at work (ER Nurse) and she told me he could be on his way to being diabetic because he is using his insulin so much.

I am clueless. Oh and another thing I kinda linked this to why he is constantly having headaches and now am wondering if this is why he doesn't have it together sometimes in school.

[Clint]

I am not sure if he 'becoming diabetic' but something is def wrong. I can barely function when I get close to 30. Last night I hit 39 and was seeing spots and was very weak and light headed.

[duck]

Sandi,

I'm still not convinced that the medical profession knows what "normal" blood sugar is supposed to be. BUT having said that, 30 is a bit low and 22 is of course worrisome. Hypoglycemia has some bad side-effects as bad as hyperglycemia. Have his pediatrician perform a hypoglycemia test on him...I believe he'll need to consume some kind of glucose drink and then there is a period of hours where they'll either take blood or check his blood sugar levels.

And as far as I know, being hypoglycemic is not a precursor to diabetes.

[camjen1]

No, they never performed a GTT (glucose tolerance test) on him but I am guessing he will probably order that today. It sucks because if they do he will have to be stuck quite a few times and in order for me to even test him lastnight I had to pin him down.

[nantomsuethom]

Sandi,

Reading your post has given me chills!

For about 6 months prior to Thomas having s/s of diabetes he experienced low bgs. I never checked his actual numbers (didn't think to at the time, didn't have any meters either), but he would get very shaky, sweaty and could not concentrate- around 10-11am. I knew these to be s/s of low bg so I asked his teacher to allow him to have a mid morning snack everyday.

I hope and pray that this is not the case of your little guy!
Let us know what the doc says.

[Tyna]

I was diagnosed just over a year ago. One thing I do remember is that for several years previous to diagnosis, I would feel shaky at times. I didn't know much about it, all I knew was that if I grabbed a chocolate bar or a can of pop I would feel better and the shakiness would go away.

[Cinnabon]

Hey there Sandie,
Sorry to hear you went through that worrying with your son. Please let us know what happens

Im crossing my fingers for ya!

[WhyNotSmile?]

I am crossing my fingers, too.

The only thing you can do is to watch out of risc factors, viruses, stress, everything which can irritate immune system..

I know many people with genetic predisposition not having diabetes for 50, 60 years..

[camjen1]

Thanks for all the support.

The only thing he has not experienced is shaking. I have never seen him shaking and I asked him and he can't remember if he has or not. When it comes to sweat well let's say it's summer he is always sweating.

During the school year he had alot of trouble with school work. One day he would do a excellant job and the next day he is totally confused. He would also be in the nurse every other day because his head hurt and he had a stomach ache. The DR performed a upper GI as well as a lower GI to see if he had any stomach problems. Everything checked out.

It got to a point where he would scream because his head hurt. I never checked his sugars because it was like pulling teeth so I left it alone. It just feels like it is all coming so clear of why he has been suffering lately. Haaaa and the DR thought it was because he didn't want to go to school so he was making it up in his head

Nancy, since you are the mother of a diabetic son could you please tell how you convinced your son into doing all the testing. I know kids are all different but darn it if he was to become diabetic it would be so hard because he REFUSES and I mean REFUSES to have anything to do with the whole needle thing. I tried to talk to him and tell him how sick he could be but he just doesn't want to take it seriously.

Hopefully everything turns out good and it was just a huge misunderstanding of my meter LOL. :thumbsup:

[Eri's mom]

Wow, that's low!!!
Keeping your son in thought and prayer...

Makes me wonder if I should be tested when I actually go see a doc for myself b/c of my lower readings and my dizziness and shakiness...

Keep us posted!!!

[zookeeper671]

Those numbers are seriously low. For over 2 decades before I was diagnosed, I suffered from frequent, severe, hypoglycemic episodes. My doc at the time thought I may have a pancreatic tumor causing my pancreas to spew out too much insulin, but the tests were negative.

As far as trying to get an 8 year old to have his glucose tested, well... when you figure it out, please let me know. I'm interested in testing my bf's son, but his eyes become HUGE http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/confused/confused0087.gif when I come near him with the lancing device.

I sure hope your little one is ok, and that it's nothing serious. Keeping fingers crossed.

[nantomsuethom]

Sandi,
When I thought Thomas might be diabetic he fought me when I wanted to test him with my friend's meter.

When he was diagnosed he checked his bg without a fight, actually became obssessed with checking.

He tests on his forearm with a low setting, since he has a flash, and he tells everyone that doesn't feel it. I've done my arm before and I really didn't feel anything either. I know a lot of people don't like using thier forearms because of bruising but for some reason Thomas does not bruise anymore.

Good luck, Sandi! :)

[am1977]

Sandi,

I think being hypoglycemic doesn't automatically mean that one will become diabetic...sometimes there are other reasons for hypoglycemia as well. As for myself, I was hypoglycemic before being diagnosed with diabetes. I would eat breakfast (cereal usually) and then 2 hours or so later, I would start getting shaky and jittery...typical hypo symptoms :rolleyes: . However, saying that, I also generally felt off. I knew something was not right, I just sensed it. If your son feels ok and hasn't had any other problems aside from those low readings...then I wouldn't worry too much. I probably would get him checked out, even if it's for your own piece of mind...at least then you could put your worries aside.

I'm truly hoping that your son is ok and I hope you will let us know what happens. We'll be thinking about you both. :)

[camjen1]

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Gee if you didn't already know I am furious. The minute I told the DR what happened lastnight he snickered and said he would be dead. I snickered right back and said do you remember me CALLING you the other day with a sugar of 27. Yes, I was still alive and as a matter of fact I didn't know I was even low.

Anyway he said he was not going to do any testing because like he said before he would be dead. I said well at least run a glucose test to see what he is reading now so I then know if my meter is headed towards the garbage. He said no we don't need to do it. I then said you know what I paid for this visit so I wan't some blood work done. I told him I need to confirm that my meter is trash. He finally huffed and puffed and drew the blood.

Excuse me I realized it could be a meter problem but I rather be safe than sorry and on top of that I paid $45 for an office visit and you better believe you are going to give me the 15 minutes of your time I paid for. I won't know until a couple days but we will see.

Thanks for all the support and I do hope it was just the meter problem. I guess I am kinda happy I requested the flash. :)