When I was pregnant I had gestational diabetes after the delivery they checked me and my baby and said I no longer had it and my baby was fine.

Now my son is almost 2 years old and I'm concerned about him. He always wants something to drink, at meal times he cries for seconds and usually drinks 2 or 3 cup fulls. He cries for it and I give it to him because it doesn't affect his appetite. He drinks alot in between meals as well. He drinks lots of water, some juice and milk. He eats alot! He eats twice as much as my 6yr old and 4 yr old daughters. He is growing and gaining some weight but for what he eats I would expect him to be overweight for his age. He weighs about 24 pounds.

I'm concerned with him having diabetes because it runs in my family and my husband's. When I express my concerns to the dr. they checked his urine and said he didn't have it. I was wondering is that accurate?

I thought that when you got tested for diabetes you had to take a glucose tolerance test and that they had to check your blood. Can anyone give me any input on the situation? I don't know that much about diabetes in children...do you think I should press the dr to do further testing or am I overly concerned about his eating and drinking habits?

[This message has been edited by mrllns75 (edited 10-18-2003).]

Some comments:

The type of diabetes your had - gestational is closely related to Type 2 diabetes and is a pretty good predictor of future Type 2 diabetes for yourself unless you watch your weight and get lots of exercise.

There is some evidence that high BG during pregnancy causes the baby to be at higher risk of diabetes - but I think Type 2, not Type 1 or Juvenile diabetes.

I think a blood test is a much better indicator of diabetes than a urine test. Ask for one. It is common to have a two hour glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes, but not for other times. However, if you can convince your doctor to do both the fasting test and the tolerance test it is much more specific in the diagnosis. It just takes longer.

Do you have a home meter? It would be easy to check your son to see if there are BG issues. BG should be under 110 in the AM fasting, and less than 140 two hours after meals.

Ron

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Type 2, diagnosed Feb 01, Prandin (GlucoNorm), Diet & Exercise

More importantly, have you explained to your doctor why you are concerned about diabetes (ie thirst), there are a lot of things that this could be other than diabetes, especially in children.

Ron AKA and rubindj.......thank you so much for your input.

rubindj,
I have told the dr. why i'm concerned and like I said, they just did a urine test.
I wasn't sure if I should press the issue of further testing or if I was worrying over nothing. With the history of diabetes running in my family and his dad's and the symptoms he's showing is why it concerns me not to mention other ppl that are around us alot making comments about how much he eats and drinks. You said it could be alot of other things, what else do you think it could be?
Again, your response is greatly appreciated...Thank you!!

Hi
I am new to the board, I just thought I would reply about juvenile diabetes, My 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 7 years ago, she was drinking all the time, sleeping all the time and even though I had had no previous trouble with bed wetting she was managing to get out of bed through the night to get to the bathroom, but not quite making it, and so wet herself.
I took her to the doctor who told me to get 3 different water samples from the next 24 hours, one at bedtime, on the next morning and one 2 hours after breakfast and take them back to him, they all showed glucose in her urine and she was sent straight to hospital, even the early morning one on an empty stomach showed glucose. So I would just say to the mum who is worried, to take heart from the fact that no glucose is showing up in his urine, but to keep a watch on him and any change, take him back to the doctor
Hope that helps in some way?

Blood tests are the more accurate way to check for diabetes onset. The glucose tolerance test can make a judgment of the bodies’ ability to handle sugar. If he passes this test then there is nothing to worry about. One major thing that is always true. (Side story) I was found near death at 8 years old in DKA when I had this. I was nothing more than a skeleton. (story over) The one very common factor is that there is great weight loss if the disease is developing in someone. Your child seems to have normal weight and maybe a little extra according to what you wrote. I think you are safe at this time. But do continue with at very least an annual test for the disease. Right now to make myself relax I would request an A1C reading and a blood glucose tolerance test. This will allow you to not have to worry about it for a while. My son does not have any signs of it, He is 26 years old and is doing well for now. We do checks annually.
Don http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I'll echo what Don said. I was diagnosed at 12 and lost a ton of weight and went into a coma. Sugar was over 1,000. I was also sick for a very long time before the diagnosis was finally made. Hope this helps. Good luck with your son.

Sharon http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif