Bipolar & Juvenile Diabetes

[Hecticme]

Hi. My daughter is 5 years old. Was dx with type 1 @ 18 months old. I am wondering if she is bipolar and if diabetes mood swings could be mistaken for bipolar disorder. She has rapid mood swings all day long. They go from extremes from happy to sad to wanting to hurt herself than getting depressed after its all over. I have checked her sugar during these events and she always seems to be in range. She is a very outgoing child and I will refuse to put her on medications for BP disorder (if she does have it. But maybe someone knows something more about these two being connected or masking one another?

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

Many parents of type 1 children do tell us that when their children have glucose levels either too low or too high (out of the 80-126 range), they become moody or irritable. I myself am a type 1 diabetic, and in my case, I can feel it when my glucose levels are dropping quickly or rising quickly, and it feels crummy. I can notice these feelings even before the numbers are 'off', but if I wait about 15 minutes to a half hour and test again, I almost always find the numbers too low (I tend to run low rather than high). So I suppose this could be an explanation. I have heard from so many parents of type 1 kids who notice that their kids' emotions do swings, depending on glucose levels. So this could be the entire root cause.

But I am not aware of any link between bipolar disorder and type 1 diabetes. You may want to try to stabilize the glucose levels as best as you can and just educate yourself about bipolar disorder so you can evaluate her as she grows older. Often, bipolar disorder is not really diagnosed until the person is an adult, although symptoms can be present from childhood. So educate yourself, and if in doubt, take her to a doctor for a medical opinion. Meanwhile, you may also want to have her tested for food allergies, for some kids really react negatively to foods that they are allergic to or sensitive to. I am thinking particularly of sensitivities to red dyes in cherry drinks, and to wheat, for wheat allergies can cause all sorts of surprising reactions, emotional as well as physical.

It wouldn't hurt to get a medical evaluation. At least you would have a medical opinion -- you never are forced to begin medications that are recommended. You can make that choice if a doctor makes recommendations.