Diabetic toddler will not lay down

[bjsimo]

Our 18 month old grandchild was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes- 2 months ago.  For the past two weeks she will not lay down to sleep.  She will fall asleep standing in her crib - leaning on the rail. Or will fall asleep in her stroller. Could this have something to do with the diabetes?  Has anyone heard of this?

[JDRF-Team-RL]

Hello!  I'm not a medical professional, just the parent of a kid with diabetes.  That doesn't sound like anything to do with diabetes, it just sounds like a typical 18 month old that doesn't like to go to sleep!  My kids would do anything to not have to lay down and actually close their eyes, it's just a typical energetic kid thing to do.

[JDRF Team SGG]

I agree. I raised two kids, and both would fight sleep even when exhausted. Standing up is sorta unusual, but I would also tend to attribute this to a last-ditch effort of the youngster to avoid sleep. This eventually stops and children start to go to bed without struggle.

[mcneely]

Actually, it may have something to do with being type 1 diabetic. If her blood sugars are elevated (for me it is around 300) for several hours or more, your muscles begin to get stiff because of all the sugar in the blood. I am not sure how else to explain it but that is one sure sign my blood sugar is high. You should ask her doctor about this and also test her blood sugar 4 hours before she sleeps as well as right when she sleeps. I say four hours before because it takes about 4 hours to do a high elevated correction. And if that correction is not enough you can try once more before she sleeps. Or, if she is too low before she sleeps you can correct it preventing her to possibly go into seizures.

One other thought comes to mind as well. If her blood sugar is not somewhat stablized (mostly low) she might not fell well. I am not sure if children have the same sensations as adults but for me (age 31) sometimes I feel sick of my stomach because I have too much insulin in my blood stream or my basal on my pump is set too high for too many hours. Or, if the blood sugar is high for so long I sometimes feel hot and sweat easily as well as tired or I get aggrevated easily. So there are some sensations involved as well that she may not be accustomed to yet (not sure when someone does get accustomed to them really). So, if it was my daughter I would actually spend more time in her room helping her to sleep - to find some way to comfort her during those moments.

Please do contact her doctor and ask for details.