Teenage son with frequent urination

I have a question about my 18 yr. old teenage son. For quite awhile now he has been urinating quite frequently and large amounts. He also has had for quite a long time an unusual mouth odor. He visits the dentist regularly, brushes and gargles and everything else under the sun, but the odor still comes and goes. He is very self concious about the frequent urination. It is not until recently that I started thinking that maybe the two are related and maybe a symptom of diabetes? I always thought juvenile diabetes came on quickly and not slowly ( as he has been suffering the symptoms for an extended period of time.) He is quite physically fit and an athlete. I am starting to feel quite guilty for not talking to the doctor. I am going to call tomorrow. Basically my question is could he be showing subtle signs of diabetes? Thank You in advance.

[JDRF-Team-sgg]

Yes, your son could be showing signs of diabetes. Onset usually is fairly slow, for type 1 diabetes can begin as long as several years before enough insulin-producing cells are destroyed to actually raise glucose levels to the full diabetic stage. The body's inability to process the carbohydrates in foods causes extra thirst, which is the reason for frequent urination. An unusual mouth odor is also one of the symptoms. I agree that you should have him checked out by a doctor immediately. Frequentlly, type 1 diabetics are extremely hungry also, for they crave the carbs that their bodies are not properly converting to energy, and fatigue can also be present.  While I certainly hope that he is healthy and that in his case, these symptoms are simply teen things, he should be checked out, for many type 1 diabetics are diagnosed in the teen years. A simple glucose tolerance test of perhaps even a simple glucose test can give a definite yes or no. Please let us know what you find out.

[gman2004]

well, i was diagnosed at 16. I was urinating at least, once everyclass(1 hour and 30 minutes long). i also had a loss of apatite, and i found my self feeling ill and under teh weather quite a bit.

my mouth was also starting to get oder, and my lips startted to peal.

from reading what u said, it's a good chance that he has diabeties.or at least, i think so

u should find out if he's drinking alot more too. i was drinking a full jug of water, every hour or so, the last few weeks before i was diagnossed

[TonyAlmeida]

Same thing happened to me - and I started to notice blurry vision.

Your son may have a "paste" on his tongue as well (known as thrush), something that you just cannot brush or wash off.

If he's drinking lots of water (we're talking almost liters at a time) and urinating constantly and the urine has no color or odor - I hate to say it it, but it's Classic Type 1 Diabetes symptoms.  You need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

[Racingmom66]

I have a 13yr old who is overweight.I'm a little concerned because he as well has frequent urination to the point that he is late to class for an example "we went to dinner last night arrived about 7pm an left at 9pm he went aleast 4xs and he is constanly thirsty and just drinks and drinks. He has no pain or anything like that. Im just concerned as well.