15 year old with high blood sugar

[utahmomma]

Tomorrow I am calling the pediatrician but right now I'm a bit freaked out.  Any advice would be appreciated.

My mother is diabetic (Type II), I am diabetic (Type II), two of my sisters are Type II.  

Yesterday my son (a tall, slender 15-year old) looked a bit grey and clammy.  I checked his blood sugar level (hadn't eaten for a few hours) and it was 166.  Later last night he had a sip (small sip) of Mountain Dew and some pizza.  He checked his blood sugar (he's watched me do it so he's not afraid of it) and it was 266.  We dumped all the Mountain Dew and threw out the pizza.  

Today he's been good about watching what he eats (didn't realize orange juice is death but he's learning) and has been doing a lot of research on the diet.

He doesn't have an ounce of fat on him and he is just as tall as his friends so I'm confused whether or not I'm looking at Type I or Type II with him.  I know, I know - my doctor will tell us but it may be weeks before I can get him in there.

Ideas?  Help?

[JDRF-Team-JW]

Hi Utahmomma,

I am not a doctor, just a volunteer living with Type I diabetes. I was a few years older than your son when I was diagnosed, however I must've been sick for a while, now that I think back, so if your son is in fact Diabetic, catching it early would spare him months or even years of feeling ill and not getting help. It certainly seems strange that your non-diabetic son would have blood sugar readings in the 200's. That surely is a sign that he's diabetic (unless there's some other factor at play here but I can't think of another reason for this) and if he is slim he would most likely be considered Type I. But before you get too woried go over the checklist below and see if your son has any of these other symptoms:

extreme thirst
frequent urination
feeling very hungry or tired
losing weight without trying
having sores that heal slowly
having dry, itchy skin
having blurry eyesight

My suggestion to you, since you think it may be a while before you see the doctor is to keep checking his sugar and if it continues to be abnormal for a non-diabetic (over 130, and especially in the 200's) take him to the emergency room. I'm sure, though, that if you tell his doctor what the readings are he'll tell you to bring him in as well.

Good luck to you and let us know how things turn out.

[utahmomma]

Thank you.

He does have the itchy dry skin (as does everyone else in Utah during the cold) and eats, drinks a lot.  Not so much on the frequent urination.

I was able to get an appointment this afternoon with his doctor.  Thanks!

[utahmomma]

My son's pediatrician confirmed it is diabetes (either full blown or pre-diabetes is still to be determined).  

The doctor made an urgent referral to a pediatric endocronologist to find out if it is Type I or Type II (he has symptoms and traits of both).  Had an A1C run tonight and should get a report from the doctor's office tomorrow (along with the appointment for the ped endo).

Spent a lot of time going over the diet with him last night and, even though he is a high schooler, he did well today.  He didn't eat the bun on his hamburger and only had two of the 30+ tater tots on his place.  No juice or soda either (he likes the sugary ones).  He's skipping trick or treating tonight to hang out with friends and watch scary videos (he took apples to munch on).

I also got him his own glucose monitor and he's been good at keeping a diary of his results for the endo.  We also made a compromise and he's agreed to go for diet Dr. Pepper instead of his favorite Mountain Dew.