Could my son have diabetes?

[yjflo]

My son has experienced irritability problems since entering kindergarten at 5.  He is the most pleasant child most times and suddenly anything can set him off.  He has had a skin condition called itchyosis vulgaris since he was around 1.  His skin is very dark and itchy on his trunk and legs.  He is 7 now and recently has started complaining about his stomach, he gets up several times per night to urinate, he is very hard to wake even after 10-11 hours of sleep, and he has wet the bed recently on several occasions as well as wet his pants in school yesterday.  He doesn't have regular stools so the doctor said that his stomach pain was related to irregular bowel movements and prescribed a gentle laxative.  Could these symptoms indicate diabetes?

[JDRF-Team-sgg]

The classic symptoms of diabetes are:
* frequent urination, with large volumes of urine,
* excessive thirst,
* hunger, and
* weight loss.

Other symptoms might include:
* fatigue,
* blurry vision,
* odd aches and pains,
* dry mouth,
* dry or itchy skin,
* poor healing of cuts and scrapes, or
* excessive or unusual infections.

Since your son seems to have some of the symptoms, I would recommend making an appointment with his doctor to have a blood test done to see if his glucose levels are normal. This is an easy test to do, and you and your child deserve to konw for sure whether his levels are high or even perhaps low (being hard to awaken in the mornings COULD be a symptom of hypoglycemia or possibly being due to the fatigue of untreated diabetes).

As for the stomach problems... you may also want to ask your doctor to test him for Celiac Disease (inability to digest gluten). A fairly large percentage of type 1 diabetics have been diagnosed as having celiac disease also. In fact, some doctors think that ALL diabetics should be tested for Celiac, just to be sure. Check out this website for information about Celiac Disease: www.celiac.com/

[InsulinPumper]

I am not a Medical Doctor but I do have a few suggestions to ease your mind.  The best way to find out if your son has diabetes is to request that your medical doctor perform a test on him.  I am 25 years old and have had type 1 for two years.  When I was first diagnosed I was getting up two or three times per night to use the bathroom.  I was also drinking a lot of water.  Although these signs might not be diabetes, I would suggest erring on the safe side and having him tested.  If your son if diabetic he will be feeling much better if insulin treatment is what he needs.  If it is something else a medical doctor should be able to diagnose whatever the problem may be.  I hope this helps.