bisous
10-19-2006, 03:53 AM
Hi There!
I've been wanting to post our story for awhile but haven't had time to compose the message. I introduced myself a week back or so but wanted to fill in the details about how my DS was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I suppose I just feel really grateful for the circumstances and want to make others aware that this disease can be present in families with no direct history.
In July, I started noticing behavior changes in my 2.5 year old. He was really grouchy and cranky almost every day. I noticed this because the previous semester (I'm a grad. student) I could handle a full course load, a tiny job and his full-time care (except for evening classes) with really few problesm. But this summer? I couldn't even keep up with the reading list for one of my classes. Of course, behavior changes are pretty par for the course in a young developing toddler.
He used to be a great sleeper at night and that started to be a battle daily. His sleep schedule was totally erratic. One evening he woke up at 11:00 p.m. and was up all night until 7:00 in the morning. He wasn't really upset, had no fever or other symptoms, just kind of agitated and very thirsty. Again, sleep problems and changes in progress and routine are not terribly uncommon in young kids.
This thirst didn't initially alarm me. It was July in California during the hottest summer that I personally remember in all of my 30 years. I felt that it was natural to want to drink to keep from being dehydrated.
Because of the thirst, I initially didn't think that the "wetting" was a problem either. He was consuming a lot of liquid so I thought it natural that he would have to "go". Now, he was in disposable diapers which by all accounts absorb a LOT of liquid. He started routinely wetting through the night. He's been dry at night for probably a year. I was planning on introducing the concept of potty training this summer but of course, that wasn't working out too well. Again, my first thought--well, its hot, he's drinking LOTS of water, of course its going to manifest itself, right?
Finally, one night as I came in to check him he was wet through his clothes, sheets, mattress pad, etc. After cleaning him I tossed the diaper aside and dozed next to him in his bed, tired from a crazy routine. I awoke to a distinctly sweet smell. I had remembered a pediatrician in the past talking about diabetes as "sweet river" in Greek or something like that and I had a scary realization at 2:00 a.m. Immediately I went to my computer and became convinced it was Diabetes. I resolved to take him in the next day. The first appointment I could get was for 4:30 p.m. on a Friday. By this time I had calmed and thought that I must be crazy and it must be a growth spurt. Growth spurts with my son typically include eating and drinking lots, upset sleep and crankiness. However, I went into the doctor's office and voiced my concern for diabetes to the nurse. She took a finger prick and immediately left the room. That scared me. The doctor came in less than a minute later and told us to go directly to the emergency room. He had diabetes and needed to be admitted to get his blood sugar to go down. His level was nearly 700.
After a terrible ER experience my DS was admitted to the pediatric wing of a great hospital. He spent 5 days there while his insulin levels were adjusted. Normally hospital stays are yucky but honestly I needed every minute of instruction from the nurses, doctors and diabetes educators. Type 1 is incredibly intricate to treat. Thanks to great medical care, he was released to live a normal life with some interventions.
I just wanted to sum up a few lessons that I learned in case they help...
1. Don't rule out Diabetes because it doesn't run in the family. Nobody in our family has Type 1. Diabetes has a genetic component, an auto-immune component, and a viral component.
2. It's cliche but the classic symptoms of excessive thirst and frequent urination are still the best indicators of the disease.
3. Always, always, trust your mommy instincts and better to check and be safe than not. I feel like I should have seen the signs earlier but medical personnel were impressed I caught the disease when I did. They tell me that many children are diagnosed in a coma, or vomiting and seizing. Luckily, luckily, luckily my child had not progressed to that stage. It is my great hope that more will catch it before it progresses to that stage!
4. This is not meant to be alarmist at all. I just wanted to share our saga in the hopes that there will be more awareness of this potentially fatal disease. The good news is that with excellent care my son will live a nice, normal, healthy life.
Anyway, I hope that this helps someone in small part and well, I suppose I just wanted to share...
JEN
I've been wanting to post our story for awhile but haven't had time to compose the message. I introduced myself a week back or so but wanted to fill in the details about how my DS was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I suppose I just feel really grateful for the circumstances and want to make others aware that this disease can be present in families with no direct history.
In July, I started noticing behavior changes in my 2.5 year old. He was really grouchy and cranky almost every day. I noticed this because the previous semester (I'm a grad. student) I could handle a full course load, a tiny job and his full-time care (except for evening classes) with really few problesm. But this summer? I couldn't even keep up with the reading list for one of my classes. Of course, behavior changes are pretty par for the course in a young developing toddler.
He used to be a great sleeper at night and that started to be a battle daily. His sleep schedule was totally erratic. One evening he woke up at 11:00 p.m. and was up all night until 7:00 in the morning. He wasn't really upset, had no fever or other symptoms, just kind of agitated and very thirsty. Again, sleep problems and changes in progress and routine are not terribly uncommon in young kids.
This thirst didn't initially alarm me. It was July in California during the hottest summer that I personally remember in all of my 30 years. I felt that it was natural to want to drink to keep from being dehydrated.
Because of the thirst, I initially didn't think that the "wetting" was a problem either. He was consuming a lot of liquid so I thought it natural that he would have to "go". Now, he was in disposable diapers which by all accounts absorb a LOT of liquid. He started routinely wetting through the night. He's been dry at night for probably a year. I was planning on introducing the concept of potty training this summer but of course, that wasn't working out too well. Again, my first thought--well, its hot, he's drinking LOTS of water, of course its going to manifest itself, right?
Finally, one night as I came in to check him he was wet through his clothes, sheets, mattress pad, etc. After cleaning him I tossed the diaper aside and dozed next to him in his bed, tired from a crazy routine. I awoke to a distinctly sweet smell. I had remembered a pediatrician in the past talking about diabetes as "sweet river" in Greek or something like that and I had a scary realization at 2:00 a.m. Immediately I went to my computer and became convinced it was Diabetes. I resolved to take him in the next day. The first appointment I could get was for 4:30 p.m. on a Friday. By this time I had calmed and thought that I must be crazy and it must be a growth spurt. Growth spurts with my son typically include eating and drinking lots, upset sleep and crankiness. However, I went into the doctor's office and voiced my concern for diabetes to the nurse. She took a finger prick and immediately left the room. That scared me. The doctor came in less than a minute later and told us to go directly to the emergency room. He had diabetes and needed to be admitted to get his blood sugar to go down. His level was nearly 700.
After a terrible ER experience my DS was admitted to the pediatric wing of a great hospital. He spent 5 days there while his insulin levels were adjusted. Normally hospital stays are yucky but honestly I needed every minute of instruction from the nurses, doctors and diabetes educators. Type 1 is incredibly intricate to treat. Thanks to great medical care, he was released to live a normal life with some interventions.
I just wanted to sum up a few lessons that I learned in case they help...
1. Don't rule out Diabetes because it doesn't run in the family. Nobody in our family has Type 1. Diabetes has a genetic component, an auto-immune component, and a viral component.
2. It's cliche but the classic symptoms of excessive thirst and frequent urination are still the best indicators of the disease.
3. Always, always, trust your mommy instincts and better to check and be safe than not. I feel like I should have seen the signs earlier but medical personnel were impressed I caught the disease when I did. They tell me that many children are diagnosed in a coma, or vomiting and seizing. Luckily, luckily, luckily my child had not progressed to that stage. It is my great hope that more will catch it before it progresses to that stage!
4. This is not meant to be alarmist at all. I just wanted to share our saga in the hopes that there will be more awareness of this potentially fatal disease. The good news is that with excellent care my son will live a nice, normal, healthy life.
Anyway, I hope that this helps someone in small part and well, I suppose I just wanted to share...
JEN