[ashtonferris]

my 8 yr old son was diagnosed T1 3 weeks ago. he wasn't ill but he was so thirsty he was drinking almost a gallon of liquids a day and urinating equally as much. so on a hunch (even though my doctor said not to worry about it and scheduled an office visit a few days out) I decided to take him to the ER. GLAD I DID! he was Ketoacidosis. initially the meters wouldnt read his BG as it was out of range limits, but after an IV they tested abd found his blood sugar was 1088! crazy thing is, he was acting completely normal other than his heavy thirst! beyween my wife and I we have 6 kids all under the age of 11 and I feel this has brought together closer, and taught us to focus on the REAL important things in life. yes, it has been an inconvenience to do the checks and injections and keep a complete log (on glucosebuddy.com) but i thank the Lord that this is something that isn't deadly or debilitating. I hope all you new parents to a child w/T1 diabetes quickly realize the positives that can come from this and not just the negatives. what gave me such a great attitude is the way that my son has handled it himself. he is positive, embracing the negatives and reinforcing the positives. never complains about it, taken the desease and accepted it with no turning back. our children are amazing human beings at the way they adapt to change and hardship, and I think we should follow suit and reward that in them by being their rock to stand on. and on a positive side note please follow the work of Dr. faustman (google it) and her work with a 90 yr old vaccine called BCG and it's surprising ability to reverse T1 D, and actually regenerate insulin producing T cells. it may be 3-5 years out but it looks promising and we all need some light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to. wish you all the best.

-Brent

[dano]

Brent;

Welcome to the Forum!

I am sorry to hear of your son's diagnosis, but I am glad that you were able to catch it quick. Good luck with your son's control and management.

[jrgardner2]

WOW, Almosts sounds like my story. My 6 y/o daughter was diagnosed T1D on Oct 9th. The symptoms were exactly the same. Extreme thirst and going the bathroom alot. My wife remembered a conversation with a business colleage about how their son had same symptoms which lead to a T1D diagnoses. Luckily we were able to get into her our pediatric the same day, mainly in an attempt to rule out T1D. We were advised to go straight into Childrens Hosp in Pittsburgh. Luckily, my daughter was only at 350 BG, But like you said about your son, My daughter showed no real signs of being in crisis.
I won't deny the fact that I went throught the usual emotional rollercoaster of denial to self pity to acceptance. I finally realized that eventhough our lives have changed...I still had my daughter. It was time to count my blessings. My 6 y/o has been my rock. She has accepted her new life with grace, dignity and a true air of maturity. Kids are truly amazing.
Thank you for the lead about Dr. Faustman. I will certainly google her.
Good Luck and be safe.

[anabeldad]

Ours is a similar story. We have an 8 year old daughter who was thirsty all the time and urinating a lot. The only other symptom was that she had gotten dizzy a few times when she hadn't eaten in a while. But it was really only a couple of times. Her pediatrician did the testing but had us convinced that he really didn't see much need for worry. That was a week and a half ago and we are now many doctor visits, a couple if hospital visits, and a diabetes clinic all day marathon down the road. When we finally get her to bed at night and finally relax I feel sick and dizzy from it all. Personally I am still somewhere between " this all has to be a mistake" and utterly terrified. I know from what I read here that some semblance of normalcy returns eventually but that the panicky fear never truly goes away. It is totally heartbreaking seeing her going through this and do hard to appear strong and upbeat, even though I know that is what she needs. I think I would give almost anything to be able to trade places with her so she wouldn't have to go through it.

[laheal]

hello all
my daughter was diagnosed on Oct 24th, similar to all of your stories, drinking water, urinating a lot but no other signs.
I thank God daily that we caught it the week before Halloween as one can only imagine how high her sugars would be. They were 560!
She is honestly the most incredible child in the world and I thank God each day for her- She has taken it in stride.. even today when we are battling a cold and ketones.
I wish it would go away... I pray nightly for it to but I have learned what real strength is from my daughter.