This is my first post here although I've been lurking for a while. My son is a T1 since Oct 2008. He's 14. When he was first diagnosed he had all of the standard symptoms - drank tons of water at a time, major weight loss and when I finally figured it out, he had a fasting BG over 250 and after eating a PBJ (on the way to the ER) had a BG of 747.
He's been fine since dx except that in the last few weeks, I've noticed him getting really thin again. His cheeks look like their thinning, as do his arms. His mid-section seems fine though (not ultra thin like it was on dx). He's very tired, drinking more than usual, but not urinating frequently. His BG's haven't been terribly high - in the low 200's when high - and pretty much within range overall. He's also had quite a few lows - in the 30s at times.
Anyone have an idea what might be up? I'm really at a loss...
His ketones were negative - sorry forgot to put that in. And he's eating pretty well - not less or more than usual. I'll definitely call in the morning!
This is also a pretty classic symptom of Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is only serious if left untreated and the treatment is simple - eat a gluten free diet (no wheat, rye, barley, oats). I was diagnosed with Celiac almost 9 years ago. I was very thin, my hair was falling out, severely anemic, losing muscle, etc. Another symptom is "tummy troubles". It might seem like he has the stomach flu, but this could be another sign of Celiac Disease as well.
If you think this could be a possibility and/or he's going to the doctor anyway, you can have them check him out for Celiac. It's just a blood test (antibody test). If the antibodies are present, he has Celiac. Celiac Disease is another autoimmune disorder. It's common for type 1 diabetics to develop other autoimmune disorders in addition to diabetes.
Good luck! Whatever the problem is, I hope things are figured out soon. Please let us know if you have more questions! :o) And welcome to Juvenation; we are very glad to have you here with us.
I don't have any other ideas -- sadly gaining weight seems to be my problem, not losing, lolol. (: But, I wanted to welcome you and say I'm glad you deicded to join us!
I hope your son's drs can get this sorted out soon -- that must be stressful to not know what's going on.
Maybe you could ask the doc to check his thryoid also? Thyroid probs often go along with diabetes. Just a suggestion! Hope you can find out what is going on. Welcome to Juvenation!
I too have a 14 year old Son (Dx July 2008) that is thining... but he's growing taller!!!! He is looking so thin in the face and arms, but has not changed his weight in the last 2 visits but keeps growing taller. Is your Son actually losing weight? Or possibly thining out due to growing taller? They go through growth spurts and don't eat, eat, drink more, don't drink more... Check his weight out. Has he started a new sport? Basketball started for our Son and conditioning has been kickign his butt as well...
Make sure he is getting balance of carbs and proteins. He could be burning off more than his body can keep up with if he's growing. Hopfully it's puberty!!!
Chasey was having a lot of health concerns about a year after being diagnosed, losing weight, sunken in eyes, poor sleep, persistent ear infections, headache, things like that. We found out that she had a bundle of food allergies.We also learned that she was lacking in some vitamins and minerals.
When we are vigilant about her diet and suppliments, she looks well and feels well. However lately she is rebelling some about this whole food thing and is not cooperating and she is not feeling optimal.
Thank you all! Iowagirl - I'm really just hoping that's all it is. His weight really hasn't changed much, but he doesn't seem to be any taller. I was thinking it was just a growth spurt - so hard to know though, with him, because ever since his dx, I now think the worst about almost everything! I know - I need to get over that - but I figured one visit to the doc wouldn't be too paranoid.
We did go yesterday and they took all the requisite blood - for thyroid, celiac the whole deal. So we'll see. I apologized in advance if I'm an overreacting mom and they were very sweet to me. It's funny, too, because if you knew me, you'd know I'm generally pretty relaxed. We homeschool and I frequently ask for evidence of blood before you can rat out a sibling!:-) But with Alex, I feel like I'm now trained to be on high alert at all times!