Has anyone here experienced Type 1 prediabetes Symptoms with their kids?
If he does have diabetes I’m wondering if he might be in the honeymoon period, where his body is so producing some insulin although erratically and unpredictsbly. Even so - or because of it -I find it odd that your endo says they wouldn’t be able to do anything at least yet. It might be worthwhile to get another opinion once the tests come back.
I am not the parent of a child who has been diagnosed and living with Type 1 Diabetes, but I am the daughter of a mother who was once extremely worried that I would be diagnosed with T1D just like my brother. My mother was so worried about this that at one point that she had my HbA1c tested when I was 17 to give her some peace of mind. Luckily, my result was normal and no further action was necessary. I’m now in my early 20’s and luckily have experienced no symptoms. I had routine blood work done in August and there was no indication of any problems with my blood glucose.
So, a HbA1c test would be a good place to start if you are concerned about your child developing T1D, particularly if your child is beginning to display T1D prediabetic symptoms. What to do next depends on the result which would probably be more tests and lab and/or blood work if your child’s HbA1c was elevated.
I wish you, your child, and your family the very best.
Hi @greenteaandyoga! I hope things are going well for you and your brother.
Your response brought a question to my mind. I feel like I should know this but would like a definitive answer: what test/s are used to diagnose or confirm Type 1? Mind you when I came along at some point they were using the glucose tolerance test have the patient drink a quantity of super super sweet concentrate, then measure their glucose level afterward. Several years ago I asked my doctor if the A1C was used for the definitive diagnosis and at that tinge he said it was controversial (as a diagnostic tool). I know certain A1C levels may indicate pre-diabetes and the need to keep an eye on things, as it were. But is it now the definitive test? Is it used alone as such or in conjunction with others, and if so what ones?
Thanks - I feel like I should know this but am not sure I do.
Hi @wadawabbit!
How nice to hear from you, yes things are still going good for both of us- thank you for asking!
That is a good question and to be honest I think that the answer may depend on the situation. For my situation my mother was just really concerned about me developing T1D, so my pediatrician at the time suggested looking at my A1C just to see if it was elevated or not. I also did a glucose tolerance test around the same time, which was also recommended by my pediatrician. Both of the tests were done to reassure my mother more than anything else. If the results of both the A1C and glucose tolerance test had indicated that there may have been a problem I am not sure what would been the next steps in terms of testing. Most likely, I would have been referred to an endo to figure out what came next.
I believe a variety of tests need to be done to confirm a diagnosis of T1D. Granted, I am not a medical professional but I believe that the A1C can be a good starting point to see if a T1D diagnosis is a possibility. When something as serious as T1D is suspected the testing should be rather comprehensive. When my brother was diagnosed they tested his A1C and his fasting blood glucose in addition to tests done at the hospital for ketones (which was positive) and random blood glucose tests throughout the day to see if insulin treatment was working (which it was). Combining the A1C result, the fasting blood glucose result, the presence of ketones, and the evidence that insulin was working as a treatment lead to a diagnosis of T1D for my brother. Had my brother just been diagnosed off his A1C result I believe valuable information about my brother’s health would taken longer to discover. I hope that my answer can help a bit! Take Care.
Thanks for your reply, especially since you’re in the middle of classes! Yes, your response makes sense, and I am very glad they were so thorough with your brother.
Knowing as much as you and your family already do, gives you the advantage of knowing what to Keri an eye out for and what to do. And it sounds like you’re already committed to a healthy lifestyle with so serve you well if need be.
Take care!
Diabetes type 1 in an autoimmune response of the body to the insulin producing islet cells of the pancreas. When the amount of insulin produced does not meet the requirements of the body, hyperglycemia (increased sugar in the blood) will develop and produce the classic symptoms of frequent urination, fatigue and blurred vision. I believe the autoimmune response can be rapid and intense with rapid development of symptoms, or more slow and gradual with less intense of episodic symptoms. So the classic blood glucose levels and HgbA1c will only tell you glucose levels are elevated and likely would reflect some degree of diabetes. I also believe there are islet cell antibody blood tests that could be done which would also give a likelihood of diabetes developing. Problem is we don’t have any proven therapies that can be given to delay the onset, although I believe there are clinical trials underway looking at different agents. Agree with the other responses that a HgbA1c or simple blood sugar test would probably be a good first step, then discussion with your pediatrician or primary care doctor as to whether an endocrinology referral may be appropriate.
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thanks for that @sublot37 !
@Jader, I would add that with a LADA type diagnoses may come a prolonged period of higher than expected but still normal blood sugar, the goal here is monitor and treat as necessary. While with type 2 diabetes you could potentially modify your diet and exercise with good results (reversing prediabetes back into controlled normal blood sugars), with autoimmune type 1 diabetes, no diet modifications such as low or zero carbohydrate, and no amount of exercise will stop the autoimmune attack and destruction of insulin producing cells. Work with a good endo. Good luck.
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Hi Jader - I know I’m late in replying to your post. I currently have “stage 2 preclinical type 1 diabetes” where I’m positive for type 1 autoantibodies and have slightly abnormal blood sugars but not abnormal enough for a type 1 diagnosis. So I’m technically prediabetic. I’ve been in a Trialnet type 1 study for years which is how I know about my diagnosis before I am even diagnosed! I still have enough beta cells to produce insulin but they are slowly being destroyed by my immune system. I check my BG every once in a while and am sensitive to symptom monitoring like increased thirst or weight loss. I hope this helps! ~Anna