mitoldies: help with blood sugar problem

[Guest guest]

As you all might remember, My son ( 8 ) has had on and off blood sugar troubles,

Alice you told me about Dawn phenomenon and I swear a picture of my son is posted next to the definition...his blood sugars go high during the night, most significantly in the early morning hours.

The trouble i am having is that the doctors arent doing anything and i am getting so frustrated. I monitor his blood sugars and the last week he has been eating and drinking like crazy as usual but he also was complaining of his body aching and burning all over and feeling very weak. during the day he says he is very dizzy.

I started monitoring his sugars this week, all these sugar levels are at waking at 7 AM before he has eaten or drank.

the first two days were 250 and 256, the next two were 189. This morning his sugars were 389. During the day they drop in the 30's to 70's.

Today I asked the doctor to do a gluycose tolerance test as they were 389. he said no just blood glucose is fine, his sugars at 8 am were 389 but at 1000 am after two crackers with peanut butter because he said he was going to pass out were 65.

how can they jump that fast so low?

the doc of course called to say 65 is good just keep watching him....sorry to ramble but i am at a loss as what to do from here, the doc said just to continue monitoring him.

[Guest guest]

,

This is absurd. Can you get him to an endocrinologist?

Alice

: help with blood sugar problem

As you all might remember, My son ( 8 ) has had on and off blood sugar troubles,Alice you told me about Dawn phenomenon and I swear a picture of my son is posted next to the definition...his blood sugars go high during the night, most significantly in the early morning hours. The trouble i am having is that the doctors arent doing anything and i am getting so frustrated. I monitor his blood sugars and the last week he has been eating and drinking like crazy as usual but he also was complaining of his body aching and burning all over and feeling very weak. during the day he says he is very dizzy.I started monitoring his sugars this week, all these sugar levels are at waking at 7 AM before he has eaten or drank.the first two days were 250 and 256, the next two were 189. This morning his sugars were 389. During the day they drop in the 30's to 70's.Today I asked the doctor to do a gluycose tolerance test as they were 389. he said no just blood glucose is fine, his sugars at 8 am were 389 but at 1000 am after two crackers with peanut butter because he said he was going to pass out were 65.how can they jump that fast so low?the doc of course called to say 65 is good just keep watching him....sorry to ramble but i am at a loss as what to do from here, the doc said just to continue monitoring him.

[Guest guest]

I think that you need to talk to someone who knows not only about blood sugar but mito. The endrocronologist my gp had me seeing did not believe my blood sugar went up when I exercised. The doctor who diagnosed the melas who is a pediatrician, internal medicine guy said "of course".

My blood sugars do similiar highs and lows except I do not let myself go below 100 if I can help it. A "normal" morning blood sugar for me is between 250 and 300. Sometimes if I am sick with a cold or have not had enough sleep they can be around 400 and once in awhile even over 450. I feel fine when they are around 250 or so--wouldn't know anything was wrong if I did not know the number. When I get into the 350's I start getting hot and dizzy.

Now, if I am walking around, exercising, etc I will stay around 250 or 200 unless I take insulin to knock it down.

But, if I am a work at my desk concentrating on the computer then my blood sugar will drop--sometimes below 100 if I am not careful and I will get hot and dizzy.

I use the insulin pen and adjust the amount I take for what I eat. Finally at the last visit before I fired that endocronologist she suggested that for instance if I was going shopping I should take a little insulin.

So, my suggestion is to find a different doc who will believe you. Then see if you can keep a record of when his blood sugar goes high if he has a cold, got to bed late and is tired, is stressed, etc. Also during the day if he is playing hard, is in gym class, etc.

When does his blood sugar go low? Is it when he is doing school work?

Just a few suggestions based on my experience and how I do not react like a "normal" diabetic.

Janet Sample

: help with blood sugar problem

As you all might remember, My son ( 8 ) has had on and off blood sugar troubles,Alice you told me about Dawn phenomenon and I swear a picture of my son is posted next to the definition...his blood sugars go high during the night, most significantly in the early morning hours. The trouble i am having is that the doctors arent doing anything and i am getting so frustrated. I monitor his blood sugars and the last week he has been eating and drinking like crazy as usual but he also was complaining of his body aching and burning all over and feeling very weak. during the day he says he is very dizzy.I started monitoring his sugars this week, all these sugar levels are at waking at 7 AM before he has eaten or drank.the first two days were 250 and 256, the next two were 189. This morning his sugars were 389. During the day they drop in the 30's to 70's.Today I asked the doctor to do a gluycose tolerance test as they were 389. he said no just blood glucose is fine, his sugars at 8 am were 389 but at 1000 am after two crackers with peanut butter because he said he was going to pass out were 65.how can they jump that fast so low?the doc of course called to say 65 is good just keep watching him....sorry to ramble but i am at a loss as what to do from here, the doc said just to continue monitoring him. Medical advice, information, opinions, data and statements contained herein are not necessarily those of the list moderators. The author of this e mail is entirely responsible for its content. List members are reminded of their responsibility to evaluate the content of the postings and consult with their physicians regarding changes in their own treatment.Personal attacks are not permitted on the list and anyone who sends one is automatically moderated or removed depending on the severity of the attack.

[Guest guest]

Alice,

we dont have a endocrinologist in northern Az and there is only one in Phoenix childrens and he is the one that saw him in the hospital and said to watch him.

I was told yesterday that the wait to get back in to see him is at least another two months.

[Guest guest]

Alice ,

thank you for the tips. I sure love that link you gave, there is alot I need to learn.

I have thought of trying the alpha lipoic acid, now is a good time.

I am pursuing the endo doc today.

[Guest guest]

,

If there is no endocrinologist in your area - and his blood sugars are over 300 - you might want to take him to the ER or Urgent Care when the sugar is up so high so they can see the reading.

One thing I just thought of that is important. When you are doing these blood sticks, are you getting a sufficient amount of blood on the strip? With children, that can be harder to do. There needs to be a reasonable pool of blood that covers the stick to get a proper reading. If it is not enough blood, it will read quite high. This is not to say that readings over 300 are not worth checking on but they may not be quite as high as you think.

He definitely needs to see someone. If the ped is no help - perhaps a new ped is in order? His readings need to be brought down. In the meantime, see what happens on a diet of proteins. Give him 6 small protein meals a day which should help but not correct this. You can include complex carbs in his diet but carbs turn to sugar and do make our sugar rise. My worst enemy is potatoes in any form. When you see his reading is very high, give him a nice chunk of cheese.

I know that getting the Mito Cocktail down kids is tough but Alpha Lipoic Acid is part of the Mito Cocktail and it is works to keep blood sugar in range. If he's not taking it..you might want to start this slowly and see if you notice a difference.

Two things are happening.. he's reading very high and then very low. We need to try to help him stop having these wild swings because those are what make you feel so bad and the very low ones can be much worse than the high ones.

Here's a couple of links that might help you.

http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/d_08_000.htm

Alice