Question:
My daughter is 18 months. She drinks anywhere from 90-120 ounces of fluids
a day, wets at least 8 diapers a day, is constantly irritable (no
exaggeration), constantly tired, goes to bed between 6:30 pm and 7:00pm
and has to be woken the next morning or she would sleep as long as you
let her, then still takes a 2-1/2 hour nap in the middle of the day. She
weighs 32 lbs. Is she at risk for diabetes? The only thing she isn't doing
is losing weight.
Answer:
Your daughter weighs about four pounds over the 95th percentile for her
age and her fluid intake at 6-8oz/kg body weight/day is unusually high.
Probably this just reflects too high a calorie intake. However I think
you need to discuss this with the team at the well child clinic that she
goes to, who should have her developmental records since birth. If she has
not been going to such a clinic, you should discuss the situation with a
pediatrician. There are a few very rare conditions that might cause a
picture like this and it would reassure you to have them excluded.
As to having Type 1 diabetes, this is very unlikely indeed. For one thing,
infants in this high weight range are known to have excess islet tissue if
anything. When you go to the clinic they should be able to test her urine
for sugar and may perhaps be able to do a finger prick blood sugar. Unless
there is a clear history in the immediate family of
Type 1 diabetes, I would not advise going to the trouble and expense of more
elaborate tests unless the simple ones should be positive.
DO'B
Original posting 25 Oct 96
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