What's going on with my daughter?

Question

My daughter is scheduled to see the doctor tomorrow but I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what might be going on with her...

She has always been pretty picky and stubborn about eating and, sometimes, no matter what you put in front of her, she'll refuse to eat it. She has on several occassions in the past refused to eat her dinner (whether she had a choice in what to eat or not) and gone to bed later that night only to wake up at some ridiculous hour of the morning screaming and hollering and shaking because she was hungry.

This week it's been a different issue. There have been several times when she's eaten her meal just fine yet two or three hours later she'll tell me she doesn't feel well and I'll notice that she's very shaky. This happened very suddenly today (about three hours after lunch) where she was fine and bouncy one minute, pale and shaky the next and complaining of stomach pain (non-hunger related.) I gave her some crackers and juice and she was okay...

...within a few minutes.

What could be going on with her? She's not faking it, that much I can tell. I've wondered if she could be diabetic because this kind of thing happens to my husband when his blood sugar drops too low and he's diabetic...however, he's type 2. Could she be hypoglycemic at 5? What could be going on here?

Mayra, vomitting is not an issue here.

My daughter's weight & height is average for her age; there hasn't been a tremendous shift in her weight or anything like that.

Answer 1

Girl, she most definitely does NOT have a tapeworm.

Sounds like MODY, or Maturity-Onset Diabetes of Youth. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by the total or partial deficiency of the hormone insulin. While there is no strong evidence that Diabetes is inhereted, heredity is unquestionably a promenent factor, and you stated that your husband has problems with unstable blood sugar levels.

As you may know, insulin is needed to support the metabolism of carbs, fats, and proteins. There are 2 types of Diabetes Mellitus (DM). One type where the pancreas does not make any insulin, or insufficient amounts of insulin, OR, the pancreas does make inusulin, however there are no recepters on the blood cells for the insulin, so the insulin can not work.

Whatever is going on with your daughter, do not expect a definitive diagnosis tomorrow. There are several tests that she will have to go through to determine what exactly is going on. Children who should be considered as possible diabetic are 1-those who have sugar in the urine (gylycosuria), frequent urination (polyuria) and history of weight loss or failure to gain despite a hearty appetite (which it does not sound like she has). However, consider this..... these are some of the signs of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) irritable, nervous, weepy, shaking, hunger, headache dissiness, pallor, and sweating.
If she is waking in the night with these symptoms, and she did not eat any dinner, it is possible that whatever insulin her pancreas was making ate up all her available sugar. The onset of hypoglycemia is rapid.
I am not a doctor, and you should only take this type of advise from your doctor.
One more thing.... crakers and juice are a perfect combination to get blood sugar levels back up. The juice will rise them quickly because it metabolizes quickly. the Crackers (or any other type of carbohydrate) take longer to digest and will prevent her from crashing. Try giving her small frequent meals rather than 3 large meals, and good luck and God Bless.

Answer 2

I think it could be diabetes as the symptoms usually are hunger, thirst, shakiness, weakness, moodiness, tiredness, which are all symptoms you're describing. When she becomes shakey, she's having a hypo which is remedied by the food and drink. It's not being helped by the fact that she's a picky eater so isn't eating enough and on time. Her father might have Type II diabetes but perhaps she has Type I, which presents at a young age.

The doctor will probably do her blood sugars tomorrow although if her father has a kit then maybe you could do one pre and post meal to give the doctor a better idea of what's going on. It could also be some sort of metabolic problem so if the blood sugars check out, push for blood tests because you do need to get to the bottom of this.

Answer 3

I'm not a doctor, but it definetly sound likes something along the lines of diabetes or hypoglycemia. More or less the diabetes with the fine and bouncy and then pale and shaky. Sounds like a sugar crash, which it probably why when you gave her juice it helped. I know several diabetics and they usually eat 6 times a day, small meals or snacks to keep their sugar levels in check.

Answer 4

You didn't say how old she is. The first thing that went through my brain was an eating disorder. Next I thought of diabetic (insulin problems, high blood sugar) or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

If she is just picky she might be using eating as a power thing between herself and you. I am glad you are taking her to the doctor. If she has any extreem symptoms I would call your doctor or get her to the closest Urgent Care or ER

Answer 5

Seek Professional Assistance immediately. She could have a more serious condition than being a finicky eater she could have a problem with low iron, be anemic or even diabetic, healthy kids can generally skip a single meal and not start shaking, the shaking is low blood sugar and can cause coma, or even worse, death.

Answer 6

this exact same thing happened to my little sister! exactly. shes soo picky about what she eats and she would refuse to eat her food soemtimes even all 3 meals... she was 7 when this started happening... it turned out that she did have diabeties and now shes fine. so just wait for the doctor to tell you what to do next and stop thinking about it because it will only worry you more and at this point theres nothing much you can do but mabey keep giving her juice and crackers when this happens... good luck to you and your daughter =]

Answer 7

Ask the doctor if she might have diabetes or a mild low blood sugar disorder. They can give her a few different tests to see how her body processes food and sugar to rule that out.

Answer 8

if you're this worried, maybe try the ER? or a walk-in clinic? I don't know but try to let her eat soft foods for now until she can digest the food properly with no problem. Also, check if she has a fever, she might've just suffered through a stomach virus. Good luck

Answer 9

wow.... sorry to say this..... but she might be anorexic. I have a friend who goes through the same thing. She'll be fine one moment, and then the next moment become ill. She'll also starve herself, even when her favorite meal is made. Your daughters body is going in shock because its not getting the proper nutrition........ She either has a stomach virus that makes her want to not eat, or it might be a an anorexic related issue.

Answer 10

The doctor is one of the best people to help with this situation. But to handle it best try eating ALL organic food- no additives, artificial, etc. This way, if it's something can-made that has preservatives that causes this reaction, then your in the clear.