My daughter has been having intermittent hyperglycemic episodes over the past 4 months. She is 4 and small (not overweight). The doctor did a fasting insulin test and a glucose tolerance test. She actually did well on the gtt--80 fasting and 82 after 2 hours.
HOWEVER, she has had over 7 postprandial bg numbers over 200 at home in the past 2 weeks. She always comes back down on her own eventually. Her high blood glucose really appears to come and go. Some days good and other days she can go really high.
Her fasting insulin, however, was 1.4, and that seems very low to me. The nurse said normal was 1.7 to 22 and online it indicates that 5-20 is typical. The doctor said that only high numbers matter and a high number would indicate insulin resistance. Since it was low and out of the normal range he was unconcerned. Is it true that the low level means nothing? Even in light of her erratically high blood glucose numbers? Wouldn't low insulin also be an indication of a problem?
2007-03-06 04:54:53 · 4 answers · asked by Stacy R 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Diabetes
I seem to not be explaining myself very well. She does NOT have low blood sugars. She has HIGH blood sugars and LOW insulin. The day she took the gtt she did OK and her high blood sugars did not show up. BUT, she did have a low insulin level.
2007-03-06 07:45:48 · update #1
We have been testing because 4 months ago, she was super thirsty and unusually tired. We checked her urine and it had sugar and ketones. Her bg then was 249 and we suspected diabetes. It came down on its own, though, so we have been monitoring it. It can go as high as 285 and it does not always come down within 2 hours. Sometimes it takes as many as 4 or 5 hours to come down to 100 or so. That is why we have been doing the additional testing.
2007-03-07 01:10:51 · update #2
You are right to be concerned about your daughter's health. It sounds like something in her metabolism/digestion is off whack. Your daughter's low blood sugar is an issue in the sense that it means that her pancreas is putting out too much insulin causing a low. If you are not seeing an endocrinologist already then I highly recommend it. One other suggestion is to have her tested for vitamin deficiencies and specifically a chromium deficiency. Chromium is important for metabolic function. You are very wise to be on top of your daughter's health and to be her advocate. She's a lucky girl.
2007-03-06 05:18:49 · answer #1 · answered by Susan G 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How long after meals are you testing her sugars with high results? Even in non-diabetics, the glucose levels can be up around 200 if it's less than 2 hours after eating, especially if she eats a lot of simple carbs.
Unless her sugars are still high after 2 hours, it doesn't seem like she's insulin resistant. Especially considering her insulin levels are low, not high.
Being so young, the body can handle having elevated blood sugars much better than an adult. She may be storing glucose a little longer than what is "typical", but the best way to get rid of it is with physical activity. Maybe an hour after meals would be a great time for playtime!
Why have you been testing her sugars anyway? Did her doctor ask you to because of the results of the insulin test? Why was the insulin test done in the first place?
2007-03-06 21:00:34 · answer #2 · answered by Kris 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Possibly the opposite called hypglycemia. That is where the blood glucose levels falls to a dangerously low level and if it goes too low a person can die.
2007-03-06 05:02:17 · answer #3 · answered by lremmell64 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
both Iremme and Susan are correct..
what you seem to be describing is "REACTIVE HYPOGLYCEMIA"
dangerously low blood sugar and high insulin levels.
do frequent the endocrinologist, and possibly they will put her on
medication to stabalize her symptoms.
2007-03-06 07:22:41 · answer #4 · answered by isageegee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋