Not a UTI...

My daughter and my son BOTH have Type 1 diabetes, which is what people commonly refer to as "juvenile diabetes". Most people don't know this, but researchers for Type 1 diabetes are finding all the more that it's NOT hereditary. Apparently my family situation is a fluke. My husband is the FIRST in his family to have type 1 ( no one has type 2, but the two diseases are entirely different anyway), and both of my kids have it, even though the percentage rate for a person with Type 1 to have a child with Type 1 is only 4%-6%.

If you have not had your child tested for Type 1 and your daughter has been peeing alot, you MUST have her tested. Don't go on your family history! It doesn't even factor in, in this scenario.
Both of my kids had excessive urination and excessive thirst.

Another poster mentioned diabetes insipidus, which is an EXCELLENT point! D.I. is more common than people think and presents with frequent urination without the blood sugar problems of Type 1 diabetes. I would absolutely ask to have your daughter tested for Diabetes Insipidus.

Oh, and both of my kids were diagnosed without a fasting blood test. You don't need a fasting test for Type 1. But you do need a fasting test for Type 2, I believe. They should also test for ketones in her urine.
I hope your doctor is thorough in his or her testing. Much of the medical community is absolutely ignorant about Type 1 diabetes.

Good luck! I hope you find an answer soon!

*Edit, I went back and read the responses again and Angela S. also had a good point! Gluten sensitivity or celiac disease often will cause a host of problems, I am not shocked at all that it could cause frequent urination. You got some great responses. Now you are armed with a lot of info to discuss with your daughter's doctor!

5 moms found this helpful

First it does not matter that diabetes does not run in your family. It did not in
mine and guess what 19 YO with JD. Secondly, she would be drinking up a storm and probably at this point be really sick. The blood test is to rule
out. Better to be safe tha sorry. When she goes, does she go a lot or a
little. Maybe she is not emptying her bladder completely.

3 moms found this helpful

My son stopped doing that when we took him off gluten (substance found in most breads - i.e., wheat, rye & barley).

Teachers would mention it to me, and I took him to the ped a couple of times over it.

We do have alot of Type 1 diabetes in my family so I was petrified. It wasn't that though.

When my nephew developed Type 1 at age 6 he lost alot of weight, and drank constantly. He was also constantly hungry.

Good luck, hope you get this figured out.

2 moms found this helpful

Maybe diabetes insipidus?

2 moms found this helpful

Weak bladder?
Or over active bladder? or Incontinence?
Stress? stress can cause frequent urination too. Look it up online.

Did they look into this?

1 mom found this helpful

Maybe she just has a really sensitive bladder nerve or something, does she actually pee a lot when she goes or just a little?

1 mom found this helpful

my brother has juvenile diabetes, diagnosed when he was three. I asked my mom what clued her in and she said he was constantly thirsty and peeing non stop. He was also very irritable. I would consider an appt with a pediatric urologist to see if there is an issue with her bladder

1 mom found this helpful

He would definitely be more thirsty I would think. And a little more sick...my brother got it at age 8 and he became really sick. It doesn't run in our family either.

You should try a pediatric urologist. Inerstitial cystitis causes you to go all the time...I wouldn't think a child could have that but you never know.

1 mom found this helpful

Is is possible that she has a narrow urethra? My sister had that when she was younger and had minor surgery to widen the opening. She has had no problems ever since. I can remember her having to "go" all the time.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I had that problem as an adult. Turned out I had a stricture (kink) in my urethra. It took the urologist less than 5 minutes to correct. I never heard of a child having this but then again I do not know any other adults that have had it either. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Did they do a culture on the urine or just dip it? Sometimes stuff won;t show up on the quick test, but it might grow in the lab in a couple of days. If they didn't do a culture to see if anything grows, you might ask them to. Another thing could just be some irritation in her private area. That could be from soap, detergents, fabric, or just not wiping much.
When she goes potty, is it just a little trickle?

1 mom found this helpful

Also have her kidneys checked! I had the same thing happen to me as a child and I have bad kidney problems.

You have a lot of great reponses. Just a touch on UTIs. I used to get them all the time while in college. (stress?) Most of the time my tests came back negative but I was put on antiboitics which never worked anyway. I took cranberry pills at high doses for a year and went the whole year without a UTI, so I stopped taking the pills. No UTIs since, so its has been 6 years and two kids later with no UTI. I fully belive the cranberry pills got my body back in balance (antibiotics could never do). You could try giving 2 or 3 to your daughter, you could even buy organic ones if you think she would be sensitive. Cranbeery juice will not work, not concentrated enough. If I get very dehyrated I feel that UTI urge starting but drink atleast 20oz of water and it goes away. I might just be very sensitive to bacteria? I believe the cranberry pills would do no harm. When our dog was a puppy she also had frequent UTIs and I gave the pills to her and she is also UTI free,
Again, your daughter may not have a UTI problem but just wanted to give you other options if all other tests are also negative.

I didn't read the rest of the answers but have her tested for strep. This happened to my son and the doctor happened to test him for strep and he was positive. No fever, no sore throat - none of what you think are typical strep symptoms. Apparently sometimes it settles in the kidneys and the results are alot of peeing.

I have gluten intolerance and I have to pee all the time. It doesn't make a difference if I drink a lot of liquids or barely any at all... I even get up during the night to pee. My daughter, on the other hand, rarely pees but has an overactive bladder so she "thinks" she always needs to go. She also has gluten intolerance. I was told that just having gluten intolerance puts one at risk for maybe developing Celiac down the road. Even testing negative for the Celiac gene, I've been told, doesn't mean I can't end up with Celiac.

But yeah, having issues with food like food intolerances can affect the urinary tract. I'm not positive my issues stem solely from gluten; I also have soy intolerance, casein allergy, and about 20 other food intolerances, so it could be from any one food--or it could be from all of them.

Also, if your body has a systemic (all-over body) candida infection, that can also affect the urinary tract and cause one to have to pee all the time. (Had that issue as well. Using vaginitis homeopathy medicine, which is making the candida go away AND I don't have to pee as much as I used to).

I also know if your calcium/potassium/magnesium/chlorine--whatever is in this specific lab panel--if these minerals are off in your body, they can also affect how often you need to go to the bathroom.

I would think if you were looking at diabetes, she would have tremendous thirst as well.

Really, there are so many different reasons why a person pees a lot, it's hard to say. I know she's young, but does she drink brown sodas or teas that would have caffeine in them? Drinking a lot of caffeine will make you have to pee, beause caffeine is a diuretic.

My child, who is younger than yours was peeing all the time. UA was negative as well. Come to find out, the best friend in school gets frequent UTI's and my child was likely imitating.

I actually just had a conversation with my doctor the other day about similar symptoms. I feel like I have a UTI (constant feeling like I need to use the bathroom) but nothing showed up on the rapid test or the culture. She suspects it is an irritated bladder, which can be caused by certain foods. If not addressed, it could lead to a condition called interstitial cystitis, which could need meds to correct. For now she gave me a list of foods that are ok to eat and ones that I should try to avoid or eat in great moderation. My doctor told me that if I truly had a UTI, I would be much sicker after the length of time (I've had this feeling for a couple weeks). I would have kidney problems, high fever, and probably be hospitalized. Since I'm not sick like that, it's not a UTI. Good luck and hope you can figure out what's going on!