My four year old son is always thirsty. Up until about 1-2 months ago he would get up maybe once at night to go to the bathroom. However, recently he is wetting the bed, sometimes soaking it other times just his underwear is wet. Tonight he didn't even want to eat that much just wanted to drink lots of liquids. I talked to my doctor's office and we are going in for some blood work most importantly to rule out diabetes.
Does any one else have this problem with their child being so thirsty?
Thank you so much for your responses. Unfortunately he was diagnosed with diabetes. It is like a whirlwind right now learning all the information about it and especially learning what he can and cannot eat. We went to children's in Boston Thursday night after my doctor called to say his sugars were elevated ( I took him to get his blood drawn first thing Thursday AM). He will be in there until today or tomorrow. I came home for the night to get some sleep while my husband stayed with him. I am so happy I acted on my suspicions and caught this somewhat early. The doctors in the ER said they see kids in much worse shape than my Collin was.
Thanks again for your responses. P.
What is he drinking? If he is drinking sugary juices and sodas, that will just add to his thirst. Does he drink water? His body may need to quench the thirst from water rather than other drinks. Try and limit them after dinner to prevent the bed wetting. You are very smart to check w/ the Dr and have some blood tests too. I hope everything turns out fine for the little guy!!
Best of Luck
I had this problem with my son too. I had to have him tested for diabetes. He came up negative, but my doctor suggested that I have him tested due to his thirst all the time. My son had to be taught that he could not drink after a certain time before bed. He was only thirsty all the time in my son's case because it became a habit to drink all the time. I hope this helps.
Hello P.
Good to see you doctor about that much drinking it's not normal, I wish you luck on that I hope you can get him to eat, count his bite that what I uses to do with my kids,tell him to try 5 bite,and maybe he'll be satisfied to try, also maybe you can give him so ensure if he doesn't want to eat that much, he must be under weigh, put his ensure in a glass.
GOOD LUCK
P.,
Is your son thirsty for water? Or his he drinking juice? There is definitely a reason your son is so thirsty. But it's actually a good thing. Sometimes we can become so dehydrated that we lose the ability to feel thirsty. We should all be drinking at least 1 liter of plain water for every 30lbs of body weight. Is your son consuming a lot of sugars from fruit, dairy, sweets, breads, etc? Is he drinking a lot of water in the beginning of the day or just the end?
At least one good thing is that by drinking so much water your son is eliminating toxins. His body is probably doing this to compensate for an imbalance and eliminate excess toxins. Have you actually calculated how much he is drinking?
I am a Nutritional Microscopist, someone who studies the body at a cellular leve. I do what is called a live blood analysis (just a finger prick) and look under my microscope to see what imbalances are going on in the body. For example, someone who is having sugar handling problems will have a lot of yeast in their blood. I then work with people using diet and lifestyle changes to deal with symptoms.
There are a lot of questions to sort through to determine what is going on. I also have a diabetes screening in my office. It is a Hemoglobin A1C machine.
Best of luck,
K. Acton
Certified Nutritional Microscopist
Cape Microscopy
###-###-####
____@____.com
Hi P.,
I do not want to scare you but it sounds to me like it very well could be diabetes and you should not wait for an appointment at the doctor. They should see your son immediately! If you look up the signs of diabetic ketoacidosis online, you will see that it is a very serious side effect of untreated diabetes and needs to be treated as soon as possible. The fact that your son is always thirsty and has increased his urinating are tell tale signs. Another sign of ketoacidosis is "sweet" smelling breath or breath that smells like acetone (finger nail polish remover).
My son, Brett, had these symptoms at age 10. I ignored them for a while figuring he was just thirsty because it was hot outside and he was playing baseball etc. I waited too long and he ended up in the intensive care unit at the hospital. He is fine now...almost nine years later! His identical twin was diagnosed with diabetes a year later, on my birthday. Of course, by that time, we knew the symptoms very well and he never got sick like Brett did.
If you haven't done so yet, please, please take your son to the doctor. All it takes is a quick blood test to see if it is diabetes. If not, wonderful, but if it IS diabetes, the sooner you get him treatment, the better off he will be.
Please let me know how it all turns out. I hope it is nothing.
K.
My daughter had very similar symptoms.
She started out being very thirsty ALL the time. Then she would be sick.
She would seem to get better for a few months then relapse.
After browsing the web for a long time after she became sick again, I noticed a trend regarding Type 1 Diabetes and increased thirst.
I took her to her pediatrician and inquired as to he thought Type 1 could be a possibility and he dismissed my concerns and said she looked like she nay be getting a throat infection (she'd been vomiting!).
One week later she started vomiting and could not stop. I took her to the ER where they found her blood sugar to be 964 (normal is 80-120 and coma is possible over 600)! Type 1 was confirmed immediately.
PLEASE if your child is displaying these symptoms INSIST your doctor does a glucose test. You can also buy a Relion glucose meter and test strips for $25 at Walmart. No prescription is necessary!
You need only the meter, strips, alcohol wipes, and a little finger lancet to draw a small drop of blood. Remember that 80-120 is a normal sugar (very slightly higher after a meal is normal), anything over 200... go to the doctor! I wish every day I had known how easily I could have just checked her myself and helped her sooner.
SymptomsBy Mayo Clinic Staff
Type 1 diabetes signs and symptoms can come on quickly and may include:
Increased thirstFrequent urinationBedwetting in children who previously didn't wet the bed during the nightExtreme hungerUnintended weight lossIrritability and other mood changesFatigue and weaknessBlurred visionIn females, a vaginal yeast infection
http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Prime-Blood-Glucose-M...
http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Prime-Blood-Glucose-T...
Hi P.!
My 2 1/2 year old is consatantly asking for or actually drinking something.I had her tested as well for diabetes a year ago and she came back o.k. I try cut back on the frequency and just give her a big drink at certain times of the day-she too will give up eating for her drink.My advice is just you is just to be more aware of when and how much and
not to offer him a drink with his meal until he has eaten a good portion.Good Luck!
Don't jump to the negative. My littlest brother had a similar issue. We got hime tested for everything we and his doctor could think of. It ended upjust being the simple fact that his bladder wasn't growing as fast as his liver and kidneys. It isn't a serious problem and almost all kids with this abnormality grow out of it before they turn 8. How active is your son during the day?
