Fasting Blood Glucose Level in Almost 4-Year Old - HELP

I agree with angiOplasty. Hope I spelled that correctly. I've been prediabetic and tested at specific intervals. For me anything less than 130 or so was OK. Dr. Said cell damage ocurrs when number is 250 or higher over time. If you're concerned about safety your son's number is OK. Remember that waking up hungry is common and no cause for concern.

When I was testing, being hungry or not was not indicative of high or low blood sugar readings. The doctor had me take readings at specific times: before eating a meal and at least 2-3 hours after eating a meal or a snack. I took readings at other times to answer my own curiosity.

By the way, this was not a fasting blood sugar level. Fasting is not eating for 12-24 hours depending on the reason for the test.

Was that his blood sugar before his snack or immediately after?

If immediately after, it's probably fine.

If before, it's slightly elevated. Most pedi docs I know like to keep kids blood sugar 90-110.

It's important to test at the right time. Immediately before eating, or 1 hour or 2 hours post eating. If you're going to test during your wait for the endo appointment, be sure to keep a log & note if the reading was pre or post meal (and how long post meal).

I'm a very experienced mom of 2 kids with Type 1 Diabetes. I'm sorry your peds endo didn't give you more specific instructions or a number to call after hours to answer your questions. How stressful!

I am assuming you are testing for hypoglycemia and not for Type 1 Diabetes, since testing for diabetes doesn't involve home monitoring.

Your son's number sounds fine. Blood glucose numbers vary widely per person, especially for kids. Did he eat supper? If he did, I wouldn't consider that a fasting BG number. A post meal number is the most accurate 2-3 hours after eating. Call the endo as soon as their office opens for peace of mind!

Something that your doctor won't tell you........most likely wouldn't even KNOW is that home blood glucose testing can be terribly inaccurate. Your son's BG probably wasn't even 126. Blood glucose meters have a 20-40% inaccuracy range depending on the brand.

Most pediatric offices have a nurse on call (24/7) to answer questions on blood sugar levels. Call the office number and see if you can leave a message to be called back or if it tells you to call a different number. If the doctor just wants you to test blood sugar at different times, then he/she is trying to look for some patterns. Record the time you took the blood sugar and that he awoke crying and wanting a snack. Indicate what time he eat dinner and what he ate. On most charts, Clinical hypoglycemia for adults is a blood sugar less than 70 mg/dL. I am not positive what range the doctor would recommend for your child. However someone may experience hypoglycemic systems when they experience a big drop in blood sugar rapidly. Unless he is scheduled for a fasting blood sugar in the morning, you should probably give him a snack. If you don't call the office tonight, call them first thing in the morning. Find out who the CDE (certified diabetes educator) and the office protocol for odd hours.

I'd call the dr. Surely they have someone who answers calls at night who could answer your question. If not, I'd try again first thing in the morning.

Sunshine is definitely an expert on this, so listen to her advice :)

My husband is Type 1, and one thing I have learned in 16 years with him is that there are DOZENS of factors that impact blood sugar. A single reading at 126 for fasting is slightly high...80-120 is usually considered "normal." The monitors are definitely not perfect, first. My husband had a reading of 13 once when he was perfectly coherent and no other low blood sugar symptoms. 13 is pretty much in the death range for blood sugar. So I know for a fact they can be off! Using an older strip, not getting enough blood on the strip, getting a bubble in the testing area, and lots of other things can cause a reading to be off.
Assuming the test was accurate, there are a lot of reasons why his blood suagr could be slightly elevated even while resting. If he got a lot of excerise before bed, his body could still be burning fat, converting it to sugar, raising the level. Happens to my hubby after the gym. If he is growing or sick or stressed, these things all impact the endocrine system in different ways and can cause changes in sugar in different ways for different individuals. Bottom line, this one test is no reason to panic.

But I also want to be sure that you know if he is diagnosed with Type 1, that is not the end of the world. I know it is an incredible amount of work for a parent, but those kids can grow up to have pretty much any life that they work for. I know Type 1 people who are doctors, police officers, teachers, even one who ran the Iron Man triathalon.

Whatever your son's health issues may be, I hope you find answers and helpful treatment soon!!

You can help his blood sugar levels by taking sugar and refined flour/products out of his diet and watching how much fruit juice as well as fruit he eats; basically, cut back on the amount of sugar he eats. Really read food labels and look at how much sugar is in the food he eats. You will be very, very surprised.

You also need to watch the amount of carbohydrates he eats--carbs break down into sugar by the body. So even if you keep him away from eating a lot of sugar--ALL kinds of sugar--if he eats a ton of carbs he is still hurting himself because those carbs are breaking down into sugar, which is what you're trying to stay away from.

Dairy/cow products do the same thing. Switching to nut milks or goat or sheep products are better choices.

If he's fasting for a blood sugar test in the morning he should have specific instructions. If he is not fasting for a blood test in the morning I'd feed him.

As for the rest of the time, if you're still trying to find out if he has blood sugar issues, I'd make sure he eats a small meal at least every 3 hours. If he is diabetic he needs a consistent diet of healthy foods.

Please don't mistake my term, healthy foods, for salad and a vegetarian diet. I'm not saying that in any way. If he doesn't like the food he won't eat it and then he'll be worse off.

So you have to find foods he will eat and that won't push his blood sugar around too much. Eating a lower carb diet is often a good way to keep his blood sugar more stable too. BUT please make sure you do your own research.

Every "professional" will tell you a different story and say the same foods the other one said are bad, they'll say they're the only ones he can eat.

I like to give the kids a high protein snack when they come in from school. It tides them over until dinner. I don't do a lot of carbs but I did research on foods and carbs so I'd be sure what I was doing was good.

I also do NOT ever do any sugar free at all. They all say "It's good to use, it's not a bad chemical or it's natural" but over the long term there is always something wrong with them that hurt the people who eats them.

So we only use real sugar and real butter. I don't do fat free either. I got diarrhea for a week when I went fat free on some foods. I think that Gar Gum or something like that just slides through our bodies like slime and comes out the same way....

If he has blood sugar issues either way his diet will be crucial in the treatment of it. Please do your own research and decide what fits your family best. Listening to other people who don't know you and your lifestyle will only make this more frustrating for you.