calling Dr. Hive, peds division - blood sugar problem (?) in kid - SOLVED

[EmilyGF]

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out if what I'm seeing is a problem I need to go to the doctor for or within the range of normal.

Twice in the last week, ds8 (100 lbs, the size of a 12-year-old) has had total meltdowns that were solved when he ate either a few crackers or a banana. 

The meltdowns were extreme and abnormal. Both involved crying, lying on the floor, and saying that his stomach hurt. Both involved having been busy so that we skipped a meal and he had gone 6 hours without eating mid-day. 

We usually are a very regimented family. We eat breakfast at 7, lunch at 11:30, snack at 3, and dinner at 6. One day, dinner was at 9. Yesterday he took a nap and skipped snack. He woke up crying. I took a walk, thinking he would snap out of it, but instead he was still lying on the stairs, with tears on his face, when I got home. and asked if he wanted to play outside with a friend. He said no (an alarm!). Then I told him to eat a banana. Afterwards he felt fine.

I first thought juvenile diabetes, but I have not noticed him drinking a lot and he is certainly not thin. We generally eat balanced meals, though the kids are working their way through a Halloween candy dump from the neighbors.

ETA: Thanks to everyone who gave stories/advice! 

Emily

Edited November 12, 2020 by EmilyGF

[busymama7]

7 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out if what I'm seeing is a problem I need to go to the doctor for or within the range of normal.

Twice in the last week, ds8 (100 lbs, the size of a 12-year-old) has had total meltdowns that were solved when he ate either a few crackers or a banana. 

The meltdowns were extreme and abnormal. Both involved crying, lying on the floor, and saying that his stomach hurt. Both involved having been busy so that we skipped a meal and he had gone 6 hours without eating mid-day. 

We usually are a very regimented family. We eat breakfast at 7, lunch at 11:30, snack at 3, and dinner at 6. One day, dinner was at 9. Yesterday he took a nap and skipped snack. He woke up crying. I took a walk, thinking he would snap out of it, but instead he was still lying on the stairs, with tears on his face, when I got home. and asked if he wanted to play outside with a friend. He said no (an alarm!). Then I told him to eat a banana. Afterwards he felt fine.

I first thought juvenile diabetes, but I have not noticed him drinking a lot and he is certainly not thin. We generally eat balanced meals, though the kids are working their way through a Halloween candy dump from the neighbors.

Emily

We went through this exact experience with one of our sons.  It was low blood sugar related.   My husband also has hypoglycemia. 

The Halloween candy is probably causing a rebound effect so try to anchor it with protein and keep him eating on schedule.  Next time it begins just feed him asap.   It could be diabetes so a trip to the ped is also good idea.  But my experience is that that is classic hypoglycemia signs.  

[Katy]

Yes, this is hypoglycemia. He may not even be having low blood sugar if you measured it, but if he’s used to it being high and skips a meal, his insulin levels might be so high it’s hard for him to switch into fat burning mode. This isn’t the same thing as someone with diabetes who injected too much insulin and now has dangerously low blood sugar, but it looks similar. It isn’t as dangerous though if he isn’t very thin. 
 

It’s a sign he needs less sugar & junk food and more lean protein, fruits, and vegetables. I wouldn’t put him on a diet or count calories without a nutritionist being involved at his age. It would be too easy to get protein into dangerously low levels without monitoring and it probably wouldn’t be good for him psychologically either. I’d just choose cleaner food options and make them unlimited unless a doctor expressed he needed a nutritionist visit. 

[EmilyGF]

OK, this makes sense. My grandmother, whom I was very close to, had issues with hypoglycemia, so I am familiar with it. Thanks!

[freesia]

Both my boys had that problem starting at puberty. I never thought of it as a medical issue. I just thought of it as a growing boy who isn’t feeding himself as much as he needs. Particularly with my oldest, I needed to keep an eye on whether he ate regularly and kept protein bars he liked for times he started to melt down. 

[Pen]

My son has hypoglycemic tendencies. He used to keep nuts in a baggy in his pocket for frequent small snacking during day. He needed to eat /snack more often than even your regular schedule.

[gardenmom5]

I would bring it up with your dr.  Make sure he's getting enough protein (takes longer to digest), and not eating added sugar or too many carbs (spikes blood sugar).

[EKS]

3 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Make sure he's getting enough protein (takes longer to digest), and not eating added sugar or too many carbs (spikes blood sugar).

Also enough fat. 

We had this with both of our kids.

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, EKS said:

Also enough fat. 

We had this with both of our kids.

I think one of the worst pieces of dietary advice was to cut out fat.  (made worse that all those "low fat" items are often loaded with sugar.)

Then I found out that boy babies need 3Xs the amount of essential fats - starting in UTERO!  it's considered a risk factor for inadequate functioning of the corpus callosum.  One form of CAPD.  (with many overlapping traits with ASD, and ADD)

Edited November 12, 2020 by gardenmom5

[EKS]

57 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

I think one of the worst pieces of dietary advice was to cut out fat.

Yup.  Agreed 1000%.  I think it is a major contributor to the obesity and diabetes epidemics.

[EmilyGF]

Well, I know all about upping lean protein, as I lost 30 lbs on WW a few years back. I've slipped in a lot of my habits (thanks, depression last year and pandemic shopping), but as this is the kid most likely to eat junk food when we have it in the house, this is good motivation to work on those good habits again.

Yes, I understand about nourishing fat! 

It is interesting, though. I think ds8 just has a different set of genetics than his siblings. He's literally as tall as dd12 and weighs about 25 lbs more. 

I'll see about getting him into the doctor later this year, as this seems to have happened suddenly. 

Emily

[sassenach]

This is entirely normal in my world. If I have a ragey or crying boy, I feed them. I doubt it’s diabetes related but BGL is easy to check. 
 

Diabetes symptoms: excessive thirst and/or urination, sweet smelling urine and/or breath, lethargy, weight loss

[gardenmom5]

14 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

 

It is interesting, though. I think ds8 just has a different set of genetics than his siblings. He's literally as tall as dd12 and weighs about 25 lbs more. 

I'll see about getting him into the doctor later this year, as this seems to have happened suddenly. 

Emily

I have four adults, they have two body types.  stocky (one is short one is tall), or tall & lean.  (for the lean ones, it's not what they eat.  They're both over 30)

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, sassenach said:

This is entirely normal in my world. If I have a ragey or crying boy, I feed them. I doubt it’s diabetes related but BGL is easy to check. 
 

Diabetes symptoms: excessive thirst and/or urination, sweet smelling urine and/or breath, lethargy, weight loss

Yup, normal here. especially if he has been munching on candy - that spikes that glucose so when it crashes they feel even worse. 

I had a kid that was basically non communicative if he didn't get fed regularly. And all of them have had melt downs from low blood sugar. What sucks is that when your BG is that low, you often feel nauseas so don't want to eat. I usually have to sneak some juice or something into them first, then get them to eat something more substantial when they feel human again. 

As they get older it gets better, but we all get "hangry' in this house. And yes, it can be sudden. I'm fine, I'm fine, we can wait on dinner a bit, I'm fine....GRRRRRRR!!!! I WILL EAT YOUR FACE!!!

Happens like that. 

Then a snack and we are nice again 🙂

[Jaybee]

Two of my six were like this. I learned with one dd, as a toddler, to give her a snack immediately upon waking from her nap. If I didn't, I paid for it. She still, as an adult, needs to snack fairly often. Interestingly, her identical twin could go much longer between food intakes, and still can. And one ds was similar, but not quite as bad. The other kids never needed snacks too much.

[SanDiegoMom]

Thanks to this board's advice I have my son eating much more protein and fewer sugary snacks... and usually every two hours.  So eggs in the morning (sometimes granola but not every day), then a small bowl of cashews at 10, a yogurt at 11, lunch at 1, Dinner at 5, sometimes more cashews or another yogurt after that.  It has helped SO MUCH.  He is 14 and was having overwhelming anxiety, lots of anger and sadness, and now those are both very rare.