For the last couple/few weeks I have noticed my 5 year old going to the bathroom a lot. So today I started tracking how often he was going. Within 3 hours he went to the bathroom 6 times, so he went every 15 to 50 minutes, usually both peeing and pooping. He has no discomfort of any kind and otherwise is perfectly normal. Any thoughts?
Went to the doc - no diabetes; other cultures come back monday, but so far looks pretty normal. The doc suggested the urgent need to pee could be caused by NutraSweet/Aspartame, which my son doesn't get a lot of, but he has gotten more as we have been drinking those little Crystal Light flavor packets you add to water (we take them with us when we are out and about on hot days) and in Jello and Pudding summertime treats. So we're going to cut all that out for the next few days and see what happens.
R.~ Please take him to the doctor ASAP!!! He could have diabetes!! My 14 year old daughter was diagnosed with type I diabetes when she was 4 years old. Peeing a lot is a classic system of it. It could be very dangerous if you don't know & his blood sugar levels all of a sudden drop too low or go too high!
If he's pooping that often, he needs to be tested for celiac disease. You might think he has no discomfort, BUT he may always have intestinal cramps when he has bowel movements and he just considers that normal. That's the way it was with my son when he was diagnosed with celiac at age 8. He was amazed after being on a GF diet for two months that he went to the bathroom and didn't even know he needed to have a BM and he said it didn't hurt. The pain had been normal for him, so he never considered mentioning it. I had similar experiences and recently had some repeat GI issues and had the cramps and they were quite painful. BUt, I realized that's what I dealt with daily before going GF.
You really shoudl take him to the pediatrician, as it's also possible he has a parasite - they'll need a stool sample for that and you could ask them about the celiac. However, most doctors are clueless about this (there's no drug to treat it yet - just a diet change). You can get tested on your own at: www.enterolab.com
He could also have an issue with dairy - dairy can also aggravate the bladder as well as contribute to frequent BMs. You can get tested for that at enterolab as well.
diabetes causes you to use the restroom a lot- he will also be really thirsty and have sweet smelling breath. It is very important you get him tested ASAP- my oldest sister has type1 diabetes since she was 7- she is now 38 and does well when she manages her condition properly.
If it is diabetes, he could go into coma or diabetic shock which could be fatal or severly damaging to his brain. I don' want to alarm you but this is a serious disease if not treated properly but with the right treatment he will be fine and live a mostly normal life- the treatments have come a long way in the past 30 years.
I hope that this is not something he has, but you need to be sure.
Good Luck and God Bless!
~C.
while i would certainly see your pedi ASAP, hold off on the panic button... yes, you need to rule out medical conditions such as diabetes, i honestly don't see that this would be celiac, very rarely does that present "suddenly"... also, don't waste your time and money seeing a ton of specialists(though if you suspect celiac, it's a GI, not an allergist, that you need to see) - your pedi can easily and quickly check sugar levels in your son's urine and/or blood to easily rule in/out diabetes and venture any other guesses as to what this might be. once diabetes is ruled out, and i hope it is, i would guess that what you are seeing is due to a few things. number one, it's summer time, it's hot out, kids are drinking more, causing them to urinate more. additionally, kids are typically moving around a lot more in the summer rather than sitting down at school all day, physical activity causes the bowels to move - so that could easily explain that as well. hope you find out that this is all just due to the summer routine!
Frequent urination can be a symptom of diabetes, so call your doctor and have his blood sugar checked right away. It is probably just a small, immature bladder, but you need to be sure.
That is one of the signs for diabetes. You might want to mention this to his dr., also does he drink alot also. You might want to have his suger levels checked.
R.,
Three thoughts come to mind: diabetes, allergies, or Celiac Disease. I really hope I am wrong, but that is my gut instinct. I would take your son to an endocrinologist (to test for diabetes), an allergist (to test for any and all allergies, and for Celiac Disease). Maybe you should ask your pediatrician what he/she thinks.
One more thing - if you are into alternative medicine (I very much am), I would recommend also taking your son to a chiropractor - Dr. Jennifer Dagnan (in Irving), specifically, because she specializes in NRT (nutrition response testing). She can help your son. Good luck!
