My daughter is 5 years old. I'll give you a little history of her bladder issues before I ask the question. She was the most difficult to potty train, with it happening after her 4th birthday. Then, since being potty trained, she has small wet spots from barely going in her pants...pretty much all the time. I just chalked it up to weak bladder and pelvic muscles. She also wets the bed every night, but that is probably inherited from me (I wet the bed until junior high and my 7-yr-old son struggles with it as well).
Now, for the issues we're having now. Just in the past 2-3 weeks, she has to pee constantly...every 15-30 minutes sometimes. And she wets the bed through her pull-up and all over her bed, soaking into her mattress pad, pillow, blankets, every single night right now. I had also noticed her wanting to snuggle up in a blanket and lay around in the floor a lot, not sleepy, just lazy. It's not terribly unusual for her, just much more often lately. Then she is eating like crazy...and had leg aches the other day. So I could blame the eating, laziness and aches on growing pains, maybe. But what about the insane amount of pee?!?! Is that common to growth spurts? She's always had bladder issues, so maybe it's just more of the same. I don't know.
I am usually not a worry wort at all, when it comes to my children's health. We rarely go to the doctor or take meds for anything. I'm one of those, "let it run it's course, it's just kid stuff, no need to worry" types. But this one is just nagging me. The legs aches and laziness had me freaking out at the thought of leukemia or something!!! But I relaxed, and she didn't complain of any more aches. But then I started worrying that her lack of bladder control could be something more than just "kid stuff, no need to worry."
Any ideas, suggestions. I should probably just take her to the doctor, but I like to have some information before I do that. Sounds crazy, I know...docs are where we get info. But I get lots of good info here too, and I like to be fully armed with info. Anything?!?!
Thanks,
C.
I would just like to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! For those of you who came on here with sincere advice to help and encourage me, I can't thank you enough. As soon as I got all of these responses, I knew that my feelings were more than just paranoia. I made an appointment with my pediatrician, and before we could even get there that same day, my daughter started throwing up and running a low grade fever. I ran to the store and bought the over-the-counter UTI test and a diabetic testing kit to do a little detective work myself, since it was another 2 hours until our appointment, and I was very worried to sit still. Sure enough...my little angel's blood sugar was 316. We went straight in, landed in the ER, were transferred to Texas Children's pediatric ICU, where we stayed for 2 days until things began to level out. Then we were put in a regular room and started the process of dealing with our newfound case of type 1 diabetes. We just got home last night, 5 days later, and are so thankful that we know what we know and can continue this process.
In all honesty, she might have gotten worse before I would have ever found out she had diabetes. I can tell from a few of the responses that some of you felt that these were very obvious symptoms, and that I had been sitting on my suspicions for a long time without acting. I just want to be sure everyone realizes how vague all of these things can seem to a person who is not familiar with diabetes. By the time I wrapped it all up in a nice little package for you all to read, it probably did sound very alarming to some of you. But these were all such mild, inconsistent, and unassuming little suspicions that all could have easily been explained away by simple childhood "phases," and some of them seemed so unrelated. The moment I started putting them together and feeling a bit concerned was the moment I posted on here. This just seemed like a good place to confirm my suspicions, and it absolutely was!!! By the time she became really sick, I still thought those new symptoms of vomiting and fever were unrelated to the other symptoms. I'm not sure that I would have packaged it all up for the doctor well enough for them to even think anything other than virus or stomach bug. Without checking her blood or urine (which is not always routine at the doctor’s office), we may not have found out right away. But because of you wonderful people, I was able to go in with information to get our doctor moving in the right direction immediately. I never, in a million years, would have ever known any of this pointed to diabetes, if I had not received all of these great responses. I had no idea. So some of you may think I'm an idiot, and some of you seem to think I'm a lousy mother. Thankfully, I know enough to feel confident that I did exactly what needed to be done. I feel like the whole process was led by God, so that I would know what I knew, when I knew it, at just the right time to get her taken care of in the right way. Of course I am not happy that my sweet baby girl has to live with diabetes, but I am pleased with how it all played out. God was in control, and she is getting the care that she needs now.
So I just want you all to know that you did a wonderful thing last week. I thank you for taking the time to read my post, to respond with such great information, and for caring about a little girl you’ve never met before. We are both very grateful. I am going to post this in a separate thread, too, because I want to be sure that this gets to those of you who posted. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
This could be early signs of diabetes or of a bladder infection. Either way, she needs to see a doctor right away.
Sounds like it could be a uniary tract infection. Girls are more prone to them than boys. I'd take her to the Doctor just to rule anything out.
I would definitely get her to the doctor immediately. Reading the other responses, my first thought is what most others are thinking too, diabetes. I hate having to go to the doctor too and taking meds. But, this is one time you don't want to mess around not going to the doctor.
It could certainly by Type-1 diabetes. You can give it a quick check yourself if you need to reassure yourself before taking her to the doctor.
The CVS brand monitor is around $30 (if I remember correctly) and has everything you need. The finger prick won't be fun, but it only requires a small drop of blood.
Normal fasting blood sugar (8-12 hours after a meal) is 100 milligrams/deciliter (mg/dl) or less. Keep in mind that normal fasting blood sugar does not preclude diabetes.
Normal postprandial levels--2 hours after a meal--should be 70-145 mg/dl.
Good luck. It is always scary when we see sudden changes in our children.
A couple months ago I started feeling very achy and tired. I went to the doctor thinking that I had the flu and he told me I had a very bad urinary tract infection. Every bone in my body hurt, but I got on the antibiotics and it went away. Is she complaining of a back ache? I would just take her to the doc just to be sure.
You need to have her checked out by a doctor. My friends daughter was having accidents and having to go alot and it was diabetes. You can not be too careful. It is better to find out for sure that it is nothing.
It sounds as if she may have a bladder infection. This can get very serious with her kindeys so do not delay taking her to the dr. Mention everything, though. They may be interealated. Drs. may appreciate a direction in which to look, but that is not necessary.
Good Luck! Let us know what happens
C. check her for Diabetes sometimes urinating a lot is a sign.I have diabetes and I go a lot.
Hi! My sister is a pediatric nurse and I just read your post to her. She says to see your doctor immediately. She states it could be something minor as a kidney/bladder infection to something more serious as diabetes insipidous. It's a hormonal thing. Is your daughter drinking more than usual?
Anyway, I don't mean to worry you but she should probably be checked.
Good luck and let us know what you find out.
C., I know you decided to take her in to the Dr., but I wanted to give you helpful hint regarding the bed wetting. My daughter was slow at training too and has an occaisional accident still, but I was able to cut down on the laundry a bit by doing this. Hope it helps you. I have a 3 & 4 year old BTW. With my daughter who is 4, I was using the pullups at night and she began to develop boils on her bottom. So we had to nix the pullups and I was changing sheets like crazy. I was also potty training son and so it got to be just too much for me. So, I saved my self all the work and cost of laundry by setting an alarm on my watch. First I had them both go right before bed, which was 8:30pm, then I would wake them again right before I went to bed and would make them get up and try to go right before I went to bed, usually 10:30-11:00. Then I would set an alarm for 1:30-2:00 depending on if they went at 10:30-1100 and get them up again. After that we rarely have an accident. They can make it through till morning, which we get up at 6:30am. I did this for about 3 months and then my daughter started telling me she would go by herself and so I decided to just keep the 1:30 alarm and see how it went. Did this for about 2 months until daughter specifically told me not to wake her up anymore that she would do it on her own. We tried it and so far no problems, except the occaisional accident, but usually these are when she is over tired. So, this might help you to train her how to get up and go. Of course it may be a genetic thing, my daughter is adopted, so I don't have that history on her genetic family. Good luck and hope your daughter is a ok and it is just a minor bladder infection.
Take her to a doctor, sounds like Type 1 Diabetes. I had a friend experience something similar with her daughter at around the same age. Don't delay.
H.
Have her checked for Type 1 Diabetes. She is showing the signs just like my daughter did. Check her immediately and discuss with her pedi....if it comes out negative, great, then move on to the next thing.
Always better safe than sorry.
Good luck
You should have her checked for juvenile diabetes.
I just want to reiterate the strong possibility of diabetes. Before my husband was diagnosed at age 29 he was peeing and eating like a racehorse. Please get her to the dr. ASAP--this is not something you want to mess around with, if you wait too long and it is diabetes she could end up in a coma. Please let us know what happens. Good luck!
diabetes maybe....I would want to rule that out. Your intuition is telling you something isn't right. Get it checked out! Hope everyhting is OK.
Hi C.
I would suggest that you do not delay and get her to a urologist for complete testing. You may need your Pedi to recommend one. But, these are not simply "growing pains" and normal 5 year old behavior. Sounds to me like it oculd be the onset of juvinille diabetes- but not being a dr. I would not want to be called for practicing medicine- but I would certainly want her to be checked.
good luck and blessings
My thought is that she probably has a bladder/urinary tract infection. My 6 year old daughter has been struggling with them just this year. She's never had trouble with them before until February. Have her tested for that.
Good Luck!
Hi C.,
If I was in your shoes, I would bring her to the doctor, it sounds like more than "kids stuff" she has multiple symptoms that I would have the Dr. check out. Its good that you are not a worry wart kinda of mom, but in the situation I think you should go with your gut feeling, I am pretty sure the doctor will tell you something. Definately an unusual situation.
Yes, the dr. Is a good idea so you can catch whatever this is early. Does't sound like a run it's course type of thing. Could it be diabietes? I hope you get answers!
I would take her in to get her checked for having low blood sugar and for hyperglycemia. Also to be on the safe side, I would have them check for type-1 (juvenile) diabeties. Those are alot of it's symptoms, with just one being off unless she is complaining of always being thirsty.
So it wouldn't hurt going to the doctors to have her checked out. Being diagnosed with type-1 isn't bad, and if she does have it, it is really good to catch it early then later. My husband was diagnosed with type-1 when he was 7, and he is now 23, and we have a healthy baby boy. If she does get diagnosed with it, feel free to email me and ask questions on anything. I hope that it just turns out to be growing pains, and a not strong bladder. but definietly take her into the docs.
My daughter had similar symptoms, she would have accidents at night but then it turned in to daytime accidents. Her attitude begain to change (very moody) and she began to be very tired all the time. Her doctor tested her for a Urinary Tract Infection and it was really high. She had to be on antibiotics for 2 months just to get rid of it. I felt so guilty becuase I thought it was just a faze. I would definatly get her checked.
I would get to a doctor because this same kind of symptom in my husband when he was a child was left unattended and he lost a kidney at 8 years old. There are very few times I would suggest going to a doctor, but this might be one of them. My husband's condition caused urine to pass back into the kidneys when he urinated - they didn't catch the problem till he told them he was peeing blood. By then one kidney was completely dead and the other had a good amount of damage and was adult sized already. The only sign of a problem was a constant wet spot on the front of his pants.
Hi C.,
I would definitely take her to the Dr to rule out kidney/bladder infection. Also could be a sign of diabetes or something like that. Particularly if her activity/energy level has dropped, she's eating more, etc. Won't hurt to mention it when you make the appointment in case they want to do a fasting blood sugar test on her. Have you tried cutting back on her liquids several hours before bed-time? Please let us know what you find out.
Very often it is something to which your child is having an allergic reaction. Typical allergins are peanuts, dairy, flour products, sugar.
Personally I would remove all but one item from her diet and add back one item every fourth day to self evaluate.
Yes, I have seen these symptoms in children. I have 4 of my own, nieces and nephews. It is called a urinary tract infection. They sometimes a little or alot. But, it can be cured with medicine and/or cranberry juice. Believe it or not they might grab themselves because of the burning sensation. I suggest you take both your children and yourself to be examined. If not treated can lead to more harm.
Good Luck
C.,
I would go see your Doctor.........I don't want to give you more to worry about, but it could be a symptom of Diabetes.
Next I will suggest that you get rid of the pull-ups. Your daughter can't figure out how and when to control her bladder when you put her in them at night. She is older now and can easily use the bathroom. My opinion: pull-ups should never be used!
She might need more attention from you because of the little brother, he is taking up so much of your time right!
Just my 5 cent,
M.
Please take your daughter to her doctor immediately. The symptoms you are describing are CLASSIC for UTI. Your child is not "lazy" she does not FEEL WELL. If you don't take this more seriously she could (potentially) develop a kidney infection. What are you waiting for??? Please take your little girl to see a doctor!!!!!!!!!
You need to take your daughter to the doctor - and I hope by now you've already made an appointment. We have mothers intuition for a reason and it seems as if yours has kicked into overdrive - you just aren't listening to it.
Everyone has an opinion or a diagnosis on this website (which is a great site for information and sharing ideas), however I've not noticed many signing off as MD behind their names.
Take your daughter to the doctor and have her checked out. If you still have a nagging feeling about her health - take her for a 2nd opinion, it's okay. We're given out children as a gift from God and he gives us these gifts to take care of to the best of our abilities.
You may want to have her checked for Diabetes.
It is one sign of childhood diabetes. Call the doctor and have her looked at. If it is diabetes you can get it under control and she will be fine. My cousin has been a diabetic since 2.
It is good to hear another mom had bed wetting issues :) I hope my son doesn't get it.
Since several of these are symptoms of diabetes, I'd make a doctor's appointment.
Hi C.,
I would suggest getting the kids on a good childrens calcium supplement. I would also suggest childrens probiotics, and mineral supplements. Then make sure they are eating a good amount of raw fresh veggies, and non sugary fruits.
With children that young, they body chemistry is not set in stone until they are 18 or so. So I would get some herbal peppermint tea, and some raw pure honey and have them drink as much of that everyday as they can. Peppermint will soothe the mucus membranes of the body, and help with elimination, the raw pure honey melted in it, will help with killing bad bacteria.
On that website you can check the theory page to start with, but on the reading page is a list of books you can get at any library for you do to more research on all this.
Hope this information helps.
Blessings
J. M
sounds like she could have a bladder or kidney infection. I would take her into the doc. asap
It definitely sounds like she has an overactive bladder. This can be caused by a number of things, most common is the muscles spasm and make you feel like you need to go, or you do actually go. It definitely seems like a symptom of a bigger problem.
Also constant urination and being constantly thirsty (not that she is) could be signs of diabetes. Kidney disease and diabetes often go hand in hand. So the best thing to do is go to her pediatrician for a full exam. Most likely she just needs some medication to control her overactive bladder.
Has your daughter been tested for Diabetes?
You should definitely take her to the doctor. My son had the same symptoms at age 5 and after struggling with it for 6 weeks I took him in to find he had all the classic symptoms of Type 1 diabetes. Putting it off didn't make it go away. Either you will begin to get help immediately or you can put your mind to rest that she doesn't have it. If she does, it is not the end of the world. That was 26 years ago for us and today he is a healthy, well-adjusted father of 1 and another on the way.
