type 1 diabetic child ignoring the need to urinate?....

[Jenarry]

i'm hoping to see our GP about this issue next week but just wondering if anyone had any advice in the meantime.
my 5 yr old son is a type 1 diabetic and he has developed a really really bad habit of ignoring the need to urinate. he dances around and wriggles and from the word go i prompt him to go but he tells me he doesn't need to . then after 20 or 30 minutes of his jiggling around and me asking if he wants to go then finally he rushes to the toilet because he is now desperate to go. (at home this is bad but when we are out anywhere it is quite stressful. :O( )
also quite often he has wet underwear when this happens and also at other times.
i know that type 1 diabetes can cause the need to urinate so i don't know if this is related to my mattie's current problem or maybe there is something else going on.
my partner tells me he had simiilar problems when he was a child before he had to circumcised so i know he needs to be checked out. something isn't right. any advice would be gratefully received.

[missprim]

This could be unrelated to his diabetes and just the antics of a 5yr old that puts going to the toilet off.
I have a 5yr old grandson and I can tell when he needs to go, but when I ask him he says 'no no I don't' but then after much jigging about he suddenly says,'Nanna, I need the loo'.
Needing to wee a lot is usually when a child/person is not diagnosed and their sugars are high but when the diabetes is controlled, the need to wee should just be normal.

[Jemisa]

The more you go on about it the more he'll do this, try to ignore it. He's still a baby, if he were 15 then worry but try to ignore him. Its nothing to do with diabetis he's just being a little boy attention seeking I think. . (I have been a diabetic many years)

jem

[Jenarry]

thankyou for your answer. mattie's blood sugars can be a bit up and down , (he is having an insulin pump soon which will hopefully help)so i'm wondering if it is partly a 5yr old putting off the toilet,the diabetes making him want to use the toilet...or maybe something else going on.

[missprim]

Why is he having an insulin pump?

[Jenarry]

thankyou jemisa. that could be the case. it drives me mental especially if we are out somewhere ...my mind is then preoccupied with where the nearest toilet will be for when he finally decides to go. :O(

[nungate]

I have a type 1 diabetic daughter, she was diagnosed at 2 years old (now 24). It's a difficult thing to deal with. I don't know where you are based but, in Scotland where I am, if we have any problems we can contact the Diabetic Liaison nurse at the clinic she attends. These nurses have always been available to advise us with any problems. Failing that and you need advice in a hurry, try the diabetic ward at the hospital you attend, and ask to speak to the Diabetic Registrar on duty and they ought to either take your call or else get back to you, they're usually pretty quick here. Your son's denying his need to go pee could be related to something other than his diabetes, his trouble may be something else. I think your best bet is to get in touch with your own doctor or if it's an emergency call NHS 24 for their advice. It can be hard at times dealing with a child with diabetes especially when they are so young, so if you need any help in the future please just post a message and I'll try to help, as will others on AB. I've been there with a diabetic child so I know what you are feeling and what might still be ahead.

[Jenarry]

apparently the insulin pump is a very good device to aid in insulin delivery and blood sugar control and the diabetic team that looks after matthew thinks he will benefit from it a lot. i'm in the dark about how it all works until i go to some training classes next month.

[missprim]

Good luck with it all Jenarry. I remember having to learn such a lot about it when my daughter was diagnosed at 7yrs especially the diet side of it.Making sure she was getting the right amount of carbohydrates and worrying whenever she went to someone's birthday party or doing PE at school.
Now she is 35yrs old and has really good control but I do know how worrying it can be.x

[Jenarry]

aah thankyou nungate. it is a bit of a worry when there's an issue with health because you're not sure if it's diabetes related(which it usually is ) or something else. should i contact mattie's hospital consultant,a diabetic nurse, or his GP.
so i've come to the conclusion that one of mattie's GP's who specializes in diabetes is the best bet. a job for early next week.

[Jenarry]

and thankyou for your words of advice. :O)

[Jemisa]

Jen, You're your own worst enamy you'll be a nervous wreck by the time he's 6. Let him wet himself he'll soon learn how uncomfortable it is & realise its not working. Give him lots of praise when he does go. You've got to be firm Jen.
Sometimes parents have to be cruel to be kind.

Good Luck & I hope all goes well with the pump. How wonderful to be in the 21st century. they may even find a cure in his lifetime, I hope they do.
Bless him.

jem

[nungate]

Glad to hear that Jenarry. it's often hard to tell when a child is being difficult if it's the diabetes o something else - they don't half play you up at times! As you have seen there's a fair bit experience of diabetic kids around AB so feel free to pick our brains any time.

[Jenarry]

missprim how did it go with your daughter when she was older. was she accepting of it all and take on the responsibility of it all ok?....i think matthew will be ok as he's quite interested even now about his blood sugar readings and how we control them. i worry about what little mattie will have to deal with in the future but he's a strong little boy so i'm sure he'll be fine. :O)

[missprim]

My daughter went through a period of not accepting it and wouldn't even tell people she was a diabetic.
She hardly ever tested her blood sugars until she became pregnant at the age of 30yrs and then she realised how important it was for her to be in control.
As Nungate has said, please ask on here if you need a bit of advice or just need to chat.

[nungate]

Miss Prim, will it be alright for me to ask you questions that might arise in the future regarding my daughter? We've had our problems in the past, mainly about accepting the diabetes, ignoring the BM''s and even skipping insulin doses, I know there will be more problems down the road so it would be good to ask someone who's been there. Things are going pretty well at the moment.................just waiting for the axe to fall ;)
I apologise if it seems I'm hijacking your question Jenarry

[missprim]

Of course you can ask me anything nungate and I will do my best to answer.

[Jenarry]

god i hope so too jemisa. you never know with all the research that is being done. an implanted artificial pancreas...can't be too far away surely.
and thankyou nungate for your words of advice. xx

[nungate]

Thanks. Will do.

[Jenarry]

aah that's okay nungate. anything that helps. :O) xxx