Milkaholics Anonymous

It's been a trying last 4 days and I apologize for not looping anyone in, but we just didn't want to worry anyone until we knew there was something to worry about.

Sam has always been a big drinker - well, since we figured out the food allergies and he wasn't refluxing all the time. The last couple weeks our nanny has mentioned on several occasions how thirsty he has been. Some googling resulted in: diabetes.

I emailed our ped, who said that 40 oz is the max of what his system should be handling (any more can overload and strain the kidneys). An acceptable max fluid intake is around 1.5 oz for every pound of body weight. There were days he was drinking 50, sometimes 60 ounces. Other concerns were the insane amount of near bursting diapers - including overnight (I have to change him once or twice in the night at least, to keep from overflow), and that he is still waking once or more in the night wanting a drink.

It could have very well been a habit, but he thought it was worth getting checked out.

The tests involved fasting after midnight last night, which I was dreading giving his waking to drink action that usually happens at 3 am. I stuck a bottle in his mouth at 11:30 last night and he sucked most of it down without waking. Then he managed to sleep until 5:30 this morning. That's the best night's sleep I've had in a long time!! He had a little water then went back to sleep.

We showed up at path lab at 8 am, he was a little cranky about not getting to eat, which is funny considering he is generally not a big breakfast eater at home. Got to the lab and they asked if we had brought the urine sample (we didn't, our Dr hadn't told us what labs were being run). Do you know how fun it is to get a urine sample from a fasting toddler? Pretty fun (not!). It ended up involving a plastic bag taped to his nether region.

Then the blood draw which drew tears and tears. We hoped that it made him pee but it didn't. I offered him milk in his new sippy cup and he took one drink and told me "ew". He's a little hooked on his bottle. Finally I let him play in the handwashing sink and that seemed to do the trick.

Up to the Dr's office we went, and his tests all came back totally normal! Hooray! We just had a little milk/water addict on our hands (he actually drinks mostly very diluted milk or water). I dropped him off at home, and came to work wondering if the Promises rehab-for-the-stars would take one yr olds. And planning the audition tape for "Intervention".

And then I got an email from the Dr. Another test had come back (this one takes longer to run and had not come back while we were there). His HgB A1C level was 6.2% which in the Dr's words were "mildly elevated", "not diagnostic" and we would re-test at his 2 yr check up.

I'm trying to find info out there, and there isn't much. So for now I suppose I just have to treat him like the little bottle addict he is, and try not to obsess for the next 4 months. My biggest issue is I am a numbers junkie and there is very little data I can find about the incidence of these kinds of levels turning into full blown diabetes, especially at such a young age. Although I am pretty hyper aware of changes in my kids and all over my Dr with what is the cause, is it normal, what are the possibilities - so most people may not notice or test for it this early.

At any rate....I'm off to find the video camera for that audition tape....