Any time someone visits their health care professional for a wellness check, rest assured that certain testing; both diagnostic and otherwise will be performed. It’s part of the process.
“You know Doc, I have this calf muscle that has been bothering me for the past two weeks.” The health professional will examine the area, and then; check blood pressure, listen to breathing, checking a heart rate, and some other poking and prodding. Why so much when the original pain was in the leg. Well for one thing it might be a sign of a heart problem, a possible stroke, a lack of nutrients, not to mention a pulled or strained muscle. Testing is very important.
It’s no secret that some of my biggest advocacy efforts are in the missed diagnosis of diabetes. I have written about it. I have lectured about it. I have advocated about it. I even have a scientific paper published about it. Now I have a new initiative about it……I’m trying to see if we can add a protocol of checking blood sugar at pediatric appointments. Why is this not a thing presently?
WAIT A MINUTE YOUNG MAN, YOU CAN NOT JUST CHECK THE BLOOD SUGAR OF EVERY CHILD THAT COMES INTO A DOCTOR’S OFFICE………uhm…..yes, that is exactly what I am saying. We know that someone does not have diabetes on Monday, but has it on Tuesday, right? The pancreas usually takes time to wind itself down of producing insulin. Those autoantibodies get to work on attacking those all-important cells and in time, the pancreas goes kaput. But the time it takes to stop making insulin can take months, or even years, to be realized. So taking a glucose reading at a check-up appointment might not be such a bad idea. Now I know that taking a glucometer reading is not a diagnostic means of showing diabetes but just as if that same doctor hears something strange listening to one’s heart and/or lungs, and elevated blood sugar will shine a light that more testing needs to be done, Why is this not a thing. It’s done on pregnant women all the time.
Cannot the ADA add this to their Standards of Care for GPs to undertake while examining a child? Hey look, I’m not even greedy, initially run the test only when a child comes in throwing up to discount that they are in DKA. Let’s start there. Almost every child that I have seen or heard about who died at diagnosis of T1D, went to a doctor and were told they had a/the flu. Go home, rest, drink plenty of fluids. If the fluid is water, they have bought themselves a little time, if they are dinking juices like apple or orange, they are just quickening the process of ultimate death for their patient as the blood sugar rises higher to already dangerous levels.
But they didn’t know.
But they might have, with a simple blood drop and a diabetes test kit.
I just do not understand, in 2024, how kids can die from undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. The world is smarter than that. Let’s make this……a thing. Let’s make checking blood sugar numbers part of the process. It will save a life.
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