1) Did anyone else's child have grades falls/struggles in the time leading up to diagnosis? I haven't seen much talk of that and Kelly has really struggled in the last 3 months. 2) What was your child's a1c at time of diagnosis? Kelly's was 11.6%. I'm starting to wonder if the uncontrolled diabetes really was a problem in regards to school and his grades. It sure seems like it would be, but I'm not seeing any posts about struggling with grades prior to diagnosis. Thanks friends.
DS's school work did drop a bit in the months before diagnosis. We think he had a slow onset for six months or so. We didn't think much about it because prior he'd been doing really well in school, working a couple of years ahead of his age. The year before diagnosis he was at his age. He'd started fidgeting a lot in class and having trouble concentrating, which the teacher said was a typical boy thing at his age. (I grew up in an all girl family and had no experience of boys behaviour). I now think it was the symptoms of diabetes making him uncomfortable, but not real sick.
Not here (although only one was in school at diagnosis) but I did see issues with DD's grades before her Graves' disease diagnosis. Once she started on meds, her grades started to improve but she had three really, really rough months. Does your son have any thyroid issues in addition to the T1? Not sure on the a1c. I think my daughter's was somewhere in the high 9s and that my son's might have been in the 8s...but I wouldn't bet money on it
You mighty not be seeing too many posts about pre-dx grades because so many of the parents on this site have kids who were dxd before the age of ten (random benchmark on my part) when the repercussions of a month of bad grades aren't so profound. My kid was dxd 12 years ago and no one told us her A1c at the time. That many be a more "recent" development.
Anna's attitude towards schooling dropped considerably last year. She was 17 and in her last year of High School ( college?) . Diagnosed in April with an HbA1c of 12.2 % I think she felt generally unwell and couldn't concentrate to study. She didn't finish some main course work that she needed to pass her subjects. Her main symptom looking back was terrible gingivitis and feeling tired. This year she is away at Polytech and feeling really ready to enjoy and work hard on her course!
DS had some issues in school before DX. Too early to say if his treatment made any difference, but I feel he's more alert and more "with it". May be confirmation bias, though.
1. As pointed out above a lot of us have kids who were small enough that grades are not yet given, but I can tell you my son was not at his best for several months, which I attributed to a growth spurt (he grew some 3" in five months which disguised the weight loss) 2. A1c of 10 at diagnosis, BG 600+ according to pee stick at pediatrician's office (not sure of the serum level), not in DKA - we were told we caught it early
1) DS had A's before and A's after. The biggest thing that would have impacted was he missed about two weeks of school to what we thought was a virus prior to us getting a clue as to what was really happening. 2) They did not tell us his A1C that I remember (welcome to the boards).
1) too young - was only 3. BUT, definitely noticed trouble with sleeping, mood etc. So probably would have. 2) hers was 5.9. But thats because of a study she was in - caught really early!
Luke's was 11.6 I think. He was in serious DKA when diagnosed. He definitely had a hard time in one class in particular (it was right after lunch too). The teacher would show me his tests and it was a mystery what he was doing. Such simple questions would be wrong or skipped or answered so oddly. It made no sense but it does now. Looking back I see so many symptoms the three months prior. Crabby and argumentative ( more than usual - he's always a little cranky). Lost weight which I attributed to track. So tired. Three weeks prior I drug the poor kid on vacation and made him walk miles and was not very patient with his crazy need for constant water . Scolded him for disappearing at the airport looking for a bathroom constantly. Came home and he got sick (DKA in hindsight) and it was 4-5 days before I finally took him in. Not my best parenting moment.
My daughter's grades didn't fall, but her interest in almost everything else did. Huge school carnival? No thanks, I'll stay home. A big competition she prepared for months for? Wanted to leave practice early and just lost a lot of interest ... that kind of thing. She did "not meet" expectations on standardized tests that year, but it was because she was absent during the testing (throwing up off an on -- probably ketones) and pulled from the make up to go to the doctor. I cringe as I write this - A1C was 16.1
Hmm my son did on hindsight have a dip pre diagnosis, whether they are related or not I wouldn't like to say but things have improved this year again. His hba1c was 14 at diagnosis.
My 2nd daughter was diagnosed on 2/9. A1c was 9.6. Our guidance staff asked flat out if they felt the time leading up had caused her grades to suffer at all. Looking back, she wasn't always feeling well and had gone to the nurse. We saw a few tests that definitely she should have done better (poor kid, we told her she didn't study well enough). So, yes, we saw a slight change in her school performance a few weeks prior.
1. My D was diagnosed in October of 2013. He had all A's and B's the first 9 weeks. After that his Math dropped to a C and never came back up. He struggled with reading a bit more, too. This year he had 2 C's in reading and A's and B's in everything else. At midterms this 9 weeks had a B in reading, so hopefully it will come up. I don't know why he dropped after his diagnosis. A girl in his class was diagnosed in December 2013 and her mom said she was struggling and had actually taken her to the ER to be seen and they discovered the D. 2. His A1C was only 9.6 because we caught it early. Several night time bathroom trips, vision changes, and personality changes were my main clue. It took about 2 weeks of this behavior before I decided to check his sugar (my dad is a D since the same age as my ds). It was 310. Oddly, we went to the eye dr. that very morning since I already had his appointment and then called the dr and went for blood work. When his new glasses came in, we had to get rechecked and get a lower strength prescription.
My son Theo went from 96-99 on his standardized tests to the mid 80s, and then after insulin he went back to 96-99s. My son has been much happier and has much less anxiety since diagnosis too. He knew something was wrong and was very relieved when he found out what it was and that it could be managed. He was only 8.7, but that still means he was probably over 300 after breakfast starting school every day, and over 300 after noodles for dinner too, when he did his homework.
DD was 12.6 at the time of diagnosis, and in DKA. Took us awhile to figure out what was up and then even longer to persuade her doctor. No impact on grades that we ever saw, but she was in Grade 5 and it was end of the school year.
1. Dx'd July so on summer break at the time, but she struggled in math & reading the last few months of the school year. She also had issues recalling what she did at school during the day. Math & reading were after lunch. 2. A1c at dx was 13. BG at the ER was 625. Not in DKA.
