I was so worried. I was sure he had developed juvenile diabetes because that comes on suddenly usually starting at around the age Jack is now. Jack was displaying several of the symptoms including frequent urination, extreme thirst, fatigue, dry skin, tingling in the hands or feet and slow healing wounds. There is also a family history of diabetes and I had gestational diabetes which increases the chance of diabetes in both me and my children later in life.
I knew he didn't have a urinary track infection because he wasn't in pain and I knew he didn't have a kidney infection because he didn't have any kidney tenderness.
Being a Pediatric RN is great when you have kids but it is also scary when you have kids because you know too much and you have seen too much. I held Jack as he fell asleep last night praying he would be ok and bargaining with God to give me the diabetes and to spare him.
We had an appointment with Dr. Bomback this morning and we took some urine with us for them to test. I was worried he might not urinate there, but of course he did -- 4 times in the hour we were there.
Dr. Bomback did a thorough examination of Jack, tested the urine and even gave him a strep test. Everything was negative. He reassured me that in all the years of practice not once has he ever had a child with new onset diabetes have a negative urinalysis. Whew, that was a huge relief!
He was diagnosed with pollakiuria aka extraordinary daytime urinary frequency syndrome. Apparently the causes aren't exactly known but they think it has to do with stress or changes in the child's life a few weeks before the symptoms start. The only real change in his life is that he stopped going to school for summer break. He started camp today at the same place as his school and two of his teachers are his leaders, so maybe that will help him. He's such a good sweet kid, I just worry so much about him. I probably worry too much because of my losses. I just love him so much.
Brian is the best. While I just searched on "juvenile diabetes" last night he did a broader search and sent me the following email:
The only things I found were:He came up with the same diagnosis as Dr. Bomback: pollakiuria. What a smart guy I married! Now if I had just listened to him last night instead of worrying all night. But that's what moms do, worry about their babies.
1. Diabetes, but they said he'd be drinking constantly and have
noticeable weight loss:
"Keep in mind that children with diabetes, in addition to urinating
frequently, also drink a lot and lose weight."
2. UTIs, other infections or kidney problems, but he has no pain, so
I wouldn't think it's this.
3. An interesting thing called "pollakiuria" or "frequent daytime
urination syndrome":
"An even more common cause of frequent urination, especially if your
child is between the ages of 3 and 8 years old, is pollakiuria. This
condition is also called frequent daytime urination syndrome. Children with
pollakiuria often urinate 10-30 times a day, but have no other symptoms. It
is thought to be linked to stress, although no obvious stressor is found by
most parents, and goes away without treatment after 2-3 weeks."
Another page on that:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_urinary_hhg.htm
"The urinary frequency may begin within 1 or 2 days of a stressful
event or change in the child's routine."
"Overall, this is a harmless condition that eventually goes away by
itself. If you can identify and deal with whatever is stressing your child,
his frequent urination will disappear in 1 to 4 weeks. Without treatment,
the symptom usually gets better on its own in 2 or 3 months."
This one has tips for dealing with it:
http://www.childrensmemorial.org/kids_doc/advice/topic.asp?tID=67&catID=5
"The peak age for this problem is 4 or 5 years. These children have
already been toilet trained."
This describes it as "A 4 year old boy is brought in to your office
by his mother who is very distressed because her son is urinating very
frequently. According to his mother, he urinates every 5-10 minutes." and
says it can last 7 to 12 months:
http://pedclerk.bsd.uchicago.edu/pollakiuria.html
I'm hoping it's stress-related pollakiuria!
--Brian
Comments (17)
Inappropriate or promotional comments may be removed.
Jo (4:40 PM on Tue Jun 26, 2007)
Wouldn't you know he'd have a condition with a Greek name? :)
Seriously, I'm glad to hear that's what it is and not diabetes. I know you must have been scared.
Niki Alvey (6:14 PM on Tue Jun 26, 2007)
Ah but most conditions have Greek names :). It sure helped me a lot when I was in nursing school. Oh and it helps me do well on Jeopardy :).
shelly kerr (1:11 AM on Sun Jul 8, 2007)
This is so wierd as I was looking up an explanation for my 4 year old's frequent urination. This comes in spurts and not an all day thing but very similar at times. I also am an RN and only think the worst so I am relieved to read this. My son also recently stopped his preschool for summer break but will go to a summer science program in the same school with the same teacher. this was so much like your story I had to share and say thanks.
Niki Alvey (1:42 AM on Mon Jul 9, 2007)
Wow, your story is just like mine. I hope you son gets better soon. Glad my post could set your mind at ease some. It's hard being an RN and a mom :).
--niki
Pam L. (11:42 AM on Sun Jul 15, 2007)
My grandson is almost 5 and has developed what sounds like Pollakiuria. He has seen his doctor twice this month and she just thinks it's because hes been swimming a lot. I'm concerned that she didn't even mention Pollakiuria. My husband found this information on the internet. My grandson has an appointment to see a pediatric urologist in 2 weeks. I have read the suggestions above and these are all the things we are doing at this time. I think the stress angle is what is happening as my grandson and daughter moved into their own house in February after living with us since he was born. My grandson is supposed to start school in September and I'm worried how a teacher handles this situation. Your article was helpful.
Reed (10:28 PM on Sun Jul 29, 2007)
My son has the same thing. Also - school is out for the summer. He took swimming lessons for the first 2 weeks - which he was not too happy about. Then a week ago he started with having to pee a lot - which coincided with us taking a 4-hour car trip!! Anyway - all tests have come back negative however the problem persists. It seems to be whenever we are leaving the house to go anywhere. As soon as we start driving he says he needs to pee. Also while we are out he is constantly saying he needs to pee. If we can keep his mind off it he seems better - and at home I don't notice it nearly as much. He is seeing his doctor tomorrow but to me it sounds like pollakiuria - he is the right age and the symptoms match. It is hard to deal with though - we are almost afraid to leave home! I am hoping that it resolves itself before school starts up again in September. It'stoo bad that others are going through the same thing - but it did help me to read your comments. Funny that we all seem to have it happening at the same time of year. I almost think that maybe my son misses the routine of school.
lana (9:40 PM on Thu Aug 2, 2007)
my son was just seen by pediatric urologist and diagnosed with pollakiurea.Even though he said it's usually self resolving he did give him a prescription for Detrol LA (usually given to adults) because he was part of study that evaluated use of this medication in children with this condition.I was wondering if anyone else had used this medication for their child and with what results?
yumi (4:56 AM on Sun Mar 9, 2008)
Dear Niki, Thank you for posting this information. It is so helpful. My son is nearly 8 and is experiencing this .... I would be very interested to hear how Jack is and if you have any tips on how to help them get out of this situation.
Many thanks,
yumi
Niki Alvey (5:28 AM on Sat Mar 29, 2008)
Jack is great now. I would say that this lasted for about a month and a half maybe two months. It stopped right before his summer camp finished. So I do think it had to do with him being stressed at camp. Just a new routine and Jack doesn't do so well with change. He likes things he knows.
We just tried not to make a big deal about it and I explained to the camp nurse what was going on and to his counselors at camp and asked them not to make a big deal about it too. That seemed to help a lot. Didn't further stress him out. Sometimes it was difficult being patient like when we would go grocery shopping and he had to go 3 times, but we really tried and it just went away on its own.
I hope your son does better soon.
Bethany (10:53 AM on Sat Sep 6, 2008)
This past week I noticed my 4 year old daughter doing the same thing. She has been a big water drinker but her going to the bathroom became excessive and of course had no pain or discomfort so I too ruled out UTI. Although I'm not a nurse I did go to nursing school so I did think of diabetes (as I layed in bed last...worrying). When I logged onto the computer this morning and did some more research I saw that she didn't really fit the other symptoms - no weight loss or fatigue etc. and then I came across pollakiuria and did further research on that (and also found your blog post). (sigh) I feel so much better now. I too think this is what my sweet little Emma has. She just started preschool a couple weeks ago and she is EXTREMELY shy so I know it has been stressful for her (plus we moved a month and a half ago) so she's had lots of changes. Thanks for letting me know not to make a big deal of 'how often' she goes. I'm sure it will clear on it's own like your little Jack's did. Whew!
Jennifer Pfeifle (9:54 AM on Tue Sep 9, 2008)
I know that this was posted over a year ago, but it seems that you stated every single thing that I have thought about my son. I'm serious - every word you said above is exactly what I am thinking and feeling and going through. Urinalysis turned up negative for anything and no diabetes either. I am assuming the stressor to bring this on is that his 6 year old brother just started school (going all day now) last week and he is starting pre-school and is very anxious. For such an easy going kid, this surprises me and he is such a sweetheart that it literally tears my heart out to think that something could be wrong. Of course, I lost a son to SIDS and I am over paranoid, which does not help the situation. Thank you for your insight and for calming my fears!
Niki Alvey (9:09 PM on Wed Sep 10, 2008)
Jennifer,
I am glad that I helped calm your fears and that your son doesn't have diabetes either. I was terrified when Jack was going through it. I lost 10 babies to miscarriage so I am also extremely paranoid. I am so sorry you lost your son to SIDS. I can't imagine how awful that is, the miscarriages nearly did me in. Sometimes I feel bad for my kids because I am super overprotective with them.
The good news is Jack did well with camp this summer and he started Kindergarten last week and is also doing well. So it seems like just a one time thing :).
It sounds like your little one has big stressors too with his brother going away all day and now he is starting pre-school. Let me know how he is doing in a few weeks if you get a chance. Hope he feels better soon (you too).
niki
Lucille (12:35 AM on Fri Sep 26, 2008)
My son is 4 years old and I believe he has pollakiuria. The symptoms started about two weeks after he started preschool. His pediatrician called it an overactive bladder and prescribed oxybutynin for him. He has been taking this medication for four days and has had flu-like symptoms for two of those days, which I researched and found out are symptoms of taking this medication. I'm wondering if any of your children took medication to help with this condition or did it just go away on its own? I just don't know if I should keep having him take the medication.
Brian Alvey (8:31 AM on Tue Sep 30, 2008)
Ours went away on its own without medication. Definitely mention the flu symptoms to your pediatrician.
Anonymous (6:10 PM on Wed Nov 5, 2008)
Wow, not only have you reassured me about the condition my son possibly has, but you have also confirmed that I am not the only mother who loses sleep worrying about how much her 4 year old has to pee! My son turned 4 about a month ago and for the past week he has been peeing almost non-stop. Even through Halloween, he quit trick-or-treating early just to come home and go to the washroom and didn't want to go back out. A urinalysis has come back -ve and I even had spare ammoxicillin in my cupboard from an ear infection prior and started to give him that so we could maybe speed up the process and bypass the pain. Pain never came so I stopped the antibiotics after three days. Last night I kept myself and my husband awake by rambling out loud the readings from a children's medical book about diabetes and even leukemia. To think that the whole reason is because of a new event like starting school a month ago or his grandparents coming to visit. What a hugh sigh of relief. Thank you for posting this!
Melissa (11:10 PM on Wed Nov 12, 2008)
Wow, this sounds like what my 4yr old son has. About a week ago he started going to the bathroom a lot. He has a new baby sister but she is now almost 3 months. He loves her to death, so if this is his stress it is a delayed reaction. I've taken him to the doctor and they tested his urine and that was fine. The worst time for him though is at night when he lays down and all he can think about is that he has to go to the bathroom. Tonight he went at least 20 times before he finally fell asleep. Not sure if I can do this for 2 months!! Thanks for the info.
Niki Alvey (7:29 PM on Thu Nov 13, 2008)
Hey Melissa,
I am a pediatric nurse and in my experience older siblings react to their new baby brothers or sisters not when they are born but when they are a few months older and the babies start to move around and respond to things. It is then that they realize that this is a baby that is going to stay.