Diabetes Insipidus

First off, I just wanted to apologise to everyone for not posting for a while. I am afraid my blog has been a bit neglected in the last couple of months. My Mummy duties have taken a priority.

During the Summer of 2017 one of the blogger babies had a head injury, which resulted in him needing his head to be glued and stitched.

Since then, Blogger Baby has been fairly poorly and a bit of an enigma. 

His symptoms were:

·         Extreme thirst (polydipsia)

·         Passing large amounts of urine, even at night (polyuria)

You could expect that with extreme thirst that the urine output would increase.  And Separately these symptoms wouldn’t usually have me worried but when you include that he has suffered since the head injury

·         Ketonaemia (burning fat instead of glucose.)

·         Dehydration – despite his thirst

·         Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar)

·         Tiredness

·         Irritability

·         Unexplained Weight Loss

Excessive thirst can be difficult to recognise in children who are too young to speak. Signs and symptoms that could suggest diabetes insipidus include:

·         excessive crying

·         irritability

·         slower than expected growth

·         hyperthermia (high body temperature)

This resulted in many trips to the GP and Paediatric Ward at our local hospital.  Following numerous tests and blood samples we finally received a diagnosis this week.

Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes Insipidus (DI) is a rare condition where you produce a large amount of urine and often feel thirsty, it isn't related to diabetes mellitus.

Because DI is so rare there is very little literature that is easy to follow.  It was because of this I thought I could share what we know and what we have learnt.

DI is not Diabetes Mellitus however, it does share some of the same signs and symptoms.

The two main symptoms of diabetes insipidus are:

·         extreme thirst (polydipsia)

·         passing large amounts of urine, even at night (polyuria)

In very severe cases of diabetes insipidus, up to 20 litres of urine can be passed in a day.

Diabetes insipidus is caused by problems with a hormone called vasopressin (AVP), also called antidiuretic hormone (ADH).  In diabetes insipidus, the lack of production of AVP means the kidney can't make enough concentrated urine and too much water is passed from the body. In rare cases, the kidney doesn't respond to AVP. This causes a specific form of diabetes insipidus, called nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.

People feel thirsty as the body tries to compensate for the increased loss of water by increasing the amount of water taken in.

There are two main types of diabetes insipidus:

·         cranial diabetes insipidus

·         nephrogenic diabetes insipidus

Through this article we are going to concentrate on Cranial DI.  Cranial diabetes insipidus occurs when there's not enough AVP in the body to regulate urine production.

Cranial diabetes insipidus is the most common type of diabetes insipidus. It can be caused by

·         damage to the hypothalamus or pituitary gland – for example, after an infection, operation, brain tumour or Head Injury.

In about one in three cases of cranial diabetes insipidus there's no obvious reason why the hypothalamus stops making enough AVP.

And luckily treatment isn't always needed for mild cases of cranial diabetes insipidus. You just need to increase the amount of water you drink to compensate for the fluid lost through urination.

If necessary, a medication called desmopressin can be used to replicate the functions of AVP.

There is a complication that can occur, as diabetes insipidus increases water loss in the urine, the amount of water in the body can become low. This is known as dehydration.

Rehydration with water can be used to treat mild dehydration.

Severe dehydration will need to be treated in hospital.

If you would like to know more about Diabetes Insipidus please contact me and I will support you as best I can, if you have concerns that your child or loved one has Diabetes Insipidus please contact your GP.

#Diabetes #DiabetesInsipidus #Awareness #NeverGiveUp

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Mild Cognitive Impairment: the facts

Did you know that EARLY identification of mild cognitive impairment can prolong the working life of older people and improve their quality of life?

With an ageing demographic and the increase of retirement age, there is a real amplified risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment within the working population.  So, what does this mean for employers?

Let us start with the facts – Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a set of symptoms as opposed to a specific medical condition or disease – though the risk of developing dementia is higher which in turn moves the patient into a different medical category.

MCI symptoms can start subtly with one or more of the following problems:

·         Memory retention day-to-day

·         Planning

·         Language

·         Attention and

·         Visuospatial skills

To be diagnosed with MCI the symptoms must have a noticeable change from the previous levels of functioning, and will often be recognised by the individual affected.

Though some of the problems will not usually interfere with your daily routine they can pose a risk of failing performance, judgement or making decisions which will have an impact on those working.

Though MCI is often attributed to the increase of age there are other factors to consider that may result in an individual younger than the “norm” developing Cognitive Problems.  These include:

·         Disturbance of sleep can have a negative impact on cognitive function

·         Depression, anxiety or stress can have a negative impact on cognitive function

·         Alcohol abuse

·         Drug Abuse

·         Some medications can cause cognitive disfunction

·         People with thyroid problems

·         Head trauma – which in my case was the cause of my MCI

In some older people, MCI can often be a sign of complications such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. It is speculated that around 70% of people with MCI will develop dementia but it is important to note that not everyone with MCI will deteriorate.  Many people remain stable and some people have been known to improve and no longer have any problems.  This just reflects the different causes and effects.

#MCI #dementia #awareness