Seeking Your Opinions

First of all, I would find a new pediatrician. I can't believe that he wouldn't at least test him for diabetes at the very least. As parents, we have to be the advocates for our children. I would absolutely get a second opinion and INSIST upon getting him tested. Good luck. You are doing the right things!

honestly it sounds like he has really bad eating habits. i would try to get him into some better habits, see if things change, if not - then i would approach the dr again about the vomiting.

Find a new pedi!!!! I have learned from experience that even though they are a doctor, they don't know your child as well as you do. You know when something is wrong. I would have his bloodwork done.

Gatorade has a lot of sugar and sodium. If he has any underlying blood sugar problems this could be a poor choice of drink for him. Does he drink many sugary drinks. Sugar kills the apetite but not for long, and when mine spikes I know I feel sick. I also feel sick in the morning if I skip dinner. I have blood sugar problems. I have been hypoglycemic when too thin and diabetic when pregnant. If I maintain a healthy weight and diet I am fine with out insulin. Sounds like he could have a problem with it too. I have also had infections of the thyroid and I am not over weight at all. As a child I first had an infection around puberty and it went undetected for 6 weeks, I missed a lot of school and gained 15 lbs in one month, I had mono symptoms but tested negative for it and they just kept missing it. My mother took me to 4 docs. I was fine after 2 weeks of meds and lost the weight in 3 months easily.
It never hurts to get that other opinion. And be sure to be assertive. Childhood diabetes is very serious. Is 55 lbs large or small for 7? My 6 yr old is 49 lbs and very thin. She out eats me sometimes.
Good Luck
HS

When I was reading this my first thought was the opposite of what my husband has. He has hypothyroidism and when he doesn't take his medicine or it's off then he eats too much and gains weight easily. The thing is, when our daughter was born, they said they woul test her for hypothyroidism but also the opposite of hypothyroidism which has many of the same symptoms that your son is having. If that's what it is it can be fixed with medicine but he would have to take it every day and get frequent blood tests to make sure he is on track. I hope this helps! Just an idea. I would definitely get an opinion from another doctor and have him tested thoroughly. God bless!

Your child could have diabetes, so please get him thoroughly checked. Also, know that "healthy" snacks can still make you overweight! It isn't always what you eat but how much you eat! You can't eat more calories than what your body needs, or you will be overweight. Please, see another doc and get a good check up.

the symptoms you described are indeed symptoms of low blood sugar. meaning the evening meal or bedtime snack were not enough to last him through the night and he utilized his glucose stores, and the body is trying to burn some other stored energy.
If he throws up the gatorade i wouldn't give it to him. just because you are playing outside doesn't mean you need gatorade. some people can't tolerate sweet drinks when playing sports. if you are concerned while he is playing and sweating, cut the gatorade in half or quarter with water. and make it a weaker drink. that should take care of the throwing up during exertion. 3/4 water-- 1/4 gatorade etc.
as for his frame, weight, and eating regime...I would say hallaluah!!!!
If you look at the statistics and what doctors recommend about eating, you will find that they all recommmend 6-8 small, light healthy meals during the day. and that is exactly what your son is doing, naturally. And it seems to work for him, mostly. The only problem is that you need to make sure to have him eat before bedtime.
when i have brought concerns about my oldest very thin son to his pediatrician, with all the concerns you described, he asks if he is eating? WELL, YES. is he playing? WELL, YES. He has a high metablism, feed him at bedtime, let him play, overall he slowly gains weight. as your doctor i am not worried. so, i stopped worrying. AND FED HIM, or really continue to let him eat at meals and alot of healthy between meals snacks.
the only thing for you to worry about, is the low blood sugar, which the doctor is correct. there is nothing really to do but feed him and watch it. there is not medicine or really anything to use to intervene.
for his bedtime snack, give him something like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk, yougurt or crackers and cheese. he needs something with protein to last the night. it takes the body longer to digest the protein. the body digests the jelly first(simple sugar), bread second(comples carb) and the peanut butter (protein) later. so he gets an even and constant supply of energy while he sleeps. this should take care of the problem of the morning symptoms. if he does have morning symptoms, try giving him a piece of hard candy to suck on to get some quick sugar in his system, until he can hold down a meal or a swig of juice or milk.
i would also write down his diet and activity for a while in a journal, to see if there is a pattern to the times he is sick in the morning and your interventions. then at the next doctors visit, bring your journal, discuss it and get guidance. you may want to see a dietician, nutritionist, or diabetic educator to see and understand how the body uses food for fuel and to mix your carbs and proteins better, so he doesn't get sick. other than these interventions, there is not really anything you can do for a low blood sugar. if you like and trust your pediatrician, then he should have no problem giving you a referral to the diabetic educator or dietician for your questions to be answered. if however, you feel your doctor is not addressing your needs, or explaining things for you to understand then find a second opinion.
i have noticed, on this forum, that everyone recommends that you always "find another doctor" implying he did nothing. when in fact, there is nothing wrong with the advice the doctor gave you, it just wasn't necessarily what you wanted to hear or it was accompanied with little education and explanation,or he didn't explain his thoughts well. i am not implying that you should stay with you doctor at all costs, simply saying the advice he gave you while it didn't educate you well about what may have been happening, was in fact appropriate. there is indeed nothing to do for low blood sugar but feed your child and educate yourself about what you suspect, and watch him. the doctor can't really tell you anything until he has more information to go on anyway, hence the journal. I stronly recommend the journal before you return to the doctor or get a second opinion. Then you will have armed yourself with some hard data about what symptoms you are seeing and how often backed up by diet, amounts and kinds of fluids and activity at the time. you could even weigh him every week and document that. you can also document how often he urinates (about 5 times a day or 10) and whether his bowels are regular.(have you gone #2 today?) then the doctor will have more information to go on and be able to judge better about whether blood work is needed.
i will give you another example. i presented to the doctor for my yearly exam. my blood pressure was high. now why would my blood pressure be up at 33years old? could be that i am anxious about the coming coochie exam? salty food the night before? etc. now, the doctor can't prescribe something for one blood pressure (well, he could but shouldn't). So, he instructed me to take my blood pressure for a month and record it in a journal, and just observe how i feel etc. take it in the morning, at work, while busy, on lunch break, before bed--etc. and try to cut down on my salt. so he could get a clear picture of my blood pressure across a month while doing various amounts of exertion etc. and then re-evaluate. Well, guess what, consistently, I was high so had to be placed on blood pressure medication at the ripe old age of 33. have been on something for about 4 years now. the point i want to make is that sometimes, waiting and observing and a re-evaluation is appropriate.
i hope all this helps to calm your anxiety. BTW, the really skinny older son, is 13 now and is still in the bottom 25% of the growth chart for weight in his age group. Fine for heighth. My other two sons, while not quit as skinny as him, are still below 50% for weight on the growth chart for my 11 yr old, and 8 year old. They also are on swim team, take gymnastics twice a week, ride their bikes, run around and play. They do indeed burn that energy up, and all three are grazers. All have high metabolisms and all are skinny compared to all the other kids in the neighborhood. we occassionally have problems with low blood sugar, but for the most part, i manage it how i have suggested for you. you really didn't mention other diabetic symptoms, or other problems like unexplained weight gain, or symptoms of thyroid problems. I would suspect that your physician, while not informing you, would have ruled them out from your exam and what you explained to him about your concerns. while you can have blood work done, again I would keep a journal first and then make a follow up appointment to review your concerns, and you will have some documented evidence to discuss. I am also an RN for 15 years, if that makes your feel anymore secure in my advice
Good luck, and trust your instincts,
L.

I agree with the others - I say get him checked out for thyroid problems and blood sugar levels. There are tests they can do that will tell you what his blood sugar has been like over the last 3-6 months (my dad is diabetic and has this test done every 3 months). Insist that your doctor runs tests, for your sanity and your sons health and if the doc refuses, get a second opinion. You could also see about getting a blood-glucose monitor and check his blood sugar, especially when he's having those strange symptoms. Otherwise, maybe it's a food allergy or maybe even a nervousness/anxiety issue (does he feel sick on mornings of important tests or activities at school?)

Also, you say he's eating snacks in addition to small meals, but is he drinking enough water? Dehydration can make the body do strange things, including vomit, which only makes the problem worse. Whenever he wants a snack, make sure he has a glass of water with it. I suffered from severe and frequent migraines accompanied by vomiting in high school (I still do today, though not as frequently) and one of the causes was dehydration. I would go 8 hours in school and only have a drink at lunch.

I have chronic low blood sugar (or hypoglycemia). I was dx as a teen, but had looking back had signs of it way back, and had/have a lot of the symptoms that your son does.

I second the other mom who said to have him fully checked out -- even if that means going to another doctor. Hopefully it's nothing (my hypoglycemia is controled by diet) but it should be looked into.

Good Luck and Let us know what happens!