Newly diagnosed 9 year old

Missbee100

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Hi!
I am in need of some advice
I have been told that my son can generally eat what he ate before as long as it's accounted for with his insulin.......

Is this the case or should I still be watching his intake of carbs to a degree?

I still want him to be able to enjoy being a child and having something sweet every now and then but I am worried I would be doing him damage....

Any tips on meals/treats

From a desperate mum who's new to all of this (only 1 week in)!
 

himtoo

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hi there @Missbee100
welcome to the forum !:)

this subject will bring a variety of thoughts , and all of us that reply will be giving advice that works for us individually.

for me I would say that he should eat a normal healthy diet for a child of his age.
I think your choice to use the phrase "watch his intake of carbs to a degree" - is a wise choice.

I watch my carb intake "to a degree" -- I don't go mad on carbs , yet neither do I deny myself eating foods I enjoy.
To me moderation is the key -- much as it is for anyone really.

hope this helps !!:)
 

azure

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He can eat what he likes within reason and in moderation :) Now he has Type 1, food will require a bit more thought. You'll gradually find what works for him.

Have you been shown how to count carbs and adjust his meal time insulin? Or is he on set doses at the moment?
 
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Missbee100

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hi there @Missbee100
welcome to the forum !:)

this subject will bring a variety of thoughts , and all of us that reply will be giving advice that works for us individually.

for me I would say that he should eat a normal healthy diet for a child of his age.
I think your choice to use the phrase "watch his intake of carbs to a degree" - is a wise choice.

I watch my carb intake "to a degree" -- I don't go mad on carbs , yet neither do I deny myself eating foods I enjoy.
To me moderation is the key -- much as it is for anyone really.

hope this helps !!:)

It does help, thank you
Just wanted to make sure that what I am currently doing and cooking etc isn't making him worse in some way
His sugars are still very up & down which I have been advised happens when newly diagnosed
I suppose part of me feels guilty for not allowing him certain things that he is craving at the moment

I know he needs carbs for energy etc and yet carbs now seem to be the devil !
 

Missbee100

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He can eat what he likes within reason and in moderation :) Now he has Type 1, food will require a bit more thought. You'll gradually find what works for him.

Have you been shown how to count carbs and adjust his meal time insulin? Or is he on set doses at the moment?

Yes I am counting the carbs
But as I cook a lot from scratch I am struggling with the carb counting I'm almost guessing with some meals

He's only on a set dose for his night time insulin, the other 3 injections are based around his meals and all according to his sugar levels before the meal I also have to give him a correction

If he fancies something in between his meals and it's more than a 10g snack would you suggest giving him insulin for it?

I am trying to keep him healthy but am finding fruit is sending his sugars sky high
 
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himtoo

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It does help, thank you
Just wanted to make sure that what I am currently doing and cooking etc isn't making him worse in some way
His sugars are still very up & down which I have been advised happens when newly diagnosed
I suppose part of me feels guilty for not allowing him certain things that he is craving at the moment

I know he needs carbs for energy etc and yet carbs now seem to be the devil !
I have been doing this a long long time ( 45 years in a couple of week !! :eek: )
right now you are looking forward at a huge unknown that is going to last a very long time , so it is understandable that you will be beside yourself with worry --
I would invest in a book called Think Like a Pancreas
I would get in touch with the Diabetes charity JDRF - they have some great help for young newly diagnosed children.

I would try to remember that this is a long marathon race , not a sprint .

carbs are not the devil -- they just need more attention than they did pre diagnosis.
 

Missbee100

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I have been doing this a long long time ( 45 years in a couple of week !! :eek: )
right now you are looking forward at a huge unknown that is going to last a very long time , so it is understandable that you will be beside yourself with worry --
I would invest in a book called Think Like a Pancreas
I would get in touch with the Diabetes charity JDRF - they have some great help for young newly diagnosed children.

I would try to remember that this is a long marathon race , not a sprint .

carbs are not the devil -- they just need more attention than they did pre diagnosis.

So many people have advised me to get this book
I shall definitely be investing

Will also be getting in touch with the charity as I want him to maybe meet & get to know other children that are going through the same thing

45 years!
This gives me hope!
Thank you
 

azure

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Yes I am counting the carbs
But as I cook a lot from scratch I am struggling with the carb counting I'm almost guessing with some meals

He's only on a set dose for his night time insulin, the other 3 injections are based around his meals and all according to his sugar levels before the meal I also have to give him a correction

If he fancies something in between his meals and it's more than a 10g snack would you suggest giving him insulin for it?

I am trying to keep him healthy but am finding fruit is sending his sugars sky high

You'll soon get the carbs of various meals fixed in your head. A good pair of digital scales helps lots, so you can weigh things like pasta, potatoes, cereal, etc If you have favourite recipes in books, you can calculate the total carbs then you can jot that n the recipe so when you cook it you can simply work out his portion size and divide the total carbs figure.

If you're uncertain about snacks, then do check with his DSN. I bolus for snacks unless my blood sugar is low or I'm about to exercise. You'll learn by experience. If he's having fruit as a snack, then something like an average not too large apple is around 15g carbs, and a banana can be anything from 20g to 35g or so depending on the weight. You might find he needs insulin for some snacks. Be cautious and be guided by his blood sugar.
 

azure

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There's a book called Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Young Adults by Ragnar Hanas, which is also good, along with the Type 1 'bible', Think Like A Pancreas.
 
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catapillar

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But as I cook a lot from scratch I am struggling with the carb counting I'm almost guessing with some meals

There are apps like cook and count or myfitnesspal that are good for carb counting home cooked meals - you tell them how many servings your recipe makes, enter all the ingredients by weight and then it will tell you how many carbs in one serving. There's a book carbs and cals which might also be helpful with pictures of various foods and meals in various portion sizes to help with a carb value, carbs and cals also has an app.
 

Missbee100

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There are apps like cook and count or myfitnesspal that are good for carb counting home cooked meals - you tell them how many servings your recipe makes, enter all the ingredients by weight and then it will tell you how many carbs in one serving. There's a book carbs and cals which might also be helpful with pictures of various foods and meals in various portion sizes to help with a carb value, carbs and cals also has an app.

Thank you
some good advice and tips that I will definitely be using
 

Missbee100

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There's a book called Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Young Adults by Ragnar Hanas, which is also good, along with the Type 1 'bible', Think Like A Pancreas.

Just ordered "think like a pancreas" I can't wait to get my hands on it!
Need all the help I can get!
 
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Missbee100

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There are apps like cook and count or myfitnesspal that are good for carb counting home cooked meals - you tell them how many servings your recipe makes, enter all the ingredients by weight and then it will tell you how many carbs in one serving. There's a book carbs and cals which might also be helpful with pictures of various foods and meals in various portion sizes to help with a carb value, carbs and cals also has an app.

Just downloaded an app that does just that (enter your ingredients etc etc)
Thank you for the heads up
Hopefully tonight's meal will be less of a guess!
 

noblehead

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Just ordered "think like a pancreas" I can't wait to get my hands on it!
Need all the help I can get!

It really is an excellent book, but the book recommendation by @azure is also worth purchasing (Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults).

Carb counting is really easy and once you get use to it it will become second nature, there's bg meter available that have a built-in bolus adviser, the Accu-Chek Aviva Expert is one such meter and I'm sure your child's DSN will be able to provide one for you.
 

Missbee100

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It really is an excellent book, but the book recommendation by @azure is also worth purchasing (Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults).

Carb counting is really easy and once you get use to it it will become second nature, there's bg meter available that have a built-in bolus adviser, the Accu-Chek Aviva Expert is one such meter and I'm sure your child's DSN will be able to provide one for you.

And so on yours and others recommendation I have also ordered the above book!
I shall be an expert!.....she says!

What is it you mean by bolus advisor?
My sons current meter reads sugar levels as well as ketones all According to which strips we use.......
 

catapillar

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What is it you mean by bolus advisor?

A bolus advisor (or a bolus calculator, or a bolus wizard) is mainly used in insulin pumps to calculate the bolus dose, because pumps can give much smaller increments of insulin than you can with injections. But some blood sugar monitors come with bolus calculators to advise on the dose of insulin. I think there are apps like mysugr that do a similar thing.

To use a bolus calculator you need to know:
  • What your insulin:carb ratio is
  • How long the duration of insulin lasts in you for, and when your last bolus was, and the amount of your last bolus
  • What your correction factor is
  • How many grams of carbs you are bolusing for
  • What your target blood sugar is
  • What your current blood sugar is
With all that information the bolus calculator does all the maths in the background to work out what your dose should be. So it will work out how many units you need to cover the carbs you are going to eat. And then it will work out if it needs to add a bit on (if you have high blood sugar) or take a bit off (if you have low blood sugar, or if you have insulin on board from your last bolus) to keep you in your target blood sugar.
 

noblehead

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What is it you mean by bolus advisor?

A bolus dose is the insulin you take with food, meters like the Aviva Expert have a built-in bolus adviser that calculates how much insulin (bolus dose) to take when you input the carb intake of the meal, it also takes into account the current bg level and advises accordingly.

The data for the bolus adviser to work needs to be manually imputed, the DSN usually do this for the patient and the data can be updated at any given time, so if say your boys insulin-to-carb ratio's changes you can (after been shown how to by the DSN) adjust this in the settings.

Here's a link to the Accu-Chek website, be sure to view the video which explains all:

https://www.accu-chek.co.uk/help/blood-glucose-meters/aviva-expert