something to suck

[dot]

On the rare occasions we all go away as a family, we like to have a couple of bags of sweets in the car to pass round. Since Iestyn was diagnosed we have all been very abstemious and none of us have had any sweets on journeys.

This year we have three or four long car journeys to get through. Has anyone any tips for a sweet replacement that we can all enjoy without the little lad's levels going through the roof?

Thanks.

 

[maryrachel]

Hi Dot
I guess some people would recommend diabetic sweets in these circumstances but I would advise not. Artificial sweetners are not good and also still effect the BG. You could try bying some licorice root from a health food store. It takes some getting used to but you can chew it and it lasts a long time. Just dont take too much. I am not sure how old Lestyn is but I would not advise this for very small children as they could choke.
Hope this helps

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

Have you thought of some other activity to pass the time and just a small amount of whatever sweets you had before. I know this sounds boring but at 12 a hand held computer game would do a lot of miles or what about a dvd player for the car (this is what I have so my 3 yr old can watch Playschool and the Wiggles till sleep takes over). Depending on the siblings you might have to set some ground rules to avoid fights.

Sadly the alternatives to food I can think of is some nuts/carrot sticks/kabana and cheese. Some of those wafer/cream biscuits are pretty low carb and like a treat. I'd like this sort of thing but I don't know that it would go over as a sweet replacement. Have you got much leeway for a between meal snack. Khaleb might be able to have 20gr carb between breakfast and lunch but only 10gr carb between lunch and dinner without needing extra insulin.

:?: Is it possible to replace sweets and chocolate :?:

 

[dot]

Its really a case of trying to find something that we can all eat so that he doesn't necessarily have to have something different. He hates to be singled out.

 

[SophiaW]

Can he (and all the passengers) not have a treat like a chocolate bar or bag of crisps or popcorn etc and then give him some Novorapid to cover the treat? If he and all of you have an individual bag/bar rather than sharing then you know exactly how many grams of carbs he's eating so you can inject insulin accordingly. Or you could replace the unhealthy treats with fresh fruit like strawberries and blueberries, these don't raise the BG too much if eaten in moderation and are a much healthier option which would be better for everyone, not just your son. You can keep them cool and fresh in an insulated lunchbox.

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

Its really a case of trying to find something that we can all eat so that he doesn't necessarily have to have something different. He hates to be singled out.

I did mean that the other foods would be for everyone. I understand your dilemma that you don't want to single one child out but you also don't want to deprive the rest of the family. It is a no win situation. How many grams carb are in those fruit based lolly pops (we call them chuppa chups) and some are milk based? At least they could be sucked for quite a while.

 

[Giraffe]

if it were me I would just get some diabetic sweets from thorntons. As you say, it's rare occasions, they don't really raise BG's much, and they taste really nice.

 

[nats12]

Have you tested him to check the effect of jelly sweets? Carbs and carbs from different diabetics effect their bg differently. I follow low carb and try for under 50g a day. But I'm human and love jelly sweets. I have tested my sugars and a few jelly sweets have less effect on my bg than either crisps or popcorn (which are so bad I try avoid them altogether). Carbs are carbs and sugar is only a type of carbs - all carbs of the same amount increase your bg the same amount (perhaps over different time period depending on the substance) but in the end 10g of carbs in sweets will rise it the same as 10g of carbs in crisps. Carrots for e.g are one I have to try avoid. I have sweets occasionaly and thats because I do so in moderation and with an eye on the carb level. Why don't you go to the shops and read some carb content on lables (do tell me if you find a miracle sweet). Tescos also stock low carb atkin bars..expensive but not bad for bg. Nuts are great and a fav snack of mine as a child was celery with peanut butter stuffed in the groove. M&S used to stock some sugar free sweets but to many give you tummy problems. I have been a type one for approx 34 years and have no complications (so far).

 

[joelcam]

sweetjunkie.com...

awesome site..I hate sweets but this site was given to me recently and looks great if you like sweets!