2 yr old just diagnosed type 1

[emmamadi]

Hi! I must say that after a week in hospital with my 2 yr old I was feeling a little confused and alone about his diagnosis. Then I found this forum! I have been reading through this section with much interest, as my sons doctors have said that it is quite rare for someone of his age to get diabetes type 1. We live in a rural area and there is very minimal support from other families or parents due to lack of numbers. So it was very interesting to read all the different senarios on here.
My son was rushed to hospital 2 weeks ago, and they quickly found his bm to be 37. After some time in hospital his medication is now 3 units of lantus and 1 and a half units of nova rapid at meal times (given after he eats after a few times when he refused to then eat). His levels are still all over the place while I presume his body settles down, he could be 23 before lunch, then mid afternoon slump to 2. I check him 2-3 times in the night as he goes down so quickly between 2am and 7 am.
I was just looking for reasurence really, that these early days are hard, tiring, emotional and scary???! Also he hates having his insulin injections, does anyone have any tips at all to make this easier for him? He is so little its hard to see him upset. We have a sticker chart going at the moment for him, but it doesnt seem to make the injections any easier at all.
Thanks for any advice
Emma

 

[leggott]

So sorry to hear about your son. Those first few weeks are very hard and you are probably on an emotional roller coaster.

My son was 4 when he was diagnosed, so hopefully someone with experience of little ones will be along later.

My advice at this stage would be to keep a food diary so you can adjust insulin doses. Inject at the end of the meal in case he doesn't finish it. Carry on with testing every 2/3 hours.

As far as injections go, well it does get easier overtime and it will become away of life. My daughter found that rubbing this site before injecting helped and of course changing the needle each time.

This forum has many parents who are always around to offer support and advice or even a shoulder to cry on when you're having a bad day.

 

[mariab]

Hi Emma

My grandaughter was diagnosed when she was two as well. She's nearly five now and checks her own blood and prepares the insulin injection (she can't do it herself because her hands aren't big enough!). Your son will adapt very quickly. Unfortunately, it's the adults that take longer to adapt.

One problem she has in that when her sugar is high she needs the loo more often and sometimes 'leaks' and doesn't realise it. Her primary school is not very supportive and we've had to be quite assertive to get them to understand her condition. They were reluctant to test her before/after meals but we managed to find one of the staff who was willing to do it.

Luckily she enjoys salads, vegetables, pasta etc so she is quite easy to cater for with her diet. The best advice we had was to stick to a normal diet with everything in moderation. She still has a daily treat when she comes home from school and she's starting to know what she can/can't have. It's still hard at times but if you involve the whole family it is easier.

You will have good days and bad days but you will learn to manage it.

Maria x

 

[emmamadi]

Thank you to you both, its nice to have a friendly ear that has some life experience with this also! Both myself and my husband had a couple of wobbly days in hospital thinking that his life would be somehow less 'normal', but we are quickly coming to realise that hopefully once he settles down he should be ok. Our 7 yr old son is also finding it a bit hard to adjust as he is seeing Jac get lots of attention, but we are trying hard to include him as well. Its such a balancing act!
Thanks again, Emma

 

[mariab]

You have to treat them as normal as possible and involve your other son or he will feel pushed out. My grandson is nearly six and he knows how many units she has and has done the injection (because he wanted
a 'go'!).

It's not always easy and things like babysitting can be a problem if grandparents etc are not comfortable. Even though I'm used to it now I am always nervous about babysitting or taking her out on my own - just in case.

I went to one of her clinic appointments and the consultant asked me what I was afraid of. When I said that I wasn't sure, she asked me if I was afraid that she was going to die! I think, subconsciously, that is what I was afraid of. She said that even if she had a hypo, as long as we got her to hospital she would be OK. That put my mind at rest that I wasn't 'on my own' if anything happened.

She has had some nasty hypo's but you have to try and learn from each one and try and work out what, if anything, was different and could have caused it. Sometimes there is no reason - it could just be a growth spurt and different body requirements. So you adjust, learn and carry on. It's a continuous learning curve.

Maria x

 

[heart01]

Try pen mate....by nova rapid.....it injects the insulin like an epipen.the insulin cartridge slots into it you then add your needle in the usual way.You then place on the skin and press the button and it plunges the needle into your skin painlessly in most cases. your son won't have to see the needle entering his skin....this helped my daughter and us enormously at injection time.....my daughter was diagnosed almost a year ago aged 4 so was a lot older. But pen mate will defiantly make things easier...

 

[annettekp]

Hi

My son was 20 months when he was diagnosed and I know how hard it is in the beginning for the whole family. It affects everyone.

Injections can be tricky. We used to sing to Erland as we did them! If it hurts him you could try a different size of needle. We're using 4mm at the moment but I know some people prefer the bigger ones.

It took us a long time to get his levels down and we had horrid high bloods for a good 6 weeks as we fiddled about with the insulin to get it right. I was exhausted! But it gets better as you become more confident and your son starts to feel better.

There are lots of parents here to lend an ear and give advice - its brilliant!

Annette

 

[Spearmint]

Hi! I must say that after a week in hospital with my 2 yr old I was feeling a little confused and alone about his diagnosis. Then I found this forum! I have been reading through this section with much interest, as my sons doctors have said that it is quite rare for someone of his age to get diabetes type 1. We live in a rural area and there is very minimal support from other families or parents due to lack of numbers. So it was very interesting to read all the different senarios on here.

I was just looking for reasurence really, that these early days are hard, tiring, emotional and scary???! Also he hates having his insulin injections, does anyone have any tips at all to make this easier for him? He is so little its hard to see him upset. We have a sticker chart going at the moment for him, but it doesnt seem to make the injections any easier at all.
Thanks for any advice
Emma

Hi Emma

Can't advise much about the age thing as my daughter was diagnosed at age 9 but she too hated the injections to start with, i used to have to pin her down to do them for the first 2 weeks which was horrible. After that i used to numb the area with an ice cube for a few weeks until she got used to them a bit more.

Totally sympathise about the rural area and lack of support though.

I agree that yes it is hard, tiring, emotional and scary at first but it does get easier as time goes on, there is light at the end of the tunnel but it can be hard to see it sometimes.

 

[SophiaW]

I'm so sorry that your son has been diagnosed Type 1. It is really hard in the first weeks and months, nothing makes a lot of sense and there seems like an enormous amount of stuff you need to learn, it can be very daunting and confusing. It does get better though, even if it doesn't feel like it ever will right now, you really do all get your way of life back again but it's just a slightly different routine to what you were used to before diabetes. My daughter was 4 when she was diagnosed and we were very careful to include our 6 year old son as much as possible. Allowing him to help with testing and answering lots of his questions and keeping him as part of the care team really helped him to feel that his role was important to the family. Your sticker charts are a good idea for getting into the routine of injections. Jess got used to the injecting routine after some time and it became normal to her. The finger pricking was worse for us than the injections, she said it hurt more, but as her fingers toughened up it is now not a problem for her. Remember lots of love, cuddles and an enormous amount of understanding will help your son to get through the hardest part which is getting used to the new routine of testing and injecting.

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

Welcome to the forum. It is a bit rough at first and sadly the tiredness seems to be a constant. I still find myself checking Khaleb during the night. I usually only get up once and if in doubt I just feed him something so I can get some sleep. I have learnt over the years that it is very important to still try and take care of yourself. Khaleb was really little diagnosed so truly doesn't know anything else. He knows he gets his finger pricked before he eats and even though he doesn't like the injections he doesn't really put up a fight. I tend to inject him with him laying on my lap - face down. I use his butt and front of thigh mainly. I can put interesting toys or activities at his face and hands to distract him while I do the needle. I can stand over him while he is standing also and put a needle in his hip fat while keeping his body against my legs. Khaleb has hardly any fat to grab round his tummy but one day we will move to using that area. Hang in there. One day at a time and don't stress about the ups and downs. Sometime down the track your brain will allocate a special area as a diabetes calculator and you'll know when they are going up or down.

 

[chell7]

Hi Emma,

we seem to have almost posted the same message regarding our newly diagnosed children and the emotional and practical difficulties that seem to follow.

My daughters 12 and I very lucky that she is independant, sensible and able to understand and reason with all the facts and education. However we are finding it tremendously tiring and emotionally draining trying to manage the practicalities alongside trying to reach some kind of acceptance. It must be doubly hard for you and your little man at his tender age.

I dont know if your also finding that everyone seems to think that once you have mastered the injections then its just a case of getting on with things. Family and friends tend to say things like 'oh well, as long as your moving in the right direction' and I just feel out of sync with everyone except my daughter at the moment.

Good luck and hang in there .... x

Michelle

 

[nicolaknight86]

hi, sorry about your sons diagnosis!
My little girl was 10 months old diagnosed but is 4 now so she has grown up with diabetes and it really is all she has ever known!
I sing to jaz when I inject her, nursery rhymes, counting rhymes ect as this always seemed to relax her, which always seems to hurt her less than if she is tensing! We still sing now although it may well be a pop song instead lol
Also we use 5mm needles as these are teeny and dont seem to hurt as much!
I think its also worth mentioning injection sites, my little girl will still now only let me inject her arms and legs, we tried belly and bum when she was younger and still keep trying but she wont have any of it at all! so we really are playing it by her, when shes ready we will, although she has 4 injections a day so its 1 for each arm and leg.
Hope the whole family is doing well, Im sure its all very daunting at the moment but it really does get easier and your little boy will grow up with it, he'll be an expert by 5 lol

 

[emmamadi]

Thank you all so much for the responses with the advice and support. I really appreciate it. Following the advice, his diabetic nurse is coming tomorrow with the penmate to try. I also have tried singing to him which made it slightly easier. We ventured out for lunch today which was nice. I dont want him to feel embarrassed by injecting insulin or have to do it in the toilet, so as we were in a quiet corner we just did it there. Felt happy that we had managed a nice lunch out.
Its great to hear from people who also live with/how we are finding things, ands its nice that hopefully in the future my little boy will also see that other people are also going through the same things as him.
Thanks again to everyone,
Emma

 

[CaitlinGibbons]

Hi,

My 3 yr old was diagnosed last October, she was 2 and a half at the time. It is only now that I realise just how little information we were given, and probably how little we were able to take in at that time....Sylvie was always brilliant about having her injections, the finger prick hurts more so sometimes that would be the fight. I tend to give the injection in between the main course and pudding as even a yoghurt would be a good enough bribe to get the injection over and done with without much of a fuss. However this age group is so fickle and temperamental that I think it will always be a struggle until they are old enough to grasp it. I guess the "bonus" of being diagnosed this early is that hopefully they will grow up with the regime as second nature - a thought that reassures me but also breaks my heart at the same time...

Sylvie also has highs in the late morning and tends to come down with a bump in the early afternoon, despite this her HBAc results have so far been good so don't let it panic you too much. Keep a cool head and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.

All the best,
Caitlin

 

[Jools*Sparkle]

Hi Emma

I was 2 yrs and 10 months old when I went diabetic - that was 31 years ago now. I too kicked up merry hell whenever I saw Sid Syringe (yes, we named all the equipment!) coming for me until my Mum came up with an idea. Whenever I had to have an injection I would hold a smartie in my mouth and would chew on it as the needle went in. It gives you a little treat and it takes your mind off the fact you've got a needle stuck in your bum/arm/leg. In this day and age you cn get sugar free sweets so maybe you could try that? It worked on me until I was about 10, so either I was easily bribed as a child or it worked as it should do...

I have to admit, being one of the hardest people to get blood out of (27 attempts before getting a central line in my neck in is my record! I don't plan to try that hard again to keep the blood in my veins :lol: )I still keep a boiled sweet in my mouth as I walk in the the phlebotomists office) and it's good just to have something else to focus on as the needle goes in.

And good luck. Being a diabetic child isn't always easy but I do think I'd rather have gone diabetic at 2yrs rather than as a teenager. Your son won't remember being anything but diabetic as he grows up, so it will become something akin to 2nd nature. My next door neighbour who is the same age as I am went type 1 when he was 15. He rebelled aginst it all as he was used to being able to eat what he wanted, whenever he wanted. Now he's in a much worse state that I am, even though I've been diabetic for twice as long.

And just so you know - I joined this forum just so I could answer your post... I look forward to talking to fellow diabetes sufferers on here a lot more in future. I hope I helped you out a little Emma.

Julie x

 

[serankine]

Hi my daughter was diagnosed last november age 4.
She hated the injections and run around the room for her B.G test. Now she does it all on her own. We have moved on to the pump now and she loes it.
We used a suger free tiptops as a reward for her injections. They went down really well also my son has tiptops as a reward so he doesnt feel left out. We also used star charts but they only worked for a week we still use the tiptops now.
I aslo read a book called Diabetes through the looking glass. Would really recommed this after i read it gave it to other family members to read. And i still look at it now.
Hope you are getting on well, young children adapt really well.

 

[emmamadi]

Thank you again everyone! We have tried the penmate, but it made him bleed a lot and we were not sure if the insulin ended up going in as he went high after, this happened a few times. Now persevering with the origional pen. The injecting before the pudding is a great idea and thats what we have been doing, also trying a treat in his mouth while injecting......but he may need some persuading just yet! He has also had 2 ear infections this week and is on antibiotics, so that has changed everything again while he fights the infection.
So thank you for all the ideas, we are trying them all and really appreciate the ideas and help.
Thanks also to Julie for joining especially to reply to my post, Im really grateful.
Emma