Active 11 Year Old Newly Diagnosed

[l_warrenbeck]

Hello

Not only are we new to T1, I am also new to forums, so please bare with me

My daughter was diagnosed with T1 8 weeks ago, she is a very active child, doing 2 hours of intense Dance & Athletic Training per day 4 days per week.

Our Dr/Nurses believe she is in the Honeymoon phase, however based on her data from her Libre 2, I believe her amazing levels are down to her being active.

On her not so active days we are seeing readings of between 13.5 & 22, along with her insulin requirements increasing at meal times, during her 4 active days she only requires 1/2 units of insulin at breakfast and lunch and non at tea time (after intense training), where as on rest days she is having 3 fast acting and 1 slow release & insulin requirements move up to 3/4 units.

Our Diabetes team have said they haven't seen such an active T1 child in a while, and I feel like we are being brushed off with the Honey Moon Phase (now 6 weeks into it).

I am just a little bit lost as over the past 3 rest period she has been asking if her Honeymoon period is wearing off, my mothers instinct is telling me her spikes are due to her being non-active, however I am aware as a mum of a newly diagnosed child my mothers instinct is still finding its feet.

I have put below a typical active week for her;

Monday-
School Athletics Team Practice- 45min
Street Dance Team- 30 min
Street Dance Technical Training- 30 min

Tuesday-
School Rounders Team Practice- 45min
Fell Training- 1 hour

Wednesday-
Acrobatic Dance- 1 Hour

Thursday-
School Netball Team Practice- 45min
Hill Training (Running)- 1 hr

Friday - Sunday = Rest Day

1 Sunday Per Month- Fell Race for local running club.

 

[jaywak]

What sought of bg readings is she getting on her active days ? Bgs of 13 - 22 on her non active days is very high and would say this needs to be looked at !

 

[EllieM]

Our Dr/Nurses believe she is in the Honeymoon phase, however based on her data from her Libre 2, I believe her amazing levels are down to her being active.

Welcome to the forums.

Logically (disclaimer, I'm not a doctor, this is not medical advice) there's no reason why she can't be in the honeymoon period (still produces some insulin) but needs less insulin when she's very active. Plenty of adult T1s find they need less insulin when they are active, and learn to adjust their basal and bolus accordingly.

Is she on a basal/bolus regime? I would have thought she would be an ideal candidate for a pump, bur they often like people to learn how to use basal/bolus first. What's her slow acting insulin and when is she taking it?

To be honest, 6 weeks in you are very much in a learning process, but if you keep good food and exercise logs it should hopefully be possible to get it sorted sooner rather than later. In your position I would definitely ask about a pump.

It's excellent that your daughter is so active.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Activity of any kind will see insulin needs reduced. When I visit the gym I usually reduce the amount of insulin I use before the visit; even a bit of gardening can rapidly reduce my blood sugar. I wouldn't worry too much about the honeymoon period. If your daughter is still going thru it then her insulin needs will slowly increase over time. I agree that a pump may be relevant. My consultant offered me one last week but as I'm in my 70s (!) I thought it wasn't too relevant but for a child it can be a great help. If she does start using a pump then I think she would need to change from a Libre 2 to a Dexcom G6 or the forthcoming Libre 3 as these provide continuous data to the receiving device. This would all be explained and managed by the diabetes team.

 

[Circuspony]

I have to reduce my insulin massively on active days vs non active days.

I have a very active lifestyle and any days which involve me sitting in an office can send my BG up into the teens as well because its hard for me to assess how much is needed. Keeping a diary is really helpful and in the early days I had my fitbit which showed quite how much I was doing.

I'm also more sensitive to exercise in the afternoon and can get caught out if I have a late lunch.