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Buzz2102 said:

Hi, really need some advice from parents of type 1 children please

, Our 11 year old was diagnosed end of February, and has now decided he doesn't want to eat... he thinks if he doesn't eat, he won't have to inject himself with insulin. I'm trying not to make it a big deal, and encouraging him with his favourite foods, but it's a challenge and usually ends up with him getting cross with me for "making him eat".... I'm sure we are not the first to come across this situation, and was wondering how you coped and got them through it

... any advice you can offer would be really appreciated x

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Hello, so sorry to hear of your worries, here is a link to the parent's section, which could help you.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/parents.16/

http://www.irunoninsulin.com/?p=4183 this about teenagers, but it could be useful.

All the best, I hope you find something to help your son, good luck.

I don't have a child with diabetes and I wasn't diagnosed until I was 25, so no experience of childhood and diabetes. But this kind of making food the enemy might not be that unusual a reaction to a type 1 diagnosis in any age.

11 isn't that young. Not too young to understand a basic explaination of what type 1 is. How much do you understand about what type 1 is and have you had those conversations with your son? Have you had a chat with him about why he's so keen to avoid injections - are they hurting (needle length, fresh needles everytime and injection technique can help with that) is he doing his own injection (giving him that control might be quite empowering)?

Type 1 is an autoimmune disease where your immune system gets a bit confused or over enthusiastic and kills off the beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Without insulin you have to inject insulin to stay healthy/alive. Even when we aren't eating our body will raise our blood sugar by giving out glucose stored in the liver. That's why we take basal insulin. And obviously we need to eat to keep going and we take bolus insulin to combat blood sugar rises from food. Think like a pancreas is a good book explaining how to manage type 1.

JDRF do a good pack for newly diagnosed children and it's worth finding out if they are doing any events in your area you could go to. It might help him to see others with type 1 getting on with it.

You could also have a chat to your DSN to see if there's any paediatric psych support available to help you son deal with diagnosis.

Buzz2102 said:

Hi, really need some advice from parents of type 1 children please

, Our 11 year old was diagnosed end of February, and has now decided he doesn't want to eat... he thinks if he doesn't eat, he won't have to inject himself with insulin. I'm trying not to make it a big deal, and encouraging him with his favourite foods, but it's a challenge and usually ends up with him getting cross with me for "making him eat".... I'm sure we are not the first to come across this situation, and was wondering how you coped and got them through it

... any advice you can offer would be really appreciated x

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Hi @Buzz2102 I can move your thread to the Parents section if you would like me to.

The first thing to,explain to your son is that not eating won't work. He'll still need insulin to keep him well. As he's recently diagnosed, he may still be making a little of his own insulin, but that will gradually decline.

Maybe try to be positive about food and keeping healthy. Talk about the exciting developments towards a cure (there are some exciting ideas around) Tell him that keeping himself healthy and well-nourished will mean he's in the best shape for whatever treatments are developed.

Also, maybe talk about his general life - eg sports, feeling well enough to play with his friends, doing well at school, etc.

I also suggest you speak to,his DSN. She may be able to put you in touch with other families and then he won't feel so alone.

Tell him he's not alone. There are lots of Type 1s leading healthy and busy lives, and diabetes won't hold him back. Explain he'll gradually get control of it and it will fit into his life and not be such a horribly big part of his thoughts.

Oh dear Buzz our youngest, also 11 years old, became diabetic T1 but as he had seen me inject it didnt bother him we were lucky. Perhaps if you and your son talk with your DSN she may explain the importance of his regime and doing his injections as the nurse will have had to deal with this problem before. I dont know if you are a T1 diabetic but injecting yourself doesnt hurt you get so used to it very quickly its the rest counting carbs, remembering to eat, looking out for Hypos etc thats thecproblem. Good luck.

Hi, what is the size of the needles you use? The 6mm 31g they supplied us with were scar even to look at. I bought 4mm 34g, nanopass needles, makves a huge difference, might help with his phobia. Good luck!

I'm so sorry to hear that @Buzz2102, I was diagnosed at 2 yrs old so luckily became part of daily habits! Try the shock factor, tell him if he doesn't care for himself, the complications could set in. Show Google photos etc. Also that although your primary concern is him, that if something happens to him it's you, friends and other family suffer. Get him to understand your concerns and consider everyone else's feelings. Be cruel to be kind?

You will have a tough job ahead of you, esp as puberty/hormones will set in. You have a huge network here, take advantage of it, the support etc. Perhaps get him an account on this forum as there's a section for kids so he can rant, rave, vent his feelings and see that other kids go through that!!

Buzz2102 said:

Thanks Kate, i will get him an account on here, that's an awesome idea

. He says I just don't understand, so speaking with others going through it might

, so simple why didn't I think of it

... thank you so much x

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You are so welcome! That's why this forum is so brilliant, everyone has different thoughts, ideas etc. My oldest daughter is 13 and as much as I try the communication thing with her, she prefers other people, peers, ie not her mom, Letting go is not fun! Best of luck!

Buzz2102 said:

Thanks Kate, i will get him an account on here, that's an awesome idea

. He says I just don't understand, so speaking with others going through it might

, so simple why didn't I think of it

... thank you so much x

Click to expand...

Many diabetes teams also have psychological help available to help come to terms with a diagnosis so it may be worth asking about that too.

Praise him, tell him you know how hard it is, and tell him he's not alone. There are many Type 1s just like him.

Some good advice here. Although, personally, I wouldn't sow the seeds of a "cure" into his head. I was diagnosed aged 8 and, pretty much, since day 1 I've been told from various avenues that a cure is in the pipeline. It's being developed and tested. It'll be in the next 2, 5, 10 years. Etc, etc. Here we are, 32 years down the line and the latest is Apple are now working on things. Until a concrete "cure" is found and put into practice, there is no cure. Given the huge profits pharma rake in from diabetes, is a cure a sensible business option for them? for Apple, it might make sense as they're not pharma. We shall see

Of course, you should parent your child as you see best Just from my personal perspective I really wish that "cure" mongers would've held back and not granted me false hope as a child.

Hi @Buzz2102 . Just a random thought, but does your son play/ like any particular sport?
There's a few sports personalities who are T1. Having a role model could might help.
Other than that I can only wish you good luck.

Hello,
maybe it's too much to ask him to perform the injection himself, but if he has the ability then he can set the needle ready?
You could try taking him somewhere like McDonald's or somewhere in public where he might act braver?
My favourite is to bribe my son. He's 8 years old his appetite soon re-appears if there's haribo or a barny bear for 'desert'.
I like your idea of acting cool about it, he does need an injection even if he doesn't eat, tell him that if he doesn't have food for a meal then he needs a high-carb drink with his injection.

Buzz2101, here is an alternative perspective.

We all have a deep need for control over our lives. Diabetes has just invaded and taken a lot of his control over his own body. Let him take some control back.

It's true that if you skip meals you will need to inject fewer times (provided you are on an appropriate basal-bolus regime). Embrace his choice not to eat, and reduce the number of injections accordingly. If he is upset that he still needs to inject, try to get him to feel good about the fact that he has successfully reduced the number of injections he needs to take.

It's hard work to go hungry, and you should show him respect for that.

Hopefully, once he feels like he has regained some control over his life, he will be ready to make the choice to do more injections in return for more freedom with eating. Give him some time to reach this point on his own, as that will be the best way, but if he doesn't you will have to intervene eventually.

Best of luck.

Hi how are you all coping now??

Yeah, an injection port could be a good idea.

Do you know why his sugars are so variable? Do they spike even when he's not eating? Usually it's a matter of tweaking dosages and ratios and accounting for exercise, but in some individuals things are crazy all the time and a different approach is needed.

The most likely thing is that puberty is beginning, which causes all kinds of hormones to be dumped into his system unpredictably.

Is it possible he is sneaking food or drink? Maybe he is drinking something sugary without realising it affects his BGs as well.