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Hot weather dramas..

H

Hicup10

Newbie
Messages
4
First of all this is a brilliant site!  I thought I would quickly introduce myself and hope to get to know people in the same situation as myself. A month ago my son (10yrs) was diagnosed with diabetes type 1. We had no idea he had it and almost lost him. The thing we noticed most towards the end was the weight loss. One night he was so weak he couldn't make it to his bed after going to the toilet. It was that night that we decided to take him to the hospital. We live in West Africa (Guinea) so once our doctor was able to stablise him we were immediately evacuated to London by air ambulance. At first it was hard to digest the news my son was diabetic but it's been a month now and sometimes I forget he has it. The funny thing is it's actually my son who has made it easier for me to cope with his chronic condition. He's only ten but so mature about the whole thing. We know we have a long way to go but it's nice to know that there's so much information and personal experiences on this site to guide us. In a weeks time we'll be moving back to Guinea and there will be a lot of changes and challenges particularly with the heat - its 30 degrees all year round - and this is one of the real reasons why I joined this site. Right now his daily BM averages under ten. I'm doing carb counting and giving 3 or 4 units of Novorapid at mealtimes with 8 units of Lantus at night. I would love to hear from anyone using the same Novorapid/Lantus combination, especially in warm or tropical climates.
 
Re: First timer

Hi,

what a shock that must have been, and a really hard time for you to see your boy like that!

but i'm glad everythings all good and well now, and seems like he's quite a character

Sounds like your on the right track and doing well after only a month!

Your right in realising changes will be made if your going back to very different weather.

I don't have experience with living in a climate such as that in west africa, only a two week holiday in turkey a while back when i was still on daily injections (i now use an insulin pump with just novorapid)

a bit of advice i would give is be prepared to drop his ratio's and background insulin, which you should be good at as you have clearly worked hard with carb counting and working out his required doses.

Always be prepared for hypo's so stock up on the treatments you use.

And as always test, test, test! the sooner you get to grips with how the hot weather alters his requirements the better of course

I've only had diabetes for just over two years, diagnosed aged 20, and even after a short while it's sort of felt like i've always had it and it's all completely second nature now, wether it be checking my Blood as soon as i wake up, weighing food and reading packets.

Make sure you keep us updated on your moved back out there and i hope all continues to go well for you both
 
Re: First timer

hi everyone i a diabetic for 22 yrs now and still finding it hard to cope with it . i know after 22 yrs you would think i be used to it but i not i hate being a diabetic .

i am on novorapid flexpens and lantus solor star at nite . i got to watch what i eat and drink watch my blood sugar levels all the time .

i had one bad hypo last yr and it was awful for my family to see me like that not knowing whats goin on and even worse not remebering how it happend.
 
Re: First timer

I live in Queensland, Australia and it is fairly warm for most of the year. Keeping hydrated is important and the exercise that goes along with warm weather like swimming means there are times to watch for hypos. I find I drop the amount of insulin my son has during really warm weather but other people I've met increase their insulin (maybe heat stress?). I suppose it depends on how you feel. I hate the cold so never complain about the 35 deg days.

Glad you are both coping well. It can be a bumpy road sometimes.
 
Thanks for your replies, really appreciate the feedbacks. I grew up in hot climate countries and recognise the different types of heat you can get. Brisbane (QLD) is my second home. My son however prefers the cold weather so it'll be interesting to see which way his glucose readings will go?! I think that fact that we moved to Guinea three months ago and heat really affected him (due to that fact that's when it must have all started) might have something to do with his dislike for hot weather. Anyway I'll keep you posted.
 
hi and welcome

reading ur post reminded me of dylan at diagnosis we didnt realise either and it got to a critical point with DKA but 4 years on we cope and dylan is an inspiration to me he gets on with things never moans and loves his sport today for example he is running a cross country race for his school.

we find in the summer dylan has alot more hypos and we struggle to regulate his levels however he is now on a pump so hopefully this summer will be abit easier, good luck with ur move back and hope all goes well

anna marie
 
Hi Anna marie,

Thanks for your post. Dylan's attitude towards life is fantastic and sounds a lot like Jaylan, just gets on with things and loves his sports. Jay is an outdoor kid, plays rugby union, cricket, football and swimming. Im still amazed to this day how he managed to win his swimming race the day before we admitted him into the hospital and how he managed to stay conscious the whole time! He's a champion! Now that we are in Guinea he only has football and swimming lessons, there's no cricket or RU.
Im really interested to find out how Dylan gets on with the pump, I'm still not sure how the pump works. Our doctor believes we should be eligible after a year or two. She sounds really optimistic and encouraging which is always refreshing.
 
Dylan absolutly loves his pump he was scared of the idea of it and didnt want it but i persuaded him we needed to try it having tried every option and getting no where with bloods in the 20s being the norm for us, now he is more stable he performs better at school and in his chosen sports of football, taekwondo running and swimming and feels great hes not tired all the time can concentrate better and we had a breakthrough with bed wetting which was impossible to crack being in the 20s nightly, which was highly embarrasing for dylan.

generally life has improved for both myself and dylan with the pump and if asked to return it we would fight all the way, i have found him to be more stable and cant wait to see the latest hba1c results having never had one under 10, im sure we will this time tho. however its not been easy usng a pump to get great results requires alot of work and sleepless nights to get it right and we have had a few probs with bubbles in the tubing but because we are vigilant and do goodness knows how many tests a day its not been a problem for us

the pump basically works by just having fast acting insulin in it in our case novo rapid, its is then drip fed per hour and u can change the rate of this hourly so they get different amounts when its needed, then for meals u do ur carb ratios like in the basal/ bolus regime but with no injections involved we just do a cannula change every 3 days which isnt as bad as it sounds esp if u use numbing cream lol

my advice to anyone offered one is give it a try its def changed dylans life for the better

anna marie
 
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