Hi im new to all this so if i could get some tips that would be great so her is our story we wer told my four year old son had diabetes type 1 3 weeks ago . We are devastated i just cant get my head round it all i think i have felt everything from guilt to anger but worse than what i feel is what my son feels it is soul destroying he is still not right yet he still looks pale and and acts confused alot his b/g are ranging from very high 17.4 to being very low 2.4 some are good readings like 6.9 he has had a lot of hypos so his nurse reduced his novo rapid and his levamir and he has started to go high i have checked his urine over the weekend for keytones but it has showed none .my son is not a very good eater so that has caused problems also as trying to get a four year old to eat healthy when he is not a great eater at the best of times is very hard. I am looking for good ways of getting him to eat healthy so any tips would be great . We are still comming to terms with this and i know people say in time we will get used to it but i dont think il ever get used to this i will forever be dreading the big hypo or the keytones or if he get ill im always going to be on edge. My son gets very angry at times and dealing with his wee feelings has been tough on us all esp his 12 years old brother who is feeling the brunt of his anger he then change and becomes so loving its very tough as he is all over the place so if anyone out ther knows how he is behalving like this we could at least understand it as i have checked his blood and he was not hypo if anything he might have been a bit high . We meet with his diabetic doctors on wed +i will phone his diabetic nurse tomorow to give him the readings . Thanks for taking the time to read our story
My four year old son has type 1 we need HELP
- Thread starter reece4type1
- Start Date
Hi Reece4Type1.
Welcome to the forum. You are in the right place for help and support. We will do our best to answer any questions you might have. We have many Mum's in similar circumstances on here who I am sure will assist you along the way. It must be a diificult time for you, just remember that Diabetes can be and is controllable. Just get educated about the condition and things will get better.
Ken.
Welcome to the forum. You are in the right place for help and support. We will do our best to answer any questions you might have. We have many Mum's in similar circumstances on here who I am sure will assist you along the way. It must be a diificult time for you, just remember that Diabetes can be and is controllable. Just get educated about the condition and things will get better.
Ken.
Hi, I'm new here too. My 8yr old daughter was diagnosed about 9 weeks ago so I can totally sympathise with you, it's devasting news to take in but I can honestly say that it really does get better. At first it feels like ALL you think about and that you will never be happy and relaxed again but it will improve, hang in there!
I am still struggling a bit to find snacks for my daughter but searching the internet for diabetic recipes has helped. Like your son, she's not the best eater in the world and you can forget salads, cold meats or raw veg (though she's good with cooked veg). I find home cooked popcorn good, home made cheese straws, rice cakes with marmite on, Skips (about 9carbs a packet) or breadsticks. It becomes a bit repetative so always on lookout for new ideas.
My daughter is an identical twin and her sister is not diabetic. We have found our non-diabetic daughter's reaction more difficult to deal with! It's settling down now but she was VERY angry for the first month. Once we made less of a fuss about diabetes, stopped talking and worrying about it all the time, then her behaviour improved.
I really do sympathise and I know your boy is younger than my daughter so maybe more difficult to express how he feels (both emotionally and physically) but it really will improve, and probably quicker than you imagine. Have you tried the JDRF website and the kids section of the Diabetes UK one?
Good luck.
Jo
I am still struggling a bit to find snacks for my daughter but searching the internet for diabetic recipes has helped. Like your son, she's not the best eater in the world and you can forget salads, cold meats or raw veg (though she's good with cooked veg). I find home cooked popcorn good, home made cheese straws, rice cakes with marmite on, Skips (about 9carbs a packet) or breadsticks. It becomes a bit repetative so always on lookout for new ideas.
My daughter is an identical twin and her sister is not diabetic. We have found our non-diabetic daughter's reaction more difficult to deal with! It's settling down now but she was VERY angry for the first month. Once we made less of a fuss about diabetes, stopped talking and worrying about it all the time, then her behaviour improved.
I really do sympathise and I know your boy is younger than my daughter so maybe more difficult to express how he feels (both emotionally and physically) but it really will improve, and probably quicker than you imagine. Have you tried the JDRF website and the kids section of the Diabetes UK one?
Good luck.
Jo
Hi JoJ.
Welcome to the forum. Take a good look around and ask any questions if you wish. We are here to help and support. Not too sure about your food choices though, many Diabetics both T1 and T2 would find some of them difficult to tolerate ?
Here is a link to the Mayo Clinic about T1 Diabetes and Children. There is some good information there especially about what to ask your health care team. Have a read.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/type-1 ... en/DS00931
Ken.
Welcome to the forum. Take a good look around and ask any questions if you wish. We are here to help and support. Not too sure about your food choices though, many Diabetics both T1 and T2 would find some of them difficult to tolerate ?
Here is a link to the Mayo Clinic about T1 Diabetes and Children. There is some good information there especially about what to ask your health care team. Have a read.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/type-1 ... en/DS00931
Ken.
Hi,
I feel for you, I really do. I'm a Type 1 myself but I always feel more for parents of newly diagnosed children. Stay with us though, as there are many experienced parents of Type 1's on the forum and I'm sure they'll offer you some good advice.I won't give you any dietary advice, as I don't know enough about the differences required between adult and child advice for that but I just wanted to welcome you to the forum and say 'hang in there' because once over the shock, I'm sure you'll cope admirably. Life can throw us a rotten hand at times but we muddle through somehow and you will too.
Kindest wishes, Chocoholic.
I feel for you, I really do. I'm a Type 1 myself but I always feel more for parents of newly diagnosed children. Stay with us though, as there are many experienced parents of Type 1's on the forum and I'm sure they'll offer you some good advice.I won't give you any dietary advice, as I don't know enough about the differences required between adult and child advice for that but I just wanted to welcome you to the forum and say 'hang in there' because once over the shock, I'm sure you'll cope admirably. Life can throw us a rotten hand at times but we muddle through somehow and you will too.
Kindest wishes, Chocoholic.
Hi Reece & Joj,
welcome to the forum, i too am a parent, my son is 10yrs old and has been T1 since Feb '06. The early days are always fraut with every emotion imaginable and it can be almost as hard on other symblings as it is for the diabetic child themselves. The whole family suffers, but in time it does get easier, and thats a promise.
I can give you snack ideas, knowing which insulins there on helps, especially when carb counting, i'm fortunate, my son eats anything, at the moment its getting him not to eat all the time, as 4 injections a days enough, but sometimes when hes over indulged because of hunger bought on from growth spurts he has had 5 injections a day.
all the best,
Suzi x
welcome to the forum, i too am a parent, my son is 10yrs old and has been T1 since Feb '06. The early days are always fraut with every emotion imaginable and it can be almost as hard on other symblings as it is for the diabetic child themselves. The whole family suffers, but in time it does get easier, and thats a promise.
I can give you snack ideas, knowing which insulins there on helps, especially when carb counting, i'm fortunate, my son eats anything, at the moment its getting him not to eat all the time, as 4 injections a days enough, but sometimes when hes over indulged because of hunger bought on from growth spurts he has had 5 injections a day.
all the best,
Suzi x
Mood is considerably affected by blood sugar readings. Low blood sugars often make people irritable and high blood sugars make them feel tired. With fussy eaters it is sometimes best to give the meal insulin after they have actually eaten so you don't over do it.
I can't offer much help. I'm not a parent of a diabetic child, but I can say "Stop feeling guilty" It's not your fault. you have enough to do coping.
Learn all you can and act with love. It's all you can do.
Learn all you can and act with love. It's all you can do.
Hi everyone thanks for ur great feedback im really glad i joined now well just to give a wee bit more info on my sons insulin he gets levimir in the mornig only 6units plus novorapid one unit for every 10grams of carb .He also gets novorapid at lunch and tea but he only gets half a unit for every 10 gram of carbs he gets his insulin after eating as we wer finding it hard to get him to finish meals so thats why his diabetic nurse has changed it . Reece is not so good at eating in the morning it is a struggle to get him to finish his toast or if he has cereal he wants it without the milk wich takes him to long to finish so we end up having to give him yogurt to make it up 
every meal time im a bag of nerves its just so upseting as i would love to give him healthy foods but its not always possible as he is such a fussy eater so i end up feeling guilty i know im new to this but its just so tough i phoned his diabetic nurse today as he had a hypo when we got him up this morning then he had one at snack time it was really low 1.8 his diabetic nurse has still not got back to me :? so i guess il have to just wait till tomorrow to find out what to do im really angry as im new to this so do need ther help . thanks again to you all xox
every meal time im a bag of nerves its just so upseting as i would love to give him healthy foods but its not always possible as he is such a fussy eater so i end up feeling guilty i know im new to this but its just so tough i phoned his diabetic nurse today as he had a hypo when we got him up this morning then he had one at snack time it was really low 1.8 his diabetic nurse has still not got back to me :? so i guess il have to just wait till tomorrow to find out what to do im really angry as im new to this so do need ther help . thanks again to you all xox Hi there,
My son was 8 months old when he became diabetic and also has Down syndrome. He has a brother who is 12 years older. I've been looking after Khaleb's diabetes for the past 2 years and I'd just like to reassure you that you will get REALLY good at managing this condition.
A few examples of strategies I often use are-
Feed first, insulin after (no need to worry if they don't eat or eat all).
Put stickers or something on the pen with the short acting insulin so you don't mix up the doses -yes, I've done this.
Pack heaps of stuff in your bag so you can stay out like a normal family.
Don't panic about every figure the meter gives you. Any mistakes you made were done hours ago so it's no use beating yourself up over it.
Higher is better than lower with kids. I wouldn't even try to correct a 17 (unless sick) with short acting insulin but would reduce the amount of carb at the next meal to balance out. Half a unit of Novorapid will drop Khaleb about 15mml.
Watch out for the effects of exercise for at least 24 hours.
Suffer the checking in the wee hours of the morning.
Give long acting insulin at the same time each day.
Get a good routine.
Don't try and fix anything suddenly. It can take days to find a pattern and it is better to be a bit high than see-sawing from high to low and back again.
Diabetes is a family issue, not just the issue of the diabetic. Involve your other child in the management and get them to have an understanding of why you spend so much time testing, meal planning, worrying etc...
I haven't met kids under 5 staying between 4-8. Khaleb will be under 10 about 2.5 hours after meal/insulin and he is often around 15 (sometimes higher) when I go to bed.
Get a meter that you can check for blood ketones.
I have a list of things to pack to go to hospital if needed. Illnesses in kids can make diabetes really hard to control.
I can tell you that in 2 years we haven't had a serious hypo and I have never needed to use the glucagon injection. I do keep glucose powder handy to mix up as a hypo treatment or glucose syrup out of the cooking aisle in the supermarket. It is quite an achievement when you work out how not to over-treat a hypo. Khaleb has been back in hospital twice when he has been sick and I have felt out of my depth staying at home.
If you can, talk to lots of other parents about what they do. You'll learn more from them than any diabetic team.
It's hard at first and I didn't like it one little bit but there isn't any alternative.
All the best, and keep posting with all the highs and lows of diabetes.
Jen Xx
My son was 8 months old when he became diabetic and also has Down syndrome. He has a brother who is 12 years older. I've been looking after Khaleb's diabetes for the past 2 years and I'd just like to reassure you that you will get REALLY good at managing this condition.
A few examples of strategies I often use are-
Feed first, insulin after (no need to worry if they don't eat or eat all).
Put stickers or something on the pen with the short acting insulin so you don't mix up the doses -yes, I've done this.
Pack heaps of stuff in your bag so you can stay out like a normal family.
Don't panic about every figure the meter gives you. Any mistakes you made were done hours ago so it's no use beating yourself up over it.
Higher is better than lower with kids. I wouldn't even try to correct a 17 (unless sick) with short acting insulin but would reduce the amount of carb at the next meal to balance out. Half a unit of Novorapid will drop Khaleb about 15mml.
Watch out for the effects of exercise for at least 24 hours.
Suffer the checking in the wee hours of the morning.
Give long acting insulin at the same time each day.
Get a good routine.
Don't try and fix anything suddenly. It can take days to find a pattern and it is better to be a bit high than see-sawing from high to low and back again.
Diabetes is a family issue, not just the issue of the diabetic. Involve your other child in the management and get them to have an understanding of why you spend so much time testing, meal planning, worrying etc...
I haven't met kids under 5 staying between 4-8. Khaleb will be under 10 about 2.5 hours after meal/insulin and he is often around 15 (sometimes higher) when I go to bed.
Get a meter that you can check for blood ketones.
I have a list of things to pack to go to hospital if needed. Illnesses in kids can make diabetes really hard to control.
I can tell you that in 2 years we haven't had a serious hypo and I have never needed to use the glucagon injection. I do keep glucose powder handy to mix up as a hypo treatment or glucose syrup out of the cooking aisle in the supermarket. It is quite an achievement when you work out how not to over-treat a hypo. Khaleb has been back in hospital twice when he has been sick and I have felt out of my depth staying at home.
If you can, talk to lots of other parents about what they do. You'll learn more from them than any diabetic team.
It's hard at first and I didn't like it one little bit but there isn't any alternative.
All the best, and keep posting with all the highs and lows of diabetes.
Jen Xx
That is a really helpful list Jen.
I have copied it and will share it with any other mums of young kids who need some help.
The management of diabetes does get easier: once they are a lot bigger !
I have copied it and will share it with any other mums of young kids who need some help.
The management of diabetes does get easier: once they are a lot bigger !
Hi I am also new to all this as my 11 yr old Son was diagnosed type 1 about 4 weeks ago, it must be extremly hard with a 4yr old fussy eater, I know I would have found it harder if my Son had diabetes then as he would hardly eat anything especially if it was healthy!! luckily as he,s got older he will eat most things now, hopefully your son will as well. Would he maybe like smoothies? best thing I,ve found is reading all the labels on food, sorry I cant offer much advice but just wanted to let you now that youre not alone.
hi any advice to a mum of a 6 year old daughter diagnosed with type 1 2 months ago, and this week been told her bloods have tested positive for coeliac disease, i think im going crazy?
To all you parents of newly diagnosed children
I kan't give any help from experience, because I'm not in your shoes, but i can suggest that you can contact other parents through Diabetes UK.
i know many of us on this forum are at odds with DUK's dietary advice, but they do provide excellent services for kids. They arrange group outings and such. You can get help from other parents who have been through it, in addition ot the ones on here.
Hana
I kan't give any help from experience, because I'm not in your shoes, but i can suggest that you can contact other parents through Diabetes UK.
i know many of us on this forum are at odds with DUK's dietary advice, but they do provide excellent services for kids. They arrange group outings and such. You can get help from other parents who have been through it, in addition ot the ones on here.
Hana
hi Taspin,
My son was diagnosed with T1 at the age of 7 and Coeliac disease at the age of 8, i had a year of dealing with his diabetes before feeling as if someone had slapped me in the face when he was diagnosed with Coeliac. Its a lot to deal with all at once. But once you begin to erradicate the gluten from her diet you'll be amazed at how much better she feels, and her blood sugars should improve also. Please PM me and i will do my upmost to help you on this journey of discovery, you won't believe the time your gonna spend reading labels and in the kitchen experimenting!
All the best and take care,
Suzi x
PS Andrew is now 11
My son was diagnosed with T1 at the age of 7 and Coeliac disease at the age of 8, i had a year of dealing with his diabetes before feeling as if someone had slapped me in the face when he was diagnosed with Coeliac. Its a lot to deal with all at once. But once you begin to erradicate the gluten from her diet you'll be amazed at how much better she feels, and her blood sugars should improve also. Please PM me and i will do my upmost to help you on this journey of discovery, you won't believe the time your gonna spend reading labels and in the kitchen experimenting!
All the best and take care,
Suzi x
PS Andrew is now 11
Wow. I cried when I read this. At last someone who feels so unbelievably lost and exhausted by the diagnosis of type 1 Diabetes. My four year old little girl was diagnosed on the 31st of March 2010 after being ill, on and off, for two and a half years. Thankfully she is on an insulin pump which is so much better than injecting, she got very tramuiatised by injections. The constant threat of Hypos is extremely hard to "get used to", something I don't think will ever happen. I routinely check my daughter at 10, midnight, 2, 4 and 6 a.m. although I will leave her til 7:30a.m. if the readings before were constantly above 8. The hardest part for me is sending her to school, I only live 7 minutes drive away, and so far have not been more than a 15 minute car journey away. Handing over the constant supervision that is required to watch for sign of Hypo's and checking Blood Sugars is putting my heart and mind in turmoil. I am so incrediably tired, although I do feel that I have adjusted to the lack of long sleep times, as I am often waking up before the alarm ! Please tell me if I am going insane or is all this behaviour "normal" in the world of having a four year old with type 1 diabetes ???
Hi,
My 3 yr old daughter was diagnosed Type 1 seven weeks ago, so I can totally sympathise with the way you're feeling. I feel so overwhelmed too. It's not just a new thing to deal with but a whole new lifestyle and routine to adapt to.
I am sorry that you aren't getting the support you need from your healthcare team, mine have been brilliant. Diabetes UK have a great fee download for teaching Pre-School children about diabetes that can be found here http://www.diabetes.org.uk/OnlineShop/Children--Young-People/
My daughter gets very angry and aggressive when her sugars are high too and like your son she takes it out on her big brothers. I have tried to teach them as much about diabetes as possible so they can understand. I have also involved them in as much of her care as possible.
I can't really offer you any advice about the meal issues that you are having but ask your Diabetes Nurse about seeing a dietitian who should be able to help you.
Please feel free to PM if you want to chat
Take care x
My 3 yr old daughter was diagnosed Type 1 seven weeks ago, so I can totally sympathise with the way you're feeling. I feel so overwhelmed too. It's not just a new thing to deal with but a whole new lifestyle and routine to adapt to.
I am sorry that you aren't getting the support you need from your healthcare team, mine have been brilliant. Diabetes UK have a great fee download for teaching Pre-School children about diabetes that can be found here http://www.diabetes.org.uk/OnlineShop/Children--Young-People/
My daughter gets very angry and aggressive when her sugars are high too and like your son she takes it out on her big brothers. I have tried to teach them as much about diabetes as possible so they can understand. I have also involved them in as much of her care as possible.
I can't really offer you any advice about the meal issues that you are having but ask your Diabetes Nurse about seeing a dietitian who should be able to help you.
Please feel free to PM if you want to chat
Take care x
Hi Mum to Reese, I also have a t1 4 year old (actually 5 yesterday) daughter diagnosed in April after being ill on and off for 2 and a half years. 3 days after diagnosis she was put on a pump, it is incredible. Like your child she was never a good eater and was always skinny, since her diagnosis she does eat much better, although i wouldnt say it is fantastic yet. She also used to be very inactive and very little concertration, now the opposite is very evident. She runs every where and is loving learning to read and write. The beauty of the pump is she can eat pretty much anything she likes and without the fear of having to have an injection for it ! I am still living on the edge with her, but somehow getting used to living on the edge ! I still cry regularly about the whole situation but as I read and investigate more into diabetes i feel more at ease about it being a part of our families life. There is so much to learn about, but i am taking slowly as i know this will be with my daughter and all of our family for life. For example I went to my first ever diabetes support group meeting last week, and although I felt I was in the wrong room, as nearly all of them were older people with type2, it was very informative, in that I learnt that INSULIN IS A HORMONE. As a woman I think this has helped me with the understanding of how it affects my daughters mood swings, and am now beginning to gauge her blood glucose level just by observing her activity levels and eating habit. The only thing I feel that I lack at the moment is someone to talk to face to face as I dont know anyone in Herefordshire in the same situation as me !! This makes me feel very alone but that emptiness is bridged by this website and by the facebook group, parents of type 1 children with diabetes. My problem is that I dont get much time for computer socializing !
Hi I just wanted to add my input as a mother of a T1 child. He was diagnosed at 13 months old. He is now just over 8 years.
For all parents of newly diagnosed diabetic kids, when their Blood Glosucose is out of whack it is NOTHING you are doing! Okay? In the 7 years of my son being diabetic he has NEVER been stable for more than maybe three days - but the HbA1c readings are of more concern to the Dr's than what you are actually seeing on a daily basis. He has finally been put on a pump to hopefully stabilise his blood glucose because basically we were doing everything possible and as the diabetic nurse put it - the output readings were not doing the work we put in with our son any justice. I was also told by the consultant that the older the child is when they are diagnosed the more likely they can control the Blood Glucose levels with just two injections a day, but with younger children it is much harder. This is his general fndings from all the children he has looked after over the years so it is nothing personal to any one child.
HOWEVER - kids are constantly growing, changing every day - their hormones are all over the place, they can go from having an extremely active day or hour to doing absolutely nothing - they have constant worries and frustrations which can affect their Blood Glucose levels - like not doing well on the nintendo! The things that makes kids blood boil generally will make a diabetic kids blood glucose rise! Only really worry about high blood glucose when there are ketones and I second getiing a ketone meter - it is far more accurate than urine readings.
I want to reassure you about having a child who is a fussy eater and diabetic.
My son was an extremely fussy eater. Something that frustrates the hell out of many parents but when your child is diabetic it's not only frustrating but extremely scary.
The first thing we did was make a decision that even though he was at an age too young at the time to understand how to do this, we would never allow him to use his diabetes as a way to scare us into allowing him to eat whatever he wants. This takes a lot of strength and determination as a parent but we did discuss what we were doing with the dietician and she agreed with how we were approaching it.
I found some GI diet books very good (We've got most of the books by Rick Gallop)! There are plenty of healthy alternative foods like cookies, and muffins, that I found great to bake with my son, and I didn't worry as much if he didn't he everything healthy for his dinner, when I knew he had already enjoyed a healthy snack.
But in terms of getting my son to eat ANYTHING for dinner - I would put the food on my son's plate, if he didn't eat it (we gave a time frame of 25 minutes) the food was taken away. We didn't try to force him or enter into any frustrated dialogue about it. He didn't get an alternative and had to wait until the next planned meal time (that may be snack or actual meal). THEY DO LEARN! THEY DO NOT STARVE!
What you mustn't do is give in and straight away give your child something they would prefer to eat. Even with our younger child the choice is to eat what they have been given, or not - but they won't be eating again until the next planned meal (for how strict and determined we were with our son, my husband struggled with this for our non-diabetic daughter - Daddy's Girl! and would give in to her, until he realised he was pandering to her and making a rod for his own back! Now, he does the same with her as we did with our son, and she too is a better eater for it!)
We did this, it was very stressful and it did get to a point when the HUNGRY MONSTER came when our son was two years old. Our son hadn't been made aware of the hungry monster, until the day he refused to eat his dinner and subsequently he had a severe hypo in the middle of the night. This hypo scared the life out of all of us, he was screaming and convulsing. We treated it straight away and when he came around he told us of the dark monster with the green eyes. That was the hungry monster we found out (one of the first times I've ever experienced quick thinking!) . From that point on even the other kids in the nursery would tell him to eat his dinner, otherwise the hungry monster would come.
I wouldn't advocate intentionally allowing your child to become hypo - we didn't expect to experience anything like we did - that one and only time (he has had hypos in the past - his lowest being 1.3 and he has still been running around and we've been completely unaware until doing a routine BG check) so I would hope that the tale of the Hungry Monster could serve as warning to other children, rather than having him actually visit them in person(?). NEVER bribe your child to eat to stop them getting poorly, because that will be a rod you make for your own back for years to come.
There was a time when he was hospitalised with gastro-enteristis (sp?) He wouldn't eat, and all the (young, newly qualified) doctors were concerned about was getting him to eat, because he was diabetic - it was important, otherwise they 'threatened' to put him on a Glucose Drip. I repeatedly told them I would prefer them to do that - because my son had eating problems already, I didn't want to try and force him to eat then becase I knew it would cause him more problems later, to a point where he could become phobic of food. They were not happy with my stubborness at all - and even thought they'd be able to encourage him to eat (and failed). When the dietician came to see him I explained the issues the Doctors were having with me and she was on my side. She called his consultant down who said "what normally healthy person who is suffering with G.E. would want to eat anyway? Of course he doesn't want to eat - put him on a Glucose Drip and he will eat when he is ready!".
Have you been told about the books "Pete the Pancreas" and "Novo Crew "- Diabetes Books, which are very simply written for kids to explain about Diabetes and why they need to have Blood Glucose readings and injections. If you haven't they are free to download from the Diabetes UK site (under publications I think!). I also have lent them to many a newly diagnosed adult as well. Sometimes literature designed for adults are still written for the medically knowledgable rather than the lay person and they certainly helped me understand diabetes better.
But none the less he is now a healthy 8 year old who enjoys Swimming, Karate, Cubs and a lunchtime sport activity almost every day when he is at school. Above all, no one would believe that this child who would have us tearing our hair out (I would often be in tears) can now tuck away more food than me! (Mostly healthy food, and because he is active and takes after his Dad - is of the right weight for his height!).
For all parents of newly diagnosed diabetic kids, when their Blood Glosucose is out of whack it is NOTHING you are doing! Okay? In the 7 years of my son being diabetic he has NEVER been stable for more than maybe three days - but the HbA1c readings are of more concern to the Dr's than what you are actually seeing on a daily basis. He has finally been put on a pump to hopefully stabilise his blood glucose because basically we were doing everything possible and as the diabetic nurse put it - the output readings were not doing the work we put in with our son any justice. I was also told by the consultant that the older the child is when they are diagnosed the more likely they can control the Blood Glucose levels with just two injections a day, but with younger children it is much harder. This is his general fndings from all the children he has looked after over the years so it is nothing personal to any one child.
HOWEVER - kids are constantly growing, changing every day - their hormones are all over the place, they can go from having an extremely active day or hour to doing absolutely nothing - they have constant worries and frustrations which can affect their Blood Glucose levels - like not doing well on the nintendo! The things that makes kids blood boil generally will make a diabetic kids blood glucose rise! Only really worry about high blood glucose when there are ketones and I second getiing a ketone meter - it is far more accurate than urine readings.
I want to reassure you about having a child who is a fussy eater and diabetic.
My son was an extremely fussy eater. Something that frustrates the hell out of many parents but when your child is diabetic it's not only frustrating but extremely scary.
The first thing we did was make a decision that even though he was at an age too young at the time to understand how to do this, we would never allow him to use his diabetes as a way to scare us into allowing him to eat whatever he wants. This takes a lot of strength and determination as a parent but we did discuss what we were doing with the dietician and she agreed with how we were approaching it.
I found some GI diet books very good (We've got most of the books by Rick Gallop)! There are plenty of healthy alternative foods like cookies, and muffins, that I found great to bake with my son, and I didn't worry as much if he didn't he everything healthy for his dinner, when I knew he had already enjoyed a healthy snack.
But in terms of getting my son to eat ANYTHING for dinner - I would put the food on my son's plate, if he didn't eat it (we gave a time frame of 25 minutes) the food was taken away. We didn't try to force him or enter into any frustrated dialogue about it. He didn't get an alternative and had to wait until the next planned meal time (that may be snack or actual meal). THEY DO LEARN! THEY DO NOT STARVE!
What you mustn't do is give in and straight away give your child something they would prefer to eat. Even with our younger child the choice is to eat what they have been given, or not - but they won't be eating again until the next planned meal (for how strict and determined we were with our son, my husband struggled with this for our non-diabetic daughter - Daddy's Girl! and would give in to her, until he realised he was pandering to her and making a rod for his own back! Now, he does the same with her as we did with our son, and she too is a better eater for it!)
We did this, it was very stressful and it did get to a point when the HUNGRY MONSTER came when our son was two years old. Our son hadn't been made aware of the hungry monster, until the day he refused to eat his dinner and subsequently he had a severe hypo in the middle of the night. This hypo scared the life out of all of us, he was screaming and convulsing. We treated it straight away and when he came around he told us of the dark monster with the green eyes. That was the hungry monster we found out (one of the first times I've ever experienced quick thinking!
) . From that point on even the other kids in the nursery would tell him to eat his dinner, otherwise the hungry monster would come. I wouldn't advocate intentionally allowing your child to become hypo - we didn't expect to experience anything like we did - that one and only time (he has had hypos in the past - his lowest being 1.3 and he has still been running around and we've been completely unaware until doing a routine BG check) so I would hope that the tale of the Hungry Monster could serve as warning to other children, rather than having him actually visit them in person(?). NEVER bribe your child to eat to stop them getting poorly, because that will be a rod you make for your own back for years to come.
There was a time when he was hospitalised with gastro-enteristis (sp?) He wouldn't eat, and all the (young, newly qualified) doctors were concerned about was getting him to eat, because he was diabetic - it was important, otherwise they 'threatened' to put him on a Glucose Drip. I repeatedly told them I would prefer them to do that - because my son had eating problems already, I didn't want to try and force him to eat then becase I knew it would cause him more problems later, to a point where he could become phobic of food. They were not happy with my stubborness at all - and even thought they'd be able to encourage him to eat (and failed). When the dietician came to see him I explained the issues the Doctors were having with me and she was on my side. She called his consultant down who said "what normally healthy person who is suffering with G.E. would want to eat anyway? Of course he doesn't want to eat - put him on a Glucose Drip and he will eat when he is ready!".
Have you been told about the books "Pete the Pancreas" and "Novo Crew "- Diabetes Books, which are very simply written for kids to explain about Diabetes and why they need to have Blood Glucose readings and injections. If you haven't they are free to download from the Diabetes UK site (under publications I think!). I also have lent them to many a newly diagnosed adult as well. Sometimes literature designed for adults are still written for the medically knowledgable rather than the lay person and they certainly helped me understand diabetes better.
But none the less he is now a healthy 8 year old who enjoys Swimming, Karate, Cubs and a lunchtime sport activity almost every day when he is at school. Above all, no one would believe that this child who would have us tearing our hair out (I would often be in tears) can now tuck away more food than me! (Mostly healthy food, and because he is active and takes after his Dad - is of the right weight for his height!).
