Nervous About Going Back To School

My advice would be to talk to your teachers in advance, or get your parents to do it. Then they'll be prepared : )

If it's a big school, you may not be the only person there with diabetes.

Are you on a pump? If so, you could set a reduced basal for your football session. If not, tell the person running it that you have diabetes and will need to,test your blood sugar at intervals. Put your meter and hypo stuff by the edge of the field so you can do this easily. I'd also advise eating enough carbs beforehand - possibly a little more than you'd do normally - to reduce the risk of a hypo.

As for the other students, be upfront but casual about your diabetes. Most people are interested not judgemental. The teachers have a duty to support you, so check what the school policies are for students with medical conditions.

Test lots, take plenty of glucose tablets and extra snacks - and enjoy your first day

Your teachers should have been made aware of your medical needs. It is (i think)
Important for all people no matter what age NOT to be made feel "different" publicly. If you feel like this as well, let your teachers know. They do want to support you. They aren't out to upset you, only to help you.

On a wider angle there may be things for you to consider.. .. If on injections would a pump be easier and more discreet or a libre so you can scan your arm instead of testing all the time. You may have these already!!

I hope you can settle in ok. Please let us know how you are...

mc9 said:

So I'm a t1d teenager going back to school soon.

My family just moved a few months ago (pre diabetes diagnosis) though it was only a little more than a mile it was into a new school zone so it will also be a new school though I fortunately know some people there.

Other than the regular back to school stress (making friends, having good or bad teachers, etc.) I am worried about my diabetes.

I have had many lows over the summer and I don't think I went a day without a low and any exercise makes my BG drop like a dead weight and I have two hours of (American) football practice immediately after school.

I am also worried about how I will be treated by the teachers and students (particularly the teachers).

Just kind of wanted to talk and if anyone has any tips to give me please do.

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Obviously the school need to know. I presume they already do and have the plans in place if you collapse/etc. You didn't mention your therapy. If you have a pump it may support the concept of a "temporary basal rate." This is where less insulin is supplied to do the basal part of your treatment for a set period of time. When my daughter is active we would put a TBR on for a short period of time (say 70% from an hour before the activity) and this limits the amount of insulin going in.
Obviously, with American Football you probably would take off the pump to stop the delicate medical appliance getting damaged.

You can also reduce the amount of insulin taken with the meal previously. We have a setting for me and my daughter on our handset, which calculates the insulin from carbs, called "Exercise" and this is set to reduce the insulin amount by 15%.

Lastly, we have the mini-packets of Haribo - fun size I think they are called. Before any strenous activity, we get a packet. They also work for hypo-stop. Before taking the field, simply go for the Jelly Babies/Megamix/etc. You might want to balance this with some complexer carbs so your carbs are sustained.

We have the Freestyle Libre for a few reasons; one was for when my daughter spent all week dancing. It meant she could be scanned and checked easily. It's not amazingly accurate, but if it ever scans at under 4.5 there is a chance she'll be hypo.

But then, you know you own body. You might not need scanning if you are hypo aware and can just grab hypo-stop if you feel you are going low.

Best of luck; my wife went to a talk by http://diathlete.org/ and found him to be very inspirational!

mc9 said:

I am on injections to all people that want to know

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Ok : )
Well, before your football, test and havevsome glucose or glucose drink and possibly a longer a ring carby snack. You'll have to experiment to find what works for you. Be aware that if you're nervous because it's a new school, your blood sugar might do strange things - be too high or too low when it would normally be fine.

Don't be embarrassed about testing or injecting in front of people. They may be nosey to start with, but that's just interest. Act cool, smile and give an explanation - and carry on with what you're doing. Sometimes you might find that people try to pick things up like your glucose meter. Watch out for that and ask them not to. Again, it's only out of interest.

Be prepared for some silly questions, and don't get flustered. Again, smile and give a brief explanation. The novelty will wear off for them very soon.

If you're feeling a bit awkward, have some questions you can ask them. People like to talk about themselves and it'll take the focus off you. Questions about the school, teachers, classes, TV shows, music, etc

And yes, you should enjoy school Take advantage of all it has to offer, and enjoy that freedom

mc9 said:

Well, back to school now

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Hope it goes well : )

Hi @mc9

I was lucky enough not to get type 1 until I was a bit older so don't have any first hand experience to share. However my sister and many of my friends are teachers and they tend to all be quite used to it and have seen it all before. Therefore I hope you find a great deal of understanding and experience.

Good luck and I hope it goes really well. I will be really thinking of you!

Gareth

I wouldn't be too worried about how students are going to treat you, they will most likely be curious, and in my experience teachers will just let you get on with it unless you need help which you have specifically asked for! be aware that if you do run low often, it may be worth getting extra time in exams for times when you run low and have to correct.

One other thing to consider; check out https://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Local_support_groups/

We are a member of (our local paediatric support group. Basically once a month, we meet at a village hall and the kids do an activity (chocolate moulds, games night, science experiments) and the adults have chat, tea and biscuit, etc. It's free to attend, and we put in a quid or two for the drinks. Diabetes UK I believe, give it some support.

But basically, it's around 30-40 families with diabetic kids and about half turn up any week. The shared experience and knowledge in that room is vast. I would imagine, that your query about intensive sports could be answered in one of our support group sessions and the children range from six to sixteen: I know some of the teenagers meet outside the group too.

I don't know what the groups are like in your area, but it might pay to have a look!

John