New diagnoses - T1D - 7 year old daughter (snack question)

As a T2 I won't offer any advice. Other T1s will be around shortly. Just wanted to welcome you to the forum.

Hello and welcome @SMULPY Neil

Well done on knuckling down and getting to grips with things so quickly, it is a baptism of fire !

In regards to injections, a distraction technique is a good way to help her, so sing her favourite song, ask her to look at the clock and to try and tell the time, that type of thing, it takes the mind of the act of injecting and makes it feel less so significant.

In time her team will want you to move to carb counting so injecting for the carbs she eats, which will give her greater flexibility over what she eats and allow her to have treats too, and also allow you to correct for any highs, but as it's early days and getting used to things it's 3 injections of novorapid to help manage things. You can download 'carbs and cals' as an app on your phone which is really useful for getting your head round carb values. As she's a grazer, then cheese, nuts, olives, dried meat like salami are good, any carbs as you've discovered like rich teas which are 10g of carb per biscuit and oranges will push her levels up, good as a hypo treatment follow up to glucose though. Yoghurts can contain a few carbs though, I personally stick to full fat yoghurts - plain and add blue berries or strawberries which are low carb. Fat is a good ingredient to have as it satiates the appetite in the absence of carbs.

Keep asking questions too - we are all here to help and support

Hi @SMULPY very good advice given off Juicyj.
I was diagnosed aged 4 1/2 years old and was doing my own injections within 2 weeks and that was using javelin needles. She will need to be doing her own jabs soon for school, get her started ASAP.
Its a LOT to take in and you have little time to get it right. Keep on asking questions on here, there are a lot of very knowledgeable and helpful people in here who will try and guide you in the right direction

I agree with @porl69 getting her involved in doing her own injections will give her control over what is happening to her. Very important! I worked in a primary school and as a type 1 myself watched type 1 children. I felt it was something happening to them and they were not in control enough.

Hi @SMULPY . Welcome to the forum. More importantly welcome to your daughter.
As above. Injections have to be done. I understand how you must be feeling, but cuddles will create far more problems going forward.
You have listed your daughters injection sites. Are any of those areas more troublesome than others?
A lot of us inject our basal insulin in our buttocks only. It tends to sting more than the bolus ( Novorapid). Personally I only use my backside for basal ( levemir for instance).
If you are struggling with one area, maybe the arms, then don’t use that area. A lot of people on here have been injecting for years , decades, even and still have ever only used maybe two different sites. Thighs are good , stick to the front and outer side. Stomach I find can be a bit sensitive especially below the belly button. As long as you rotate sights properly there’s no reason why you can’t theoretically use one area 80% of the time.
Good luck to both of you.

I don't have T1 but have had several T1s in my primary classrooms in the last few years.

I have had pumps, no pumps, happy to do jabs, still needing mum to come to do jabs at 11. A whole range!

Things I've learnt from these kids. Every child with T1 is different. Make sure you have good communication with school, her teacher and TAs as the school may well be worried about how to treat her.

Snacks wise, you'll find the right thing. My most recent pupil was 10 when I taught her and she was diagnosed at 7. She didn't do snacks really but occasionally had a babybel. She did have a pack of suitable treats in school for those times like birthday treats brought in she couldn't have. She had a tin of biscuits and her lucozade for hypos along with her test kit in a bag that hung on her chair all the time. She tested when she needed to, at her desk, and we set an alarm in class so we wouldn't forget. The kids were amazing with her and no one fussed over her, just helped when needed. They would actually get her to check if they noticed she was a bit off.

My advice having seen these children in class is to normalise everything. As she saw everything T1 as normal so did we. The one who was still needing mum at 11 was embarrassed by her T1 and it made life very tricky for her.

That child was the first person I told I was T2 when diagnosed as I found out while I was at work! She gave me a hug and cheered... Haha! We joked we were in the same club now. She's actually why I've accepted my own diagnosis so quickly.

SMULPY said:

Hi all,

My 7 year old daughter got diagnosed with T1D in the middle of December 2019.

It has been a struggle through Xmas with all the nice food and chocolate on offer but she has done great.

We have tidied up our cupboards and given away most of our sweets (kept some for her 2 year old brother). We have to test at breakfast, 2 hours after, dinner, 2 hours after, tea, 2 hours after, bedtime, etc

She is on 4 injections (3 x NovoRapid and 1 x Levemir) - we are circulating 9 injection locations (tops of arms, thighs, tummy and bum).

She is fine doing the Glucose prick tests herself now, but she still needs a cuddle at Injection time - has anyone any suggestions?

My daughter is a big 'grazer' and loved to snack throughout the day, sadly this has had to stop and snacking limited. What are the best snacks for her to have? - We are using apples, babybell cheese, cheese strings, cucumber, peppers, carrot sticks & dips, low far yoghurts - but you get bored of this after a while. Rich Tea biscuits and Oranges, but these seem to creep up the sugar levels.

We have yet to have Carb Counting and dietary help

Any help and pointers would be appreciated.

Neil (a proud father)

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So not an answer to the snack ? But please ask for a Freestyle Libre, these are given as a priority to children! It will change all your lives as no need to keep finger pricking to get blood glucose results. There is a guy Partha Karr one of the most respected experts in diabetes who advocates ALL diabetics should be given access to Freestyle. I am type 1 for past 30 odd years, just got this amazing devise and my life is utterly changed. Good luck

SMULPY said:

Thanks everyone and especially @Juicyj for all the useful information. We have discussed her injecting herself but its definitely not on the cards at the moment. We didn't want to push this too much at the moment as we haven't even been a month from diagnoses.

We will keep mentioning it and trying to sell the idea to her, but also don't want her to just start self medicating if she fancies a snack (until we have had further discussions about Card Counting).

Some breakfasts she says she doesn't want anything, but we tell her she needs too otherwise will get her body out of routine and affect her sugar level.

We have discussed to her about pumps when she is older, but not interested as yet.

Thanks
Neil

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Hi Neil,
I am sure your daughter will grow up confidently jabbing herself and when she is ready the pump tech is getting very good e.g. pumps that talk to continuous glucose monitors and correct for highs and lows...It is great to hear that you've changed your cupboards as a family so that sweet treats are just that. Makes it so much easier for her and won't do you or her brother any harm either.
Re snacks - peanut butter on apple slice, dark chocolate melted onto apple slices may appeal? Sugar free jelly and full fat yoghurt or double cream and so me berries (more of a Summer one). Hot chocolate made with cocoa and a sweetner might work (you can buy sugar free marshmallows ) although the milk will count for about 10g. I think. There are some good snack ideas on Diet Doctor website if she's at all cosmopolitan in her tastes. They have recipes but also ideas for snacks on the go.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/snacks
Don't be put off by the word 'keto' - it just means low carb which means it won't spike her blood sugar.
Hopefully you will get access to the dietician soon. Also be aware that Diabetes UK do great family holidays which could give you some peer support.

Hello,
Well done for coping so well. My daughter was diagnosed at 10, and she’s 12 now. She was doing her own injections the day after diagnosis, but always hated finger prick tests. The Libre is a life changer on so many levels, and I’d recommend your daughter get one as soon as possible.
For snacks, we were always told a mid morning snack of less than 10g of carb was acceptable without insulin. We find that variety is the key. My daughter sometimes has fruit (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and melon are best), a handful of unsalted pistachios with a few raisins, or a few peanuts. Cheese is good, or a small biscuit or small square of cake. I always find a very small portion of something high carb doesn’t send the blood sugar high, but my daughter doesn’t feel she’s been hard done by or missed out. Her favourite is a single finger of Kinder Bueno or one finger of Kitkat. These are less than 10g of carb.
Wishing you all the best.

Whatever people recommend to you, remember we are all different. I was diagnosed aged 10, but at that point I was only put on one injection a day. That was normal at the time. Once home, I refused point blank to do the injections. They hurt too much. My dad, a pharmacist, did them for me. My mum also refused to inject me. Both my parents and I were made to inject insulin when I was in hospital. I only did it in order to get out. I had no desperate problem with the diet, but the long blunt needles were really painful.

I would suggest giving your daughter some time to get used to the situation. She has faced a lot of changes in her life in a very short time. The idea that every child will be ready to inject insulin at the same point after diagnosis is fairly ridiculous in my opinion. It is another example of doctors and HCPs expecting us all to be exactly the same - and we know that we aren't ! She will do it in the end. Perhaps she will be invited to a sleepover at a friend's house. That will provide a real reason for her to make an effort to overcome her fears. Try not to push her too hard, so that the issue causes real conflict. Remember it is not normal to cause yourself pain, even if this is very slight. Good luck and best wishes.