My son has been recently diagnosed type 1. Initially he took the injections well. Now he gets in a state and we can be up to an hour getting each one in. Tried everything....... any tips gratefully received.
Newly diagnosed 6yr old
- Thread starter Weeheather
- Start Date
SockFiddler
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 623
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi @Weeheather , welcome to the forum and much love to you during this difficult time.
While I don't (yet) parent a child with diabetes, I've worked with families with hospitalised children - often renal and cancer patients - who had the same fear development that your son has described. At first they seem fine with procedures, but then, either gradually or overnight, they very anxious and fearful about them.
The opinion was that these kids (and probably your son, too) started off being terribly brave, the novelty of their situation off-setting their anxiety and, buoyed up by their parents encouragement and praise, they were able to cope very early on, when their treatments were new to them.
But, over time, the novelty wore off and routine set in, and these children started to understand not only the seriousness of their condition (and no matter how young they are, kids are incredibly capable of reading the mood in a room at any given time), but also that these procedures would keep going on and on. Often, it was anxiety about their illness in general that was causing the difficulties when it came to invasive procedures and a single piece of equipment came to represent everything the children were anxious about.
The staff in this particular children's hospital are something of a pioneering lot, and they were always trying little things to try to offset, comfort or understand what the root of this fear was. Two in particular (I hope) might be of some use to you.
The first is the use of a puppet, either controlled by you or your child. There were two approaches taken to this. The first was a doctor puppet who was funny, playful, reassuring and only hung around as long as the child was interested. It served to remove the fear from medicine itself, and staff would pretend to be disengaged from the child, apparently watching telly or reading a book, while the child and the doctor puppet chatted. Quite often, a child would ask questions about their condition that no-one else had heard before. Occasionally, the puppet had to be present at all procedures, but it had become that particular child's "shield" in a way.
The second approach was with a puppet that was, itself, a child patient, that was also scared and going through a similar experience. Often isolation does strange things to a child's mind, and feeling less alone in their situation can be of huge comfort (as it can be to adults!).
There are various articles about "medical play", and it might be worth trying to contact your local CAMHs team to see if you can get a couple of sessions about your child's anxiety (assuming you're in the UK)
http://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/ch...to-ease-kids-anxiety-about-medical-procedures
The second thing that I've seen be incredibly effective with fearful children is a technique called "Wait, Watch Wonder".
Before I go any further, please don't think I'm implying anything about the quality of your parenting! The fact is that you love your son, you're worried about him and you're doing your best. But, in terms of your relationship, your bond with him is being stretched currently - you have to deliver medication that he is resisting, and in fighting you for up to an hour, he's expressing his mistrust.
"Watch, Wait and Wonder" is a very simple technique that seeks to restore that bond, reassure your child and. hopefully, rebuild his trust in you. It won't tackle the problem you're facing specifically, but if your son trusts you more, it could well lead to him being less fearful of his injections. While it was designed to facilitate very early childhood bonds, one-to-one, child-led interaction has proven to be incredibly effective in all kinds of settings, including the hospital.
http://watchwaitandwonder.com/
In short, give your child something to play with (let him choose) and sit next to him and watch him closely. Give him your full attention. Turn off the TV, radio, take the phone off the hook. The next ten minutes are all about him. Watch him play, show interest. If he invites you to join in, join in but according to his demands. Put him completely in control of the situation. And if you find, after 10 minutes, neither of you are ready to finish, keep going.
Then, finally, thank him for his time - let him know you enjoyed it, and take a few minutes more to think about what your child's play might have been telling you about he's feeling (and there is no easy read for this, and the best guide for it will be your own instincts).
Again, it could be worth getting in touch with your local CAMHS team for a bit of guidance, though I'd argue it's actually incredibly simple to sit next to your child and watch them play for ten minutes and you don't need a crash course in it unless you want to psychoanalyse what he got up to.
I can't seem to find any good (non-babbly) information about this except a super-perky US social worker's video, but she does sum it up nicely:
I do hope this helps. And I hope that you keep posting here - this forum is full of people with every imaginable experience, who are patient, kind and eager to help.
Good luck to you and your son - take a breath and know you're not alone.
Sock x
While I don't (yet) parent a child with diabetes, I've worked with families with hospitalised children - often renal and cancer patients - who had the same fear development that your son has described. At first they seem fine with procedures, but then, either gradually or overnight, they very anxious and fearful about them.
The opinion was that these kids (and probably your son, too) started off being terribly brave, the novelty of their situation off-setting their anxiety and, buoyed up by their parents encouragement and praise, they were able to cope very early on, when their treatments were new to them.
But, over time, the novelty wore off and routine set in, and these children started to understand not only the seriousness of their condition (and no matter how young they are, kids are incredibly capable of reading the mood in a room at any given time), but also that these procedures would keep going on and on. Often, it was anxiety about their illness in general that was causing the difficulties when it came to invasive procedures and a single piece of equipment came to represent everything the children were anxious about.
The staff in this particular children's hospital are something of a pioneering lot, and they were always trying little things to try to offset, comfort or understand what the root of this fear was. Two in particular (I hope) might be of some use to you.
The first is the use of a puppet, either controlled by you or your child. There were two approaches taken to this. The first was a doctor puppet who was funny, playful, reassuring and only hung around as long as the child was interested. It served to remove the fear from medicine itself, and staff would pretend to be disengaged from the child, apparently watching telly or reading a book, while the child and the doctor puppet chatted. Quite often, a child would ask questions about their condition that no-one else had heard before. Occasionally, the puppet had to be present at all procedures, but it had become that particular child's "shield" in a way.
The second approach was with a puppet that was, itself, a child patient, that was also scared and going through a similar experience. Often isolation does strange things to a child's mind, and feeling less alone in their situation can be of huge comfort (as it can be to adults!).
There are various articles about "medical play", and it might be worth trying to contact your local CAMHs team to see if you can get a couple of sessions about your child's anxiety (assuming you're in the UK)
http://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/ch...to-ease-kids-anxiety-about-medical-procedures
The second thing that I've seen be incredibly effective with fearful children is a technique called "Wait, Watch Wonder".
Before I go any further, please don't think I'm implying anything about the quality of your parenting! The fact is that you love your son, you're worried about him and you're doing your best. But, in terms of your relationship, your bond with him is being stretched currently - you have to deliver medication that he is resisting, and in fighting you for up to an hour, he's expressing his mistrust.
"Watch, Wait and Wonder" is a very simple technique that seeks to restore that bond, reassure your child and. hopefully, rebuild his trust in you. It won't tackle the problem you're facing specifically, but if your son trusts you more, it could well lead to him being less fearful of his injections. While it was designed to facilitate very early childhood bonds, one-to-one, child-led interaction has proven to be incredibly effective in all kinds of settings, including the hospital.
http://watchwaitandwonder.com/
In short, give your child something to play with (let him choose) and sit next to him and watch him closely. Give him your full attention. Turn off the TV, radio, take the phone off the hook. The next ten minutes are all about him. Watch him play, show interest. If he invites you to join in, join in but according to his demands. Put him completely in control of the situation. And if you find, after 10 minutes, neither of you are ready to finish, keep going.
Then, finally, thank him for his time - let him know you enjoyed it, and take a few minutes more to think about what your child's play might have been telling you about he's feeling (and there is no easy read for this, and the best guide for it will be your own instincts).
Again, it could be worth getting in touch with your local CAMHS team for a bit of guidance, though I'd argue it's actually incredibly simple to sit next to your child and watch them play for ten minutes and you don't need a crash course in it unless you want to psychoanalyse what he got up to.
I can't seem to find any good (non-babbly) information about this except a super-perky US social worker's video, but she does sum it up nicely:
I do hope this helps. And I hope that you keep posting here - this forum is full of people with every imaginable experience, who are patient, kind and eager to help.
Good luck to you and your son - take a breath and know you're not alone.
Sock x
therower
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,922
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Hi @Weeheather . Welcome to the forum both you and your son.
Unfortunately I can't really offer help with your problem, I'm not a parent of a diabetic child.
I am however a T1 and have been for the last 27 yrs, diagnosed at age 27.
At diagnosis I was 6ft, 15+ st, weightlifting bloke who in many people's eyes feared nothing.
First few weeks injections were fun and easy, then out of nowhere a mental block set in. I just could not inject and I would spend 10/15 mins going through the injection process, only to fail at last moment and have to start all over again.
I'm not sure why, it wasn't a pain thing, I knew it had to be done BUT I just couldn't put the needle in.
I know this isn't much help to you but I just want you to know that your son isn't alone and this is a common problem.
One thing I found was that the more time I put into the preparation the worse the problem was. If I was able to decide in an instant that it was injection time and do it in minimal time it was easier.
Good luck to both of you.
P.S. It will get easier and eventually pass.
Unfortunately I can't really offer help with your problem, I'm not a parent of a diabetic child.
I am however a T1 and have been for the last 27 yrs, diagnosed at age 27.
At diagnosis I was 6ft, 15+ st, weightlifting bloke who in many people's eyes feared nothing.
First few weeks injections were fun and easy, then out of nowhere a mental block set in. I just could not inject and I would spend 10/15 mins going through the injection process, only to fail at last moment and have to start all over again.
I'm not sure why, it wasn't a pain thing, I knew it had to be done BUT I just couldn't put the needle in.
I know this isn't much help to you but I just want you to know that your son isn't alone and this is a common problem.
One thing I found was that the more time I put into the preparation the worse the problem was. If I was able to decide in an instant that it was injection time and do it in minimal time it was easier.
Good luck to both of you.
P.S. It will get easier and eventually pass.
I have to say, I'm in tears reading this, especially at your reply, SockFiddler.
I was 5 when I was diagnosed. My Mom relays stories of chasing me around the house until I would jump into a cot and she'd go "Jab!"
Today, I take my insulin, but for many years I didn't take it well. Diabetes haunted me, needles hurt me, I couldn't deal with it.
Today, I have my BA in psychology and want to get my MA so that I'll be able to help children in the way SockFiddler describes.
Today, I'm living my life with every day ups and downs, but mostly content.
Weeheather, I don't have much advice, but I do offer hope. You child needs the insulin, there's no 2 ways about it. Firstly, I suggest you continue to reach out just like you're doing now, on other groups too. There's a bunch of great facebook groups.
Secondly, I'd suggest you try to get the insulin pump as soon as you can. In my experience it makes it alot easier to deal with.
I suggest you follow the above mentioned advice, and here's a couple things I'd add:
Can you get your kid to a place where he can see other kids with diabetes going through the same things as him?
Perhaps you can get a dog for him, I think you can get dogs with diabetes but I may be making this up.
The kid is probably terrified, and beyond confused (I was). His little world has been shaken. Can you get for him therapy? Horseriding therapy, art, music, play?
Perhaps you have colours at home, or a punching bag, or a set of drums. I didn't know what to do with all of my pent up frustration.
Do not pity him. As hard as it is, you can show your child that this is life, and as much as it sucks, it's okay.
It may not work, but it's a suggstion.... bring him to a quiet room. Make sure everything is calm. Put on music, if that would help him. Perhaps coloured lights, a fish tank, a couch.
I'd be firm: this is what we're doing. I'd give him space: he can sit a little, but not long. I'd acknowledge his fears, ask him to draw it or colour it or bang it.
I'm super glad it's not me having the child, because knowing what I was like, I know its a tough role to play.
I'm sorry if I'm not making sense - these are just some suggestions, do take it or leave it, and I wish you luck.
I was 5 when I was diagnosed. My Mom relays stories of chasing me around the house until I would jump into a cot and she'd go "Jab!"
Today, I take my insulin, but for many years I didn't take it well. Diabetes haunted me, needles hurt me, I couldn't deal with it.
Today, I have my BA in psychology and want to get my MA so that I'll be able to help children in the way SockFiddler describes.
Today, I'm living my life with every day ups and downs, but mostly content.
Weeheather, I don't have much advice, but I do offer hope. You child needs the insulin, there's no 2 ways about it. Firstly, I suggest you continue to reach out just like you're doing now, on other groups too. There's a bunch of great facebook groups.
Secondly, I'd suggest you try to get the insulin pump as soon as you can. In my experience it makes it alot easier to deal with.
I suggest you follow the above mentioned advice, and here's a couple things I'd add:
Can you get your kid to a place where he can see other kids with diabetes going through the same things as him?
Perhaps you can get a dog for him, I think you can get dogs with diabetes but I may be making this up.
The kid is probably terrified, and beyond confused (I was). His little world has been shaken. Can you get for him therapy? Horseriding therapy, art, music, play?
Perhaps you have colours at home, or a punching bag, or a set of drums. I didn't know what to do with all of my pent up frustration.
Do not pity him. As hard as it is, you can show your child that this is life, and as much as it sucks, it's okay.
It may not work, but it's a suggstion.... bring him to a quiet room. Make sure everything is calm. Put on music, if that would help him. Perhaps coloured lights, a fish tank, a couch.
I'd be firm: this is what we're doing. I'd give him space: he can sit a little, but not long. I'd acknowledge his fears, ask him to draw it or colour it or bang it.
I'm super glad it's not me having the child, because knowing what I was like, I know its a tough role to play.
I'm sorry if I'm not making sense - these are just some suggestions, do take it or leave it, and I wish you luck.
azure
Expert
- Messages
- 9,780
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
Hi
That must be horribly upsetting.Is it the pain, do you think? Or is it just that he simply doesn't want an injection? Is it all injections or just the basal insulin?
You could see if he's eligible for a pump. None of my children have Type 1 but if they did a pump would be top of my list for them. It means one cannula insertion every two or three days.
If not, you could ask about an iPort which is basically a port to put the insulin into and lasts around 3 days.
- Messages
- 14,298
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi WeeHeather - I imagine the whole family are feeling a bit shell shocked and traumatised by your little one's diagnosis.
I don't know where you are located, but in my area there is a Diabetes UK (not this site - the charity) group for the parents of T1 children. There are similar arrangements in other areas too. If you pop your postcode into this webpage it might turn something up for you.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Local_support_groups/
Last year, my local Diabetes UK Group had a visit from the local T1 Children's Choir, who sang for us, and they'll be back later in the year. After their little concert, there were refreshments and they were all twiddling on their pumps dosing for their chosen snacks. It was lovely to see them so comfortably within a group of their peers, and their parents were having a fair old chinwag at the same time.
Your clinic should also be able to help with the issue, or direct you to other parents who have walked the path.
I'm sure things will become better over time. Fingers crossed for you all.
Hiya
New to posting on the forum but my daughter was diagnosed with T1 in Nov 2015 and was 6 years old. The first 6 months were so difficult for her and the whole family - she used to scream and hide before her injections and we'd all be in tears after an hour each time! We were lucky enough to have the support of the paediatric diabetes team psychologist who helped massively and it was a case of bribery, patience and hidden tears (me). Is there a psychologist available in your paediatrics team?
We also went to a few local meet ups arranged by the hospital and she was able to see that she wasn't the only one having to go through the ordeal.
We used a reward chart which really helped. She moved up the chart every time she had a calm injection and after a while this seemed to work for her. She could choose a little something as a reward for getting to the top. Eventually things settled down and she didn't even wince when I came near her with the pen!
She started with a pump 4 months ago and we've experienced exactly the same with the cannula changes...less often as it's once every 3 days but it is still very hard for her. We're going back to the reward charts to see if it has the same effect as before.
I can totally understand what you and your little one are going through and I hope that you soon find the best method for making the situation as calm and stress free for your son! There is a light at the end of the tunnel I promise!
New to posting on the forum but my daughter was diagnosed with T1 in Nov 2015 and was 6 years old. The first 6 months were so difficult for her and the whole family - she used to scream and hide before her injections and we'd all be in tears after an hour each time! We were lucky enough to have the support of the paediatric diabetes team psychologist who helped massively and it was a case of bribery, patience and hidden tears (me). Is there a psychologist available in your paediatrics team?
We also went to a few local meet ups arranged by the hospital and she was able to see that she wasn't the only one having to go through the ordeal.
We used a reward chart which really helped. She moved up the chart every time she had a calm injection and after a while this seemed to work for her. She could choose a little something as a reward for getting to the top. Eventually things settled down and she didn't even wince when I came near her with the pen!
She started with a pump 4 months ago and we've experienced exactly the same with the cannula changes...less often as it's once every 3 days but it is still very hard for her. We're going back to the reward charts to see if it has the same effect as before.
I can totally understand what you and your little one are going through and I hope that you soon find the best method for making the situation as calm and stress free for your son! There is a light at the end of the tunnel I promise!
