Struggling a bit to get my head around.....

[dot]

Carb counting.

Not so much the actual adding up and working out of carbs in a plateful of food. I have scales, I have a carb counting book, pen, paper, calculator and even a rough guide on carb ratio to start on.

My problem is how to deal with the practicality. My son (13) does his injection before he eats (we have been advised that is better (especially as we often eat quite late and consequently close to bed time) and I can work out the carbs in the food on his plate before he injects. BUT... what about seconds? If he is hungry I can't say " no ". He's growing and needs his grub. Similalry with pudding. Its often still cooking while we eat, not dished out till later, and he doesn't always have any. Sometimes, seconds.

How do you deal with the unpredicatability of it all. I can't quite get my head around it.

 

[Snodger]

After 20 years with type 1 I'm still struggling with the unpredictability of it all!

One answer could be to inject again, if he is ok with that. That's what I'd do if I ate my meal and then was hungry again. I'd decide what to eat next, calculate the carbs in it (after 20 years, I do that roughly in my head) and then have another jab. If still hungry, do it again.

Also if he always injects specifically for pud then it doesn't matter if he decides after the main course that he doesn't want any pudding. The original injection was only for the main course.

The things you have to be aware of/take into account:
- if he hates injections or really doesn't want another jab, this is not going to be a good solution for obvious reasons. I can remember as a teen suddenly 'cracking' and not wanting to take any more injections than the bare minimum (in fact, I stopped taking any for a while). It's about realising that it gives you more control... you have to come to that realisation in your own time really.
- like everything to do with diabetes, it's not straightforward in terms of 'eat x, inject x, woopee, perfectly balanced'. The combinations of food and the build up of insulin will all interact with each other. Eg eating a relatively sweet pudding after a meal will result in a slower blood glucose 'spike' than eating something sweet by itself or before a meal. But that is no different really to the way you work out everything with diabetes; trial and error.

good luck, hope it helps. In many ways it should help him (and you) learn more/faster about the way insulin and food interacts in his body - some really good info and a good foundation to set him up for life with diabetes.

 

[annettekp]

Hi

My son is 2 and we inject immediately after his meal. Its impossible for us to inject before hand, as being 2, he likes things some days and refuses things the next! We were advised to do it this way by our DSN.

Interestingly today we were having a chat about Christmas dinner(long drawn out meal usually) and the DSN advised splitting the novorapid dose - giving half before eating and then the rest when he'd finished so we could adjust it accordingly.

Tricky stuff.

 

[josie38]

Hi,

I had a similar problem when i worked. I used to have my injections after I had eaten because I was never sure how mUch I would eat or if i was having pudding. I was on humalog and I had upto 15 mins after I had eaten to take it.

I would also say that splitting the dose, half before and half after, sounds good advice but unfortunately like all thing to do with diabetes its trial and error

Have a chat with your son and see if he is happy to give these ideas a go but reinforce that you will need to keep an eye on things.

Good luck

Josie

 

[the_anticarb]

I don't understand why you don't just inject some more if he wants pudding/seconds. I do that all the time. The problem is more when you inject before you eat and then don't eat all you planned to.

 

[dot]

He doesn't want to do more injections than he has to. Looks like injecting after meals may be the way to go, although I am bothered that he will end up doing his bed time reading too soon after dinner.

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

I'd be a bit inclined to give a bit more insulin with dinner if the occurence of seconds and pudding is a pretty regular event. My 15 yr old (not diabetic) is thin and eats loads. Boys seem to have hollow legs through their teenage years. If more injections isn't an option then the only other is to have a very serious look at food choice. You might have to start getting inventive in the kitchen. There are some good recipe books and recipes here to help out. What kind of puddings does your son like best?

 

[Hazza]

We have a similar situation with my daughter who is 6. We count the carbs and allow for pudding etc. but if she doesn't eat it all then she will be hypo(ish) shortly after. Then on the other hand if she wants more we have to give her another jab. It's a catch 22 situation and there is no easy way ,or answer.
We have gone down the road of getting a pump as this will mean fewer injections and we can control the amount of insulin to give and split it if needed. Also, it is going to be much easier when we eat out or she stays at friends for tea.
We don't yet have the pump but we are on the list and hopefully will have one sometime this month, fingers crossed. It's an option that more and more people are looking into and our DSN is very supportive.
Good luck with however you decide to tackle it.

Harry

 

[Matt1212]

Our method for our 6 yr old would be to inject before dinner with enough to cover the meal plus a small treat/pudding for afters.
this allows flexibility
So if she wants more dinner then less pudding/treat
if less dinner eaten a bit more pudding/treat (pudding/treat would include fruit)
if less dinner and less pudding a bit of fruit juice to make up the numbers

thanks
Matt

 

[Marian-Gold]

I don't understand why you don't just inject some more if he wants pudding/seconds. I do that all the time. The problem is more when you inject before you eat and then don't eat all you planned to.

I agree with this - I've made that mistake many times by trying to do what I was told - some doctors treat us like machines!