The second year.

My son was seven when he was diagnosed and although the 1st year seemed bad, looking back, it was definitely the easiest time for good readings as the 'honey moon' period whilst his pancreas was still kicking out a bit of insulin were much easier to control. Less wild swings etc. So yes, on reflection I agree.

I really feel for you. I dont know how old you are, but my husband and I were devastated when my son was first diagnosed at 7. I know he was confused, upset, very angry, we also felt all of that on his behalf. Although everything is handled differently by everyone, I have to say that I thought we would never be truly happy again. In my experience it has been a gradual coming to terms with this new way of life. I still get times of sadness when I think, why him? But on the whole we have had years of great times and after about the first couple of years, everything you have to do differently compared to non-diabetic people tends to start feeling like 'normal' life, and we have many happy times.

I am fairly new to this forum and although I think it is an excellent site, as a family we dont get too hung up on blood readings. My son does at least 4 a day, has always had a very good diet, is very sporty, slim and active but we never manage to get his HBA1c below 9 !! Unless you live a very routine day to day life it seems to be very difficult to achieve a good level unless you get obsessive. We feel as long as you are doing your best and are sensible about annual medical check ups this is the best balance in life.

Wishing you good days and many happy times. :wink:

Thats a very similar situation to my sons diagnosis. 7.4 is great, you are doing well there.

Yes, definitely up for a cure. I know it coming.

Hi rapsqueak.

but we never manage to get his HBA1c below 9 !! Unless you live a very routine day to day life it seems to be very difficult to achieve a good level unless you get obsessive. We feel as long as you are doing your best and are sensible about annual medical check ups this is the best balance in life.

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I couldn't help but notice your comment and had to respond. I'm sorry, a HbA1c level of 9 is a very long way from being fine ? In the space of a year many things can go wrong, you need much more frequent checks. I get seen at least every 3 months and I have been diagnosed 12 years ago.

Without being obsessive it is very easy to take control of those all important Bg levels and get the HbA1c down to a better level. I hope you realise that these high levels are leaving the young man open to complications in later life ? Does he or you want that to happen ? I can't believe that you do. Now is the time to get better control. Listen to the advice given by people on here and maybe then those complications he can forget about. Diabetes is only progressive if you let it.

9 better than 10?

I don't mean to sound flippent... But for children and teenagers living and dealing with diabetes is a total different ball game than it is as an adult... Not only do they have identical control problems as an adult, but many other problems to incorparte depending on age..

Most don't understand what mortal is all about... Teenagers think inmortal is what they are... Next week is a long time for them... Old is for old people..

Younger ones don't quite understand the relationship between there food content, there insulin... The don't always get the signal from the body in the same manner as adults.. so hypo's and highs are harder for them to detect..

They have growth spurts, which can turn control up-side down, so when BG's go awol the parent is asking themselves is this a illness, food related or growth spurt causing the problems..

Then you get puberty, boy those ranging hormones are bad enough in an healthy teenage, but for the diabetic teenager these hormone changes will cause all sort of havoc apart from there mood...

Then you get the street creed syndrome, which for us isn't important but for the teenager, it's a matter of live and death to lose it...

The parent it's delima after delima, trying to juggle, promotion of tight control, and looking after themselves, preparing and passing knowledge over, pondering when and are they ready to take over the rope... But also doing one of the hardest things possible... Allowing there child to live a normal childhood that every child has a right to... Sometimes the childhood has to come first before the diabetes..

To be too obessive about control and what they can and can't eat etc, can actually lead them to rebelling against there diaebtes which will cause more harm than good as bet your bottom dollar there HbA1c's will be well above 9...

Nice to see you Jopar.

Yes. I know a fair bit about teenagers....and Diabetes. Here is a link to a site with a lot of information about Teenagers and Diabetes.
http://teenshealth.org/teen/diseases_co ... type1.html

Makes interesting reading I think ? Especially this bit:
By keeping your blood sugar levels in a healthy range, you'll feel better and reduce the risk that you'll develop diabetes problems later. Testing your blood sugar level is the only way to know how you are doing with your diabetes control.
Oh yes, and this bit too:
Living With Type 1 Diabetes
People with type 1 diabetes have to pay a little more attention to what they're eating and doing than people who don't have diabetes. They need to:

check blood sugar levels a few times a day by testing a small blood sample
give themselves insulin injections or use an insulin pump
eat a balanced, healthy diet and pay special attention to the amounts of sugars and starches in the food they eat and the timing of their meals
get regular exercise to help control blood sugar levels and help avoid some of the long-term health problems that diabetes can cause, like heart disease
have regular checkups with doctors and other people on their diabetes health care team so they can stay healthy and get treatment for any diabetes problems


Looks like I am in a minority ?

tight control is not indicated for children and pre- adolescents. The dangers of low blood sugars are far more immediate. They should not be aiming for the same targets as older people with either type 1 or 2.

Tight control should not be attempted by patients unable or unwilling to participate actively in their glucose management. Tight control is contraindicated in infants under 2 and should be undertaken with extreme caution in children between ages of 2 and 7, because hypoglycemia may impair normal brain development which is not complete until 7 years. The danger of hypoglycemia is greater in infants and children because food intake, activity and adherance to treatment schedules are less predictable than in adults. Because pre-adolescents appear to be relatively protected from micro-vascular complications, the need for tight control might be less than in post-pubertal subjects

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My underlining
http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/d_05_110.htm

Hello, I have ready all of the above posts and all are relevant, but I may have mislead you when I said about annual medical checkups. We get very good support from our diabetic medical team and my son - Harry has HBA1C's, foot checks, site checks, weight, height, blood pressure, urine test etc every 12 weeks. The medical checks that he gets annually are for his eyes, and cholesterol and a couple more things.
One of the previous posters articulated my feelings exactly with the explanation of a teenagers life. Harry is extremely sporty and its very hard to get constant good levels when we have to change dosages almost every other day depending on how active he is, has been, or will be!! He is pretty cooperative when it comes to testing daily, he does a minimum of 4 a day.
We eat really healthily, he alternates between 8 injection sites and his consultant agrees that we are doing absolutely everything correctly and that sometimes it is just bordering on impossible to get tight control on some pre-adults, due to many of the things listed in the posts above.
We are pretty clued up on diabetes, there are 4 of our immediate family with the condition, all have pretty tight control even though they are not half as 'good' as Harry. The difference is they are all above 40 and live routine, easily controlled lives.
Sorry to ramble on, but we have spent at least 5 years since his diagnosis worried, hung up, frustrated and anguished trying to get good HBA1c and it is something we have to let up on a bit.

i have just 'celebrated' my 2nd anniversary of diagnosis of Type I - a big shock to the system at 35 i can tell you!!!

i have been very good - cutting out all the crisps, sweets, chocs. i occasionally have a square of diabetic choc (i know the normal high cocoa choc is better but even tho i like dark choc this is just too bitter for me!!) and the odd diabetic sweet but i find almost any fruit ruins my levels so i feel i am missing out there. i occasionally have a bowl of a few strawberries in the evening after dinner but that's it.

i am still on the Novorapid so a bit restricted but i seem to be coping with it OK.

maybe getting teenagers to watch the likes of Jamie's Food Revolution would educate kids to the effects of poor diabetes control!!! i think we need more programmes like that on tv to educate the ostriches burying their heads in the sand to the effects of poor diet (esp the type 2s!)

lovinglife said:

Kathleen Mc said:

i i think we need more programmes like that on tv to educate the ostriches burying their heads in the sand to the effects of poor diet (esp the type 2s!)

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...........and so it continues - that old judgmental stereotypical view of T2's :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

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What else do you expect lovinglife? Probably a Daily Fail reader.

i knew as soon as i clicked post that i would be misunderstood.

there are people including my husband who has a brother with type 2 and a father who is borderline and me a type 1. he sees how diabetes affects our lives, and yet still eats rubbish and puts his own health at risk. a lot of people are unaware of the effects of eating high levels of carbs and the pressures it puts on your pancreas. that's what i meant rather than all type 2s are ignorant or however you interpreted my post.

i shall now reteat and reconsider posting on what i thought was supposed to be a helpful resource.

Your assumptions of Type 2 diabetes are just that, assumptions. Because your family members chooses to ignore his health your judgement seems a bit clouded.
There are Type 2's who have followed dietary advice given to them by professionals and have ended up putting on weight, some have Type 2 because of medications for other complaints including steroid therapy, cancer treatments, anti-depressants and the like. Some have developed Type 2 after a long period of stress. All Type 2's, regardless of their weight and size have a genuine chronic illness and do not need to be stereotyped.
I have never been classed as obese but that does not mean that I will not stand up and be counted when prejudices against them are aired.

there are also type 2s who don't even know they have it. there are also type 2s who do know they have it and continue to eat poorly.
just because you have your diabetes sorted doesn't mean that everyone has.

what i'm suggesting is that people are educated about diet from an early age to help them to not develop it. they may stil get it but at least they've given themselves a fighting chance.

i had no idea about he way a pancreas works and is overworked when faced with a diet of excessive carbs. and i bet i'm not alone!!!

in times of recession, a lot of diets will be carb high as meat and fish goes up in price. we naturally fill up with cheaper potatoes, rice and pasta and a lot of people are unaware of the effects of this.

i know that some people are aware but i'm certain that here are many who aren't.

I doubt that this lady and many like her have a choice of what is in their food parcel.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13765820

Kathleen Mc said:

i knew as soon as i clicked post that i would be misunderstood.

there are people including my husband who has a brother with type 2 and a father who is borderline and me a type 1. he sees how diabetes affects our lives, and yet still eats rubbish and puts his own health at risk. a lot of people are unaware of the effects of eating high levels of carbs and the pressures it puts on your pancreas. that's what i meant rather than all type 2s are ignorant or however you interpreted my post.

i shall now reteat and reconsider posting on what i thought was supposed to be a helpful resource.

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I take it that your husband is not a diabetic and maybe/probably like billions of other people who "eat rubbish" will not become a diabetic. Why should he stop eating what he wants/likes for as long as he can which may (or may not) be for as long as he lives?

When I was diagnosed I did ask the Doctor if it was in any way shape or form my fault through eating the "wrong stuff" that I became diabetic, his answer was "No, food is not the cause for diabetes", I think you'll find that nearly all Doctors will give the same answer. Overeating, good or bad food is the cause for obesity but not diabetes and as we know not every obese person is diabetic and there are "skinny" diabetics also.

What if the cause for diabetes is not "effects of eating high levels of carbs " as you claimed above and it's not even obesity but a common virus which has been linked to child diabetes?

My father is about 18-19 stones but not diabetic, my mother was about 8-9 stones when she became diabetic after a surgery. My father is 83 and my mother is 80 and might not have become diabetic had it not been for the surgery.

Hope they find out what causes diabetes so that stereotypes can all stop blaming everything they think might be the cause.