Worried Mum Of 10 Year Old With Type 1

[Jayden2407]

My son was diagnosed type 1 almost 3 weeks ago. He’s coping well for his age and I’m very proud of him. We’ve just started carb counting and so he has more flexibility with his insulin dose.
My problem is that we ate out at tea time today and he had his insulin but the food took over an hour to get to us, so he ended up hypo. We treated with glucose tablets and 10 mins later his food came so he ate it. His readings were went up and are now over 14, I’ve tested for keytones but says “lo” he fell asleep in the car on the way home and is fast asleep now, I’m so worried about him.
Does anyone have any advice please? I will test his BG again in half an hour hopefully they’ll be coming back down again but I can’t help worrying

 

[GlitterSparkles]

hi i am a 10 year old with type 1 myself(newly diagnosed) and i am sure my mum is just as worried as you and thats normal to be worried

 

[Jayden2407]

hi i am a 10 year old with type 1 myself(newly dignosed) and i am sure my mum is just as worried as you and thats normal to be worried

Thank you for your reply. I’m sure all mums worry it’s just that I’ve never seen him fall in to a deep sleep like this. I have been reading up and I think because his food was really delayed and he had a high card meal that’s what the issue is, it makes you sleepy apparently.
I hope you’re finding things okay

 

[jlarsson]

Why did he not just wait for the food to arrive before injecting? It's not a problem to do it at the table once the food arrives, if he's embarrassed or afraid what people think of it or something, it's just something he should get used to.

 

[therower]

@Jayden2407 . Don't panic. This is a common occurrence, even for the most hardened T1's.
It's part of life with diabetes unfortunately. We all go low, hypo. We treat and then end up going high.
14 isn't overly high, have a look at the type1 stars R us thread in the type 1 sub forum. Just about everyone goes upto 14 and even higher on a regular basis.
Your son is probably feeling a bit shattered with going low/ hypo. It can be very physically draining, hypos take a lot out of us especially when we're not used to them.
Keep checking his sugars on a regular basis. Providing he isn't climbing at a great rate then I wouldn't take any action. You could do a correction dose but being so newly diagnosed I wouldn't recommend it. Corrections take more knowledge than you will have at the moment.
The biggest thing to take from this is..... have a back up plan. Pre bolus before food is good BUT if you're eating out and can't be sure when food is going to arrive a better option maybe to inject immediately prior to eating. Pre bolusing at home is easy not so in alien surroundings.
Diabetes isn't going to be easy and you have so much to learn. Put today down to a good lesson learned.

How are his levels now?

 

[Jayden2407]

Why did he not just wait for the food to arrive before injecting? It's not a problem to do it at the table once the food arrives, if he's embarrassed or afraid what people think of it or something, it's just something he should get used to.

I’m sure he will get used to it considering he was only diagnosed 3 weeks ago and he did the injection (himself) at the table. We were not made aware that there was even a slight delay in the food arriving which resulted in him having insulin and no food until an hour later.
It’s all new for us and every step is a learning curve. I was after advice on the fact that he’s fallen in to a deep sleep. Not on why he didn’t wait for his food and then take his insulin.

 

[Jayden2407]

@Jayden2407 . Don't panic. This is a common occurrence, even for the most hardened T1's.
It's part of life with diabetes unfortunately. We all go low, hypo. We treat and then end up going high.
14 isn't overly high, have a look at the type1 stars R us thread in the type 1 sub forum. Just about everyone goes upto 14 and even higher on a regular basis.
Your son is probably feeling a bit shattered with going low/ hypo. It can be very physically draining, hypos take a lot out of us especially when we're not used to them.
Keep checking his sugars on a regular basis. Providing he isn't climbing at a great rate then I wouldn't take any action. You could do a correction dose but being so newly diagnosed I wouldn't recommend it. Corrections take more knowledge than you will have at the moment.
The biggest thing to take from this is..... have a back up plan. Pre bolus before food is good BUT if you're eating out and can't be sure when food is going to arrive a better option maybe to inject immediately prior to eating. Pre bolusing at home is easy not so in alien surroundings.
Diabetes isn't going to be easy and you have so much to learn. Put today down to a good lesson learned.

How are his levels now?

Thank you so much, thermoset, your reply has made me relax a bit and made so much sense.. everything is so new for us I know it isn’t going to be easy but we’ve not come across anything like this so I was so worried.
I have read up on the correction doses but yes as you say, I don’t have any knowledge on it yet. He said it was the worst hypo he’s had, he usually just shakes..
It’s the first proper meal out since his diagnosis and with them not warning us that there was a delay on food I wasn’t aware I could just give him his insulin pretty much as the food comes.
You’re right - it’s so much easier and organised at home. Lesson learnt, and I know what I need to do for next time.
His last reading was 13.8 @ 9:10, I am going to check him again soon.
Thanks again.

 

[jlarsson]

I’m sure he will get used to it considering he was only diagnosed 3 weeks ago and he did the injection (himself) at the table. We were not made aware that there was even a slight delay in the food arriving which resulted in him having insulin and no food until an hour later.
It’s all new for us and every step is a learning curve. I was after advice on the fact that he’s fallen in to a deep sleep. Not on why he didn’t wait for his food and then take his insulin.

Fair enough, just for future reference, it's perfectly fine to do it at the table.
Very low and very high blood sugar can cause severe lethargy and falling asleep, it's hard to say how much to correct or how much sugar to give him without knowing his regular dosage and such as I'm sure you can understand, but if it's too low and he's out of it I would personally try to force him to drink something as that will act rapidly. The liver would normally act and release glucose into the blood stream after a while, but it's not ideal. Similarly at some point if he's having night time hypos his liver and heartbeat will forcibly wake him up.

 

[therower]

Hi @Jayden2407 . It sounds like your son is doing absolutely brilliantly all things considered.
Kids can be far more resilient than grown ups at times.
As someone with a few hypos to my name ( lots, all different, all safely negotiated) I can assure you that some hypos can knock you off your feet for a good 24 hrs and you still don't feel quite right for a few days.
I've hypoed and spent the day in bed totally unable to do anything.
Keep an eye on his sugars, you don't want him going low again. Keep him hydrated ( water ).
It'll be good.

 

[jlarsson]

Hi @Jayden2407 . It sounds like your son is doing absolutely brilliantly all things considered.
Kids can be far more resilient than grown ups at times.
As someone with a few hypos to my name ( lots, all different, all safely negotiated) I can assure you that some hypos can knock you off your feet for a good 24 hrs and you still don't feel quite right for a few days.
I've hypoed and spent the day in bed totally unable to do anything.
Keep an eye on his sugars, you don't want him going low again. Keep him hydrated ( water ).
It'll be good.

I almost literally lost a day last year while having a totally screwed up basal regime, drunkenly overbolusing to correct dawn phenom and in a hypo state turned off my alarm and throwing the phone on the floor. I regained consciousness at 9pm that day. Not fun. :/

 

[Jayden2407]

Hi @Jayden2407 . It sounds like your son is doing absolutely brilliantly all things considered.
Kids can be far more resilient than grown ups at times.
As someone with a few hypos to my name ( lots, all different, all safely negotiated) I can assure you that some hypos can knock you off your feet for a good 24 hrs and you still don't feel quite right for a few days.
I've hypoed and spent the day in bed totally unable to do anything.
Keep an eye on his sugars, you don't want him going low again. Keep him hydrated ( water ).
It'll be good.

Thank you, I’m so proud of him.
His reading was 13:02 so it’s coming down - just very slowly. Shall I check his BG every hour? I’m not sure how often to check, when it’s been high in the past I just check him once through the night.

 

[Jayden2407]

Fair enough, just for future reference, it's perfectly fine to do it at the table.
Very low and very high blood sugar can cause severe lethargy and falling asleep, it's hard to say how much to correct or how much sugar to give him without knowing his regular dosage and such as I'm sure you can understand, but if it's too low and he's out of it I would personally try to force him to drink something as that will act rapidly. The liver would normally act and release glucose into the blood stream after a while, but it's not ideal. Similarly at some point if he's having night time hypos his liver and heartbeat will forcibly wake him up.

Thank you, I certainly will do this next time, it’s just we’ve eaten at home pretty much since he was diagnosed and I’ve been giving insulin 10 mins before food as advised - it’s just easier when you’re doing the cooking!

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @Jayden2407,
Welcome. As others have said, hope for the best, plan for the worst.
1) prevent problem by waiting ( eaiting - edited out) for meal before injecting
2) if injection has happened and delay occurs, order a drink of orange juice or order dessert pronto ( it is usually pre-prepared and quicker to arrive) or have some food that has been carried in with you like a mursli bar etc.
The reason why the 14 level occurred is that with a hypo the body reacts by releasing sugar stored in the liver to combat the low sugar, so this plus the meal pushs the blood sugar up.
I was 13 when diagnosed 51 years ago. You learn to anticipate what might happen and plan accordingly, like not assuming an outing will finish at a particular time and to 'cover the bases' i would take food along and my insulin etc, so that i was prepared for a late homecoming or having to stay somewhere overnight etc.
My best wishes to all of you and keep the questions coming !!!

 

[Antje77]

Sounds like you're doing perfect!

1) prevent problem by eaiting for meal before injecting

I wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary. If you really can't be sure of when the food arrives, why not inject when they serve?

It’s the first proper meal out since his diagnosis and with them not warning us that there was a delay on food

I have been asking a waiter if I could be sure food was coming in 15 minutes or less so I could inject my insulin. When they look doubtfull, postpone.

I have read up on the correction doses but yes as you say, I don’t have any knowledge on it yet.

So don't correct. You say he's slowly going down already, I would leave it be and just check his bg as you normally would. Yes, 13 is high, but not so high as to expect dangerous side effects. Take your time learning, it doesn't have to be perfect right away.
Sleep well!

 

[Straw362]

Hi Jayden
My daughter who is 9 was diagnosed just under 4 months ago , You never stop worrying but when your carb counting things are a little easier . When we go out for meals we ask the waitress/ manager can they tell us 5 mins before our food comes out , then my daughter will go & do her insulin.Most places are very accommodating. We even take my little weighing scales with us , so we get the carbs to insulin right Keep your spirits up & more importantly keep your sons up , because your be surprised how resilient they are. You think your world in upside down , but it just all about being more organised for you & them . Try not to stop them doing anything as well , because my daughter loved playing netball & thought she couldn’t because of type 1 , but she’s back playing , you learn to control there sugars , but everyday is different, hope this helps
Gareth

 

[therower]

@Jayden2407 . How as your son been today?
Hope everything is back to normal or as normal it can be with diabetes .

 

[Jayden2407]

Sounds like you're doing perfect!

I wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary. If you really can't be sure of when the food arrives, why not inject when they serve?

I have been asking a waiter if I could be sure food was coming in 15 minutes or less so I could inject my insulin. When they look doubtfull, postpone.

So don't correct. You say he's slowly going down already, I would leave it be and just check his bg as you normally would. Yes, 13 is high, but not so high as to expect dangerous side effects. Take your time learning, it doesn't have to be perfect right away.
Sleep well!

Thank you so much. Jayden’s levels came down to 9 @ 5am then 6.7 @ 8am before breakfast and has had great levels today apart from the one hypo before PE at school.

It is definitely lesson learnt and yes I will take my time, I know there’s so much to learn/know.
Thanks again.

 

[Jayden2407]

Hi Jayden
My daughter who is 9 was diagnosed just under 4 months ago , You never stop worrying but when your carb counting things are a little easier . When we go out for meals we ask the waitress/ manager can they tell us 5 mins before our food comes out , then my daughter will go & do her insulin.Most places are very accommodating. We even take my little weighing scales with us , so we get the carbs to insulin right Keep your spirits up & more importantly keep your sons up , because your be surprised how resilient they are. You think your world in upside down , but it just all about being more organised for you & them . Try not to stop them doing anything as well , because my daughter loved playing netball & thought she couldn’t because of type 1 , but she’s back playing , you learn to control there sugars , but everyday is different, hope this helps
Gareth

Thanks Gareth, sounds like your daughter is doing great. Yes I will know for future now. I was just stumped what to do and then panicked when he fell asleep @ 7:30pm then woke up all confused at 11pm.. it’s just hard to see sometimes and we have some bad days but mainly good considering he was only diagnosed 3 weeks ago.
The carb counting is great, he’s happy = happy mum and that’s a good idea to take the scales out - mine are small salter ones so I might do the same!
Luckily I’m a very organised mum and my son is super confident, doing his own injections now, so proud of him.
Thanks for your reply, it’s so good to have people to talk to on here.

 

[Jayden2407]

@Jayden2407 . How as your son been today?
Hope everything is back to normal or as normal it can be with diabetes .

Hi, he’s much better thanks. His BG was 9 @5am then back down to 6.7 @ 8am, had good readings all day too before meals just had a little hypo before PE.

I’ve just said to another person on here, we have good days and bad - mainly good as it’s only 3 weeks since he was diagnosed. We’re both doing well
Thank you for asking.. I hope you’re okay.

 

[GlitterSparkles]

hi, but my blood sugar not as good today it went down to 2.8 and i got sent home from school with it a 3.8 and before that it was 3.3 but i had a banana and haribo that only put it up to 3.8 so have had to adjust my insulin down again and up my carbs.