Emotional support

[Loucol72]

Good evening. Thank you for accepting us to this site. My lovely step daughter was diagnosed with type 1 on boxing day! We are all in a blur. She returned from uni and had been saying tired and thirsty for a while. With a blood sugar count of 32.9 and ketone of 5.9 was admitted straight away. It really was a scary time for all. She has been amazing. However I think now its settling in and hitting her emotionally... How can we best support.. I don't want to overload by keep sending things I've read and researched and keep bothering her asking how feeling and what levels are... But also don't want her to feel alone. X

 

[mark king]

Ask your daughter to join us on here as there are lots of helpful topics here.

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, what a difficult time, it will be a steep learning curve for you all.
There are quite a few parents here with children of varying ages who I'm sure will be along to offer some words of wisdom but it would help if you could outline what treatment she is on, so what insulins and doses as that will help people to give appropriate advice and suggestions.
I would say it is important for her and you to have a good rapport with her diabetic team as they are there for support.
In the early days she will need plenty, you could encourage her to join the forum as there are some fantastically helpful people here.

 

[Loucol72]

Ask your daughter to join us on here as there are lots of helpful topics here.

Thank you Mark. I will mention it to her.. I think she's just over whelmed at the moment. I do think it will help as just the little bits I have read so far have been very informative

 

[Loucol72]

Welcome to the forum, what a difficult time, it will be a steep learning curve for you all.
There are quite a few parents here with children of varying ages who I'm sure will be along to offer some words of wisdom but it would help if you could outline what treatment she is on, so what insulins and doses as that will help people to give appropriate advice and suggestions.
I would say it is important for her and you to have a good rapport with her diabetic team as they are there for support.
In the early days she will need plenty, you could encourage her to join the forum as there are some fantastically helpful people here.

Thank you. She was discharged yesterday and has 10 units of a base every day and 4 units with every meal. We are just trying to help with best foods etc. We are worried about her going back to uni.. She is quite far away.. But have said tonight we will discuss options with that at a later time. She is due to go back next week which is being delayed as she will have an apt with the diabetic team next week. I just feel I want to hug her and take it all away from

 

[Loucol72]

Thank you. She was discharged yesterday and has 10 units of a base every day and 4 units with every meal. We are just trying to help with best foods etc. We are worried about her going back to uni.. She is quite far away.. But have said tonight we will discuss options with that at a later time. She is due to go back next week which is being delayed as she will have an apt with the diabetic team next week. I just feel I want to hug her and take it all away... She has a freestyle libre 2 on her arm... Sorry I haven't learnt all the jargon yet x

 

[Leadinglights]

Diabetes is covered by disabilities legislation so she should have access to the disabilities team at her Uni who should be able to organise support if she needs it. It would be worth her contacting them before she goes back so they are aware of the new situation.

 

[Loucol72]

Diabetes is covered by disabilities legislation so she should have access to the disabilities team at her Uni who should be able to organise support if she needs it. It would be worth her contacting them before she goes back so they are aware of the new situation.

 

[Loucol72]

Thank you. We are going to contact the student Services at uni to ask for support.

Is there an app for this forum to save me keep going in via Google. Sorry I'm not very technical

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you. We are going to contact the student Services at uni to ask for support.

Is there an app for this forum to save me keep going in via Google. Sorry I'm not very technical

I don't think so. You can add it as an icon I think.

 

[Loucol72]

I don't think so. You can add it as an icon I think.

Thank you

 

[Lily123]

Diabetes is a hard diagnosis at any time. Is she under a hospital clinic? They might be able to put her in contact with their clinical psychologist who will know more about diabetes than your average one

 

[Loucol72]

Thank you. At present she just saw the diabetic team today before released. We will see them next week. I will ensure we ask

 

[SB2015]

Sorry to hear of your step-daughter’s diagnosis but glad that you have found the forum. It is a steep learning curve for everyone at diagnosis but it does get easier. I would certainly recommend that she joins us on here, as there is a wealth of experience to tap into and plenty of support.

It will take time to adapt to her ‘new normal’. Her team have her on fixed insulin doses at present, and they will work with her to start on carb counting and then to learn how to match her doses to what she chooses to eat. So anything that you as a family can do working out how many carbs are in the meals you are eating will help her. The information is presented in so many different ways on packaging but you do find that Your head quite quickly fills with this info. I knew absolutely nothing about this before being diagnosed.

Keep in touch and come back with any questions that arise. Nothing is considered silly on here. Just ask.

 

[Inka]

Thank you Mark. I will mention it to her.. I think she's just over whelmed at the moment. I do think it will help as just the little bits I have read so far have been very informative

It’s not just the practical suggestions here, it’s the relief of being amongst people who understand and who also have Type 1. It’s a very lonely place to be soon after diagnosis. Knowing you’re not alone is a massive boost. Soon after I was diagnosed, my nurse put me in touch with someone who had Type 1 (no internet or forums then) and that phone call was a major boost for me - someone who got it, someone like me.

You’re right not to overload her with information now, but there are a couple of books about Type 1 that are popular here and will be helpful in the future:

Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner.

And Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (ignore the title - it’s great for adults too).

Supporting her by making sure she has lots of hypo treatments in the house (Dextro tablets, Lift glucose shots, jelly babies, etc) is good. Also, help/support her in beginning to count carbs. She’s on fixed doses for meals at the moment but soon she’ll learn how to adjust her mealtime insulin according to what (how many carbs) she’s about to eat. Also, be patient. It’s a huge emotional shock and people can be depressed, tearful, angry and quite emotional. This is normal.

Make sure she has the phone numbers of her tea and knows when to call them. It does gradually get easier.

 

[Loucol72]

Sorry to hear of your step-daughter’s diagnosis but glad that you have found the forum. It is a steep learning curve for everyone at diagnosis but it does get easier. I would certainly recommend that she joins us on here, as there is a wealth of experience to tap into and plenty of support.

It will take time to adapt to her ‘new normal’. Her team have her on fixed insulin doses at present, and they will work with her to start on carb counting and then to learn how to match her doses to what she chooses to eat. So anything that you as a family can do working out how many carbs are in the meals you are eating will help her. The information is presented in so many different ways on packaging but you do find that Your head quite quickly fills with this info. I knew absolutely nothing about this before being diagnosed.

Keep in touch and come back with any questions that arise. Nothing is considered silly on here. Just ask.

Thank you so so much. Your comments are so kind and very helpful. We will stay in touch

 

[Loucol72]

It’s not just the practical suggestions here, it’s the relief of being amongst people who understand and who also have Type 1. It’s a very lonely place to be soon after diagnosis. Knowing you’re not alone is a massive boost. Soon after I was diagnosed, my nurse put me in touch with someone who had Type 1 (no internet or forums then) and that phone call was a major boost for me - someone who got it, someone like me.

You’re right not to overload her with information now, but there are a couple of books about Type 1 that are popular here and will be helpful in the future:

Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner.

And Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (ignore the title - it’s great for adults too).

Supporting her by making sure she has lots of hypo treatments in the house (Dextro tablets, Lift glucose shots, jelly babies, etc) is good. Also, help/support her in beginning to count carbs. She’s on fixed doses for meals at the moment but soon she’ll learn how to adjust her mealtime insulin according to what (how many carbs) she’s about to eat. Also, be patient. It’s a huge emotional shock and people can be depressed, tearful, angry and quite emotional. This is normal.

Make sure she has the phone numbers of her tea and knows when to call them. It does gradually get easier.

Thank you. We had a good chat last night and agreed its OK not to be OK about this. To scream cry rant what ever she needs. She has joined the forum and is at present chatting to a fairly newly diagnosed chap her own age which she said is really helping. Thank you to all of you for your kind words and great advise x

 

[SunflowerMama]

My son was admitted and diagnosed in the summer with very similar stats.

What helped me (somehow my son totally accepts stuff) was/is how amazing and patient the diabetic team was. Being able to call 24/7 even if I was just confused or having a mind block was amazing. Plus here was nice to fill in the gaps and to hear all the family's different feelings and reactions are normal.

6 months on I still need to hear the same things over again as being normal!!

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Thank you. She was discharged yesterday and has 10 units of a base every day and 4 units with every meal. We are just trying to help with best foods etc. We are worried about her going back to uni.. She is quite far away.. But have said tonight we will discuss options with that at a later time. She is due to go back next week which is being delayed as she will have an apt with the diabetic team next week. I just feel I want to hug her and take it all away from

A new diagnoses is overwhelming for everyone
The suggestion I would make is to ask her what she needs and wants. The worst thing to do is keep asking about her numbers and should she be eating that?
The good thing about having type1 diabetes is we can eat what we like as long as it's covered by insulin 🙂

 

[Loucol72]

My son was admitted and diagnosed in the summer with very similar stats.

What helped me (somehow my son totally accepts stuff) was/is how amazing and patient the diabetic team was. Being able to call 24/7 even if I was just confused or having a mind block was amazing. Plus here was nice to fill in the gaps and to hear all the family's different feelings and reactions are normal.

6 months on I still need to hear the same things over again as being normal!!

I'm glad it's not just me.... Sd seems to be told once and remember.. I am finding this forum so useful as instead of keep asking her again and again I look on here.