hi I am the mother of a newly diagnosed teen of type 1

[Amanda adams]

looking for words of reassurance as I'm in the dark.....

 

[delb t]

Hi Amanda sorry you have to be here but glad you've found us my son was dx at 15 - hes now 19 and at Uni-.There is so much to take in at the start and I remember those first few months were hard - it will get easier honest I found this forum so helpful ask away everyone will help.

 

[delb t]

Also- how old is your teen? have your team been in contact with school re care plan?

 

[Northerner]

looking for words of reassurance as I'm in the dark.....

Hi Amanda, welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis What insulin regime is he on, and how is he taking it? It can be a complicated subject, with a very steep learning curve, especially to begin with, so don't be afraid to ask every and any question you may have. There are lots of people here with a huge amount of experience, so whatever it is there is bound to be someone who can offer you the benefit of their experience 🙂

I would highly recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents by Ragnar Hanas - absolutely the best book available, covering all aspects of living with Type 1, superbly written and very positive in style 🙂

Have a look at our Useful links thread - there are lots of links there to more good resources. I'd also recommend reading Adrienne's essential guide for parents of newly diagnosed children, which will help you to understand that how you are probably feeling now is perfectly natural.

Let us know if we can help further, there's always someone available 🙂

 

[HOBIE]

Welcome Amanda. In the next few years you will have to take on lots of info. You have done yourself a big favour joining this site because lots of helpful people here. I am in my 49th year of T1. Don't be frightened to ask 🙂

 

[stephknits]

Welcome Amanda. Sorry to hear of your teens diagnosis, but wishing you a warm welcome, do ask/vent away

 

[KookyCat]

Welcome Amanda, it's very overwhelming at first, and lots to take in, there are lots of very warm and knowledgeable people here and a few parents who I'm sure will be very helpful. Hope and your youngster are getting lots of support from your medical team.

 

[Redkite]

Hi Amanda, sorry to hear about your child's diagnosis - how old is he/she? I highly recommend you get the Ragnar Hanas book as Northerner suggested, it's an excellent book to help you all feel you know what you're doing. Your diabetes nurse should be able to help with writing a care plan for school and going in to meet with and train school staff - it's useful to have a key member of staff for your child to go to if necessary (e.g. someone in school office or medical room), and P.E. staff should all be familiar with your child's needs in case of a hypo. My son is 14 now but was diagnosed at the age of 4, so obviously I was the one doing all the care at first - however with a teen, the clinic team will be directing all the education at them, and it can be hard for parents to be as knowledgeable as they might like. Do try to be as informed and involved as you can, while at the same time letting your child be as independent as they are ready to be, because the feeling of having adult support behind them is absolutely crucial. Having diabetes won't get in their way, but things will need more planning than before. xx

 

[Amanda adams]

Thank you all for such a warm and friendly welcome.. I will Persue the advice I have been kindly offered and hopefully begin to start understanding a little about the diagnosis and how I can help as a parent and also feel I am doing the right thing instead of guilty wondering if there possibly was anything I could have done differently to have prevented this coming on... My daughter is 18 she is a young 18 who still relies on mum all the time. She has been put on a slow release insulin and then fast release nova pen . My main problem at the minute is I honestly don't know when she should be eating and quantities. Anyway I could ramble on but I won't. .....thank you all

 

[NI-Bookworm]

Hi Amanda. My son was 9 when he was diagnosed 10 months ago. For me knowledge is power, the Ragnar book that you have been recommended is excellent. When my son gets down about the diabetes I let him have a good old moan, I let him get angry (I get angry and frustrated with him), then when he has had a rant we move on. I keep showing him all the positive role models that exist out there, and try to encourage him to not let diabetes stop him doing anything he wants. So far that's been restricted to eating candy floss!!! Good luck.

 

[Northerner]

Thank you all for such a warm and friendly welcome.. I will Persue the advice I have been kindly offered and hopefully begin to start understanding a little about the diagnosis and how I can help as a parent and also feel I am doing the right thing instead of guilty wondering if there possibly was anything I could have done differently to have prevented this coming on... My daughter is 18 she is a young 18 who still relies on mum all the time. She has been put on a slow release insulin and then fast release nova pen . My main problem at the minute is I honestly don't know when she should be eating and quantities. Anyway I could ramble on but I won't. .....thank you all

It sounds like she is on a good insulin regime, known as 'MDI (Multiple Daily Injections) or sometimes called 'basal/bolus' - the 'basal' insulin is the slow-acting insulin and this is intended to counter the glucose that is slowly released by the liver when she is not eating (it does this to keep all those things like the brain, heart, lungs and digestive system supplied with energy all the time). The 'bolus' insulin is the fast-acting designed to counter the glucose/carbohydrate from food. There is a technique called 'Carb Counting' which allows you to calculate how much insulin to inject according to how many grams of carbohydrate are in the food to be eaten. This makes things very flexible, and you only need to inject the fast-acting when you eat, so it means you can eat when you want, or miss meals if you want 🙂 If you'd like to learn a bit more about carb counting, have a look at the following:

https://shop.diabetes.org.uk/usr/downloads/Carbs-Count-2012-reduced.pdf

Her nurse will hopefully teach her about this, and also put her down for a course when she has got a bit more used to things 🙂

 

[Bloden]

Welcome to the forum, Amanda.🙂 Sorry to hear about your daughter's diagnosis. As everyone says, it's a steep learning curve at first, but it does get easier. This forum's great for support, info and giggles.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Hello, Amanda, and welcome 🙂

You have been given lots of good advice, and no, there is nothing you could have done differently to prevent this - it's an auto-immune disease and is no-one's "fault".

Once your daughter has learned a bit more about it, she will be able to eat pretty much whatever she wants whenever she wants, as others have said. Don't worry about it too much, as long as she is eating something which includes some carbs at mealtimes when she injects - her diabetes nurse or consultant will advise her about adjusting the insulin dose to fit the food she's eating if she needs to do so, and she may be able to talk to a dietician too. The only things to avoid while she's still working out what she's doing are things which will send her blood sugar up very fast (like fruit juice, sugary drinks, dried fruits, honey, boiled sweets, and jelly babies), but to keep some of these on hand in case she needs them because her blood sugar's gone too low.

 

[Daphniesmum]

Hi Amanda - my son (21) was diagnosed with T1 a month ago. I went through all sorts of emotions at the time, but even in a month I feel I've learned quite a lot, We are gradually getting food issues sorted out and his levels are going in the right direction, albeit fairly slowly. I've had great support from people on here too. Best wishes for you and your daughter