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Mum to newly diagnosed 9 year old

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
stacey_w

stacey_w

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hello everyone!
I'm Stacey and my son, Riley was recently diagnosed with type one diabetes. We are still trying to get his bloods at a nice level and are experiencing lots of low blood sugars at the moment but are handling them well! I'm hoping to find lots of help and support on the forum for myself and my son. Looking forward to talking to you all xx
 
Hi Stacey, my daughter was diagnosed at 11 months she's 32 now there's lots to take in but it gets easier honest.
 
stacey_w said:
Hello everyone!
I'm Stacey and my son, Riley was recently diagnosed with type one diabetes. We are still trying to get his bloods at a nice level and are experiencing lots of low blood sugars at the moment but are handling them well! I'm hoping to find lots of help and support on the forum for myself and my son. Looking forward to talking to you all xx
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Hi Stacey, welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis - how did it come about? Hopefully, you are getting good support from your healthcare team. Are you spotting any patterns to the hypos? It can be a problem when children are newly-diagnosed (and adults too, for that matter!) because sometimes the pancreas decides to put out some insulin occasionally which can make calculating doses difficult. What insulin is he on?

I'd highly recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents by Ragnar Hanas, it's a really handy book to have around and covers everything in a very positive, readable way 🙂 Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be very happy to help! 🙂
 
Northerner said:
Hi Stacey, welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis - how did it come about? Hopefully, you are getting good support from your healthcare team. Are you spotting any patterns to the hypos? It can be a problem when children are newly-diagnosed (and adults too, for that matter!) because sometimes the pancreas decides to put out some insulin occasionally which can make calculating doses difficult. What insulin is he on?

I'd highly recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents by Ragnar Hanas, it's a really handy book to have around and covers everything in a very positive, readable way 🙂 Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be very happy to help! 🙂
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Thank you so much for the advice I will definitely look into getting a copy of that book!
He was diagnosed a fortnight ago. He had been losing weight but we put it down to a growth spurt at first. We then noticed an increase in his drinking habits and scho
 
Alan.tnh said:
Hi Stacey, my daughter was diagnosed at 11 months she's 32 now there's lots to take in but it gets easier honest.
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Wow! 11 months, I bet that was really difficult to manage at first! It does seem like our lives revolve around blood testing and carb counting at the mo but we are getting there! I'm just happy that Riley is back to his normal self. He's coping with it very well, I am very proud of him 🙂 x
 
we were only 19 ourselves I still thank the powers that be for such a wonderful and supportive family. learning to inject on an orange, then a nurses arm, then I had to let my wife practice on me so she could be confident before injecting our daughter. I said to another lady on here the other day its amazing how quickly they adapt. We found it just as difficult when she became independent and didn't want or need our help, then we were seen as interfering just by asking what her bg level was. (arghh those teenage years) Wish you well, always willing to answer any questions if I can. Al
 
Welcome Stacey.
I hope that you are beginning to get used to your new 'normal'. Lots to take in but there are a lot of people on here with loads of experience and they are all so helpful. So if in doubt just ask. Someone will some along with an answer.
 
Alan.tnh said:
we were only 19 ourselves I still thank the powers that be for such a wonderful and supportive family. learning to inject on an orange, then a nurses arm, then I had to let my wife practice on me so she could be confident before injecting our daughter. I said to another lady on here the other day its amazing how quickly they adapt. We found it just as difficult when she became independent and didn't want or need our help, then we were seen as interfering just by asking what her bg level was. (arghh those teenage years) Wish you well, always willing to answer any questions if I can. Al
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I bet it was incredibly daunting! Theres so much information to take on at first isn't there?! Riley is very headstrong already (heaven knows what he will be like when he's a teenager!) he asked the other day if he can just do his own blood sugars if he feels low! Obviously I told him he couldn't as it is important an adult knows. Thank you for making me feel very welcome on the forums, I'm sure I will ask many questions on our journey x
 
SB2015 said:
Welcome Stacey.
I hope that you are beginning to get used to your new 'normal'. Lots to take in but there are a lot of people on here with loads of experience and they are all so helpful. So if in doubt just ask. Someone will some along with an answer.
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Thank you for the welcome 🙂 you're right, there's a lot of info to digest! I am sure I will be asking lots of questions as time goes on!
 
There was another lady who joined last week with a boy of 6 I think her name is Leanne, you should look up her post, there was a suggestion from a lady called Trophywench about holidays with DUK we went on one as a family it was BDA back then but you and your children learn so much. If doing his own BG helps him take ownership I would encourage it, obviously supervised to start with.
 
I let him do his own BG I just supervise 🙂 I feel he only needs me to work out his carbs lol! I've just seen Leanne's post and commented 🙂 it's good to know I'm not on my own. I will look into those holidays, thank you x
 
stacey_w said:
I bet it was incredibly daunting! Theres so much information to take on at first isn't there?! Riley is very headstrong already (heaven knows what he will be like when he's a teenager!) he asked the other day if he can just do his own blood sugars if he feels low! Obviously I told him he couldn't as it is important an adult knows. Thank you for making me feel very welcome on the forums, I'm sure I will ask many questions on our journey x
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Actually, if he feels low and tells an adult, then him doing his own blood sugar and showing result to that adult would be fine. Then he can eat or drink something sugary and test again, showing adult again. Many children with type 1 diabetes deal with most of their own hypos through secondary school years, so he's working towards independence.
 
That's what we do 🙂 he wanted to do it and not tell anyone.
 
Is 9 a bit young to expect any logic, Leanne?

I mean - so you test, so now you know what your BG is. Lovely!

BUTTTT - it's what you then DO with that info, that is the really important bit! - Test, Review, Adjust ! LOL

You could say that to him couldn't you? ask him what he would do if the meter said eg 2.8 or 22.8? - and see if he knows!
 
He does know what he would do. He's very bright. It's my own insecurities more than anything but I am aware that it is Riley who has the diabetes and he needs to feel in control of it.
 
Spreadsheet! Tell him all his results need to be on the spreadsheet so patterns can be monitored. Kids love computers 😉
 
It will take time for all of you to adjust to this Stacey. Your own insecurities will impact on how you support your son, but there are many other parents on here who have experience of this. It might be worth a post in the Parents section of this forum.

Keep asking for help and keep in touch.
 
My daughter is 9 now and she basically sorts herself out at school, including dealing with hypos. So I don't see a problem in you allowing your son to do things for himself, as long as you keep an eye on him and make sure he understands what he's doing and why. My daughter has already been dealing with this for nearly 4 years though so she's a bit more experienced! She doesn't do the complicated stuff like basal adjustments and so on, and at the moment I provide the carb count for her school dinner, but we're trying to work towards her being able to do as much as possible for herself by the time she goes to secondary school.

Welcome to the forum by the way 🙂
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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