My 10 year old has just been diagnosed with type 1

[Sally71]

Any advice on my tesco order would be most welcome

Just put what you normally put on it. A healthy diet for a type 1 is the same as a healthy diet for everyone else. Get some emergency hypo treatments in there - glucose tablets, jelly babies, full sugar coke (most other drinks have had their sugar content halved in recent years but not Coca Cola)
You can get mini cans of coke and Appletiser which have exactly the right number of carbs to treat one hypo. Drinks are also better than solid foods for hypos because they go through the stomach quicker, and also can be easier to take, my daughter sometimes forgets how to chew when she's low! Maybe go easy on the cakes and sugary puddings until you’ve learnt how to handle them 🙂

 

[SB2015]

Good morning @Lilmssquirrel , I hope that you got some sleep eventually.

You are right that this will just be part of your new ‘normal’ in a years time, but there is no fast forward button for now. I have heard great reports of the team at Bristol, and it makes sense to work with your local team. You must be very proud of DD in her willingness to get on with finger pricking and explain it to others. Tell her well done from us.

Your specialists team will have managed split families before. Be honest with them about your worries. They are there for you. It will be important for your ex to understand the difference between T2 and T1 and recognise that this has to be managed in a very different way.

@Sally71 has given you sensible advice on your Tesco shop. I remember being told I could eat whatever I wanted to and just needed to match the insulin I needed. I have then adapted and gone easy (most of the time) on biscuits and cakes.

Look after yourself as well as DD.

 

[stephknits]

When my daughter was diagnosed the team asked us to only have carb free snacks between meals so we could see how her bolus insulin was working. Also, my daughter didn't want to inject in-between meals and wanted to have a snack she could just pick out of the cupboard if she wanted one. Might not be the same for you, but you could add some carb free snacks to your order.
My daughter likes gherkins, walnuts, mozzarella balls,strawberries and lots of cream (low carb) tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, hard boiled eggs, olives.

 

[Ralph-YK]

My understanding is you're got an initial period, where the medics will check on how much affect the insulin does' have on your daughters blood glucose (BG) levels. Then may very well adjust it to get a more precise dose. Making drastic changes to diet at this stage can confuse things a little. Obviously, still do have a look at reducing the obvious things. (Cakes etc).
If you keep a food diary, along with a record of her levels, this will help you see patterns and make adjustments in future. It may also help HCP judge insulin doses.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Keep to the same sort of foods she was already eating. Some kids do go low(er) carb as they get to grips with their diabetes but to begin with it helps to eat the same sorts of things as that’s easier to stick to. You may find she needs to eat a lot to begin with as she’s lost weight.

what we tend to do is to give bigger meals - breakfast is often toast and cereal and a bit of fruit, lunch includes pudding etc as then she needs to snack less. She still has sweets but with a meal not on their own (unless she’s about to get on the trampoline) and we control portion size. So no food is forbidden it’s just about getting healthy portion sizes. Basically you end up eating much more within the healthy eating guidelines as a result.

It depends what she likes but berries are really low carb and full fat Greek yogurt is a good mix so a decent portion of both can still be very low carb. The biggest difference for us has been drinks. We tended to have fruit juice but always have sugar free squash in now and sugar free 7up etc.

Food will seem like a challenge to begin with. We use the carbs and cals book a lot (there’s an app too much I prefer the book) and it helps to have a notebook where you can scribble down carb totals at each meal. We have common foods listed at the front of the notebook including take away pizza, ice cream etc. After a while you tend to remember the common foods and you can eyeball portion sizes but to begin with you’ll rely on your scales and a calculator (here there will provide digital scales if you don’t already have them).

WRT your ex. She will get him into line even if he struggle to begin with. Yes it helps if he engages from the beginning but your team will be used to complicated dynamics and can fill in gaps later when he’s ready.

 

[leonS]

There is nothing that a type 1 on insulin can not eat IN MODERATION, High sugar products are perhaps best avoided (such as the sugar coated breakfast cereals). DT1s can even eat a small amount of ordinary sweats.

I avoid anything that calls itself "low fat" or "healthy" and under no circumstances would I buy "diabetic" I do use sacharin in tea and coffee.

You may find that ordinary jam is good for treating hypos. You wiill be told no to give anything by mouth if your child is unresponsive - but if you smear jam around the lips the normal reaction is to lick it off and this will help.

The disadvantage of jam is that a little goes a long way, A single teaspoon full can cover the morning post, the worktop, rhe kettle and still have enough to cover half the kitchen floor.

I would get and fit a baby alarm and make sure that I called it an intercom, no young lady wants to be thought a baby. This will give a bit of reassurance to both of you. Make sure that you can talk as well as listen, You can ask "Are you OK?" if you hear any strange sounds.

A hand on the forehead will usually diagnose a hypo. If the head is cold clammy or wet with sweat it is time to use the jam (or what ever). BG test before jam if possible.

Add jelly babies to the Tesco list, they are good for treating hypo when out and about, find a screw top plastic container to keep 8 or 9 in, so that it can go in a pocket of bag. Instruction for consumption of JBs in emergency - "chew 'em well".

Hope this helps!

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Our team don’t recommend sweets as first port of call for hypo treatment fwiw. I think once you know what your hypos are like and if you have good hypo awareness people find what works for them including sweets, fruit juice etc. Our team recommend dextrose or glucose tabs for kids because they absorb more quickly (or gluco juice, gluco gel etc but my kid doesn’t like them). We tend to have a tube of glucotabs or a packet fo dextrose with us.

 

[trophywench]

When I'm really hypo, by which I mean below about 3.4 - though doesn't happen anywhere near as much these days cos over the intervening 48 years I have learned a few things! - I've never been able to chew that well so I'm better drinking, for which Orange Lucozade was brill until they reduced the glucose content, I hate Coke so I'll have to have a look for fun size Appletise cos I used to like that (and have always enjoyed cider LOL)

In terms of just drinking something non alcoholic cos you need a drink, we buy the flavoured carbonated water from Tesco or whatever supermarket you happen to go to for your shopping. It's not unlike having a glass of fizzy pop and most of the grandkids (we have 7 of them) and GGCs (5) appear to like it too.

Like I try to remember to say to all new parents - your child's team is equally - in fact more at the moment - YOUR team too!

 

[Sally71]

We were advised not to use sweets as hypo treatment as well, mainly because with young children you don't want to make it something too nice or they will want to eat too many, and it is extremely easy to overtreat a hypo and send them too high! Also some children can be crafty little devils and might pretend they are poorly just to get some sweets 😱
Glucose works quickly and isn’t too nice, jelly babies are the best if you have to use sweets because they have glucose syrup in and therefore work faster, and 3 jelly babies are your 15g carbs. They still aren’t as fast as glucose tablets though.

We used to use Ribena and not dilute it much so you only need a few mouthfuls, that isn’t so sweet any more though, there are some blackcurrant and orange cordials called Rocks which have ridiculous amounts of sugar in if you don’t like coke. They are sooooo sweet though that you have to keep them in the fridge once opened, or they will go mouldy! Harder to calculate the correct amount with things like that too, I think we overtreated many times with Ribena, mini cans are the way to go because it is a measured amount.

 

[Jazzyted]

Hi,

I've never ever posted here before and haven't even done an intro post. I actually came looking for something completely different and saw your post.

I was diagnosed at 13 months old. Your daughter will be ok, trust me. I marked 35 years in February just gone and there is absolutely nothing she can't do or eat for that matter. You both just need time to adjust and you will. Your DSN will look after you and there is lots of support available at DUK.

Please don't google too much, no one ever writes anything great on google, medically anyway (from my experience)

Please don't read to much, don't try to take in too much at once. You need time to adjust too.

Please order your tesco shopping as normal. You'll be taught to carb count as dose insulin as needed. Maybe throw something sugary in just in case of lows. Now isn't the time to ask her to change her eating habits too.

Please ask if you have questions, concerns or need to rant and let off steam.

Just reading your other posts, have you thought your ex may be feeling guilty? Or responsible? Maybe its just something he cant or isn't ready to face. And yes that makes him selfish but you really don't need to be worrying about his response right now. Obviously she wont be able to stay there until he's been trained but surely he'll know that?

This time next year you'll be wondering why you worried.

You sound like a wonderful mum, sending you strength and positive thoughts.

H

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Must wanted to say hello and welcome @Lilmssquirrel

All the best pancreas impersonators live in the Bristol areal 😉

Sorry to hear about your daughter’s diagnosis, but the team in Bristol are fab (in both hospitals as far as I know), and I hope the support here fills in a lot of gaps and gives you a ‘hive mind’ to consult.

If you’ve not already found it, Digibete is a great set of videos to support families of children and young people affected by diabetes

Home - DigiBete

Welcome to DigiBete, a place to help young people, families and communities to manage Type 1 Diabetes.

www.digibete.org

Take it one step at a time, cut yourselves some slack, and be kind to yourselves.

 

[Lilmssquirrel]

Just put what you normally put on it. A healthy diet for a type 1 is the same as a healthy diet for everyone else. Get some emergency hypo treatments in there - glucose tablets, jelly babies, full sugar coke (most other drinks have had their sugar content halved in recent years but not Coca Cola)
You can get mini cans of coke and Appletiser which have exactly the right number of carbs to treat one hypo. Drinks are also better than solid foods for hypos because they go through the stomach quicker, and also can be easier to take, my daughter sometimes forgets how to chew when she's low! Maybe go easy on the cakes and sugary puddings until you’ve learnt how to handle them 🙂

Thanks @Sally71
We don't tend to buy cakes and stuff as there are normally business leftovers to eat up. I cook from scratch all the time but the whole carb thing seems scary. She normally has a hot cross bun for breakfast which is 43g plus a bowl of fruit. That just feels so wrong and I get back into the heads pace that if I'd force-fed her porridge (which she hates) I wouldn't be where we are now

There is nothing that a type 1 on insulin can not eat IN MODERATION, High sugar products are perhaps best avoided (such as the sugar coated breakfast cereals). DT1s can even eat a small amount of ordinary sweats.

I avoid anything that calls itself "low fat" or "healthy" and under no circumstances would I buy "diabetic" I do use sacharin in tea and coffee.

You may find that ordinary jam is good for treating hypos. You wiill be told no to give anything by mouth if your child is unresponsive - but if you smear jam around the lips the normal reaction is to lick it off and this will help.

The disadvantage of jam is that a little goes a long way, A single teaspoon full can cover the morning post, the worktop, rhe kettle and still have enough to cover half the kitchen floor.

I would get and fit a baby alarm and make sure that I called it an intercom, no young lady wants to be thought a baby. This will give a bit of reassurance to both of you. Make sure that you can talk as well as listen, You can ask "Are you OK?" if you hear any strange sounds.

A hand on the forehead will usually diagnose a hypo. If the head is cold clammy or wet with sweat it is time to use the jam (or what ever). BG test before jam if possible.

Add jelly babies to the Tesco list, they are good for treating hypo when out and about, find a screw top plastic container to keep 8 or 9 in, so that it can go in a pocket of bag. Instruction for consumption of JBs in emergency - "chew 'em well".

Hope this helps!

Top tips, thanks. Jelly babies added to order)!

 

[Lilmssquirrel]

Have just finished scrolling all the lovely responses and have an array of stuff in my basket so I'm fully prepared - not sure what hubby is eating this week though LOL!

Yesterday was a bit better as I went home for a few hours and threw myself into completing a few cake orders I'd not cancelled which made me realise that life goes on.

Like any life change, there will be so many 'firsts' to go through but I know we will get there.

I've now done her injections twice. I have a fear of needles from a childhood trauma but the diabetes nurse was brilliant and it was pretty easy.

I'm a born worrier and over analyse everything so I'm sure mostly it will be fine. No doubt I'll get it wrong at times but it's so reassuring to know there is so much support everywhere.

We were told we can either go home today once we've been trained or leave it til Monday. All depends on our confidence levels. We've agreed today - partly as she's desperate to see the dog and restore our family unit but mostly as hubby won't be locked in his office for 12 hours a day so we can ease back into our new life and I won't be flying solo straight away.

It will also mean I can get a bit of sleep - I'm a rubbish sleeper at the best of times but desperately need to recharge my batteries.

Thank you again everyone.

When I have something other than my phone to surf I'll explore the site more but for now you guys have saved my sanity. Thank you from the bottom of my heart ♥

 

[Lilmssquirrel]

Must wanted to say hello and welcome @Lilmssquirrel

All the best pancreas impersonators live in the Bristol areal 😉

Sorry to hear about your daughter’s diagnosis, but the team in Bristol are fab (in both hospitals as far as I know), and I hope the support here fills in a lot of gaps and gives you a ‘hive mind’ to consult.

If you’ve not already found it, Digibete is a great set of videos to support families of children and young people affected by diabetes

Home - DigiBete

Welcome to DigiBete, a place to help young people, families and communities to manage Type 1 Diabetes.

www.digibete.org

Take it one step at a time, cut yourselves some slack, and be kind to yourselves.

Bristol rocks. We are not natives but are so lucky to have such a wonderful city to call home.

And BCH has Wallace doing the lift announcements. What could top that?

 

[Sally71]

Thanks @Sally71
We don't tend to buy cakes and stuff as there are normally business leftovers to eat up. I cook from scratch all the time but the whole carb thing seems scary. She normally has a hot cross bun for breakfast which is 43g plus a bowl of fruit. That just feels so wrong and I get back into the heads pace that if I'd force-fed her porridge (which she hates) I wouldn’t be where we are now

I hope you are not thinking that this is somehow your fault, type 1 is caused by an autoimmune reaction and is absolutely nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing at all which you could have done or not done to prevent this, it's just rotten luck, please do not feel guilty!

And porridge is also a load of carbs, slow burn ones at that, we always used to get hypos after porridge because the insulin worked faster than the porridge! (That's where pumps come into their own, you can set the bolus to drip in slowly to hopefully match the digestion rate, we always had to do a 90 minute one with porridge to avoid the low)

If it's any help, my daughter usually has a bowl of cereal (not porridge these days usually!) and a glass of apple juice for breakfast, which comes in at around 55g carb. Some people might say that's too much, and certainly if you can stick to low carb most of the time it does make the blood sugars easier to handle. But you have to find what works for you, it's impossible to get it right all the time and you can’t be force feeding your child food which they don’t like. So if breakfast spikes my daughter’s blood sugars a bit, oh well it comes down again once the insulin kicks in. She used to live on apple juice, and still would if it wasn’t such a faff adding it on to all the boluses, so she allows herself one glass with her breakfast and than has sugar free drinks for the rest of the day.

There's no magic number of carbs per day that you are aiming for - let your daughter have a hot cross bun sometimes if that's what she likes. And you might well find that she will be starving and will eat you out of house and home for the next couple of weeks, while her body builds itself up again. It will settle down eventually and you'll find what works best for you.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

If it helps when she was first diagnosed around 60g of carbs per meal seemed to suit my daughter when she was first diagnosed. Now it’s somewhere between 60 and 80. We rarely go above 80 but sometimes for parties or special occasions where there’s lots of cake and things we do but they’re always harder to get the insulin right because it’s exciting and emotions can mess with glucose levels too. You just correct it later.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

60g of carbs per meal

Me too! I‘ve generally aimed for 60g of carbs for evening meals for most of my adult life.

 

[stephknits]

My daughter has always had a massive bowl of the same cereal which comes in at over 100g carbs. She still has it and by adjusting how much time before eating it she injects, she stays in range with her blood sugar. Probably because she is still in honeymoon period. The course that type 1 adults can go on is called DAFNE, which means dose adjustment for normal eating. Kids need lots of energy and carbs are a great source of it!
Glad you are off back home today. We are here to support if you need it, and sounds like you have a great team on Bristol.

 

[brisr949]

Bristol rocks. We are not natives but are so lucky to have such a wonderful city to call home.

And BCH has Wallace doing the lift announcements. What could top that?

I'm Bristolian and couldn't agree more lol.