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12y son on residential

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mariamack1

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My 12 year old son was diagnosed T1 two months ago. He has a school residential in June 2013. At the moment I am doing everything for him except injecting and bg testing. How much control should a 12 year old have over everything? He wants to go on the trip, and the school and his nurse said he should, but I'm not sure he is ready. I have to remind him to snack if he needs and remember his kit wherever he goes. At the moment he's not really feeling hypo symptoms so I have to remind him to test. What to do? Am I worrying too much, I feel I need to be with him all the time. Before diagnosis he was a very capable and clever child, still is of course, but not with the T1.
 
Hi Maria. Welcome.

What sort of insulin regime is your son on?

If it's multiple daily injections (MDI) with one or two basal injections and three bolus injections before meals, does he understand the relationship between insulin, carbs and exercise (among other things!) ?

And are you able to have a serious chat with him about the importance of it all and the consequences for him and everyone else if he doesn't give enough attention?

Rob
 
How knowledgeable are the teachers/adults who will be present about his diabetes? I would want at least one capable of keeping a close eye on him and checking he is testing and injecting when he needs to. He is still pretty new to it all, so is very much in the learning stages, plus being away in unfamiliar surroundings and doing new activities may present him with new experiences, so you would need to discuss with him how he thinks he will cope - presumably you will always be on the end of the phone. Does he have reasonably good control or does he have a tendency to drop low? How long will he be away from home?
 
mariamack1 said:
My 12 year old son was diagnosed T1 two months ago. He has a school residential in June 2013. At the moment I am doing everything for him except injecting and bg testing. How much control should a 12 year old have over everything? He wants to go on the trip, and the school and his nurse said he should, but I'm not sure he is ready. I have to remind him to snack if he needs and remember his kit wherever he goes. At the moment he's not really feeling hypo symptoms so I have to remind him to test. What to do? Am I worrying too much, I feel I need to be with him all the time. Before diagnosis he was a very capable and clever child, still is of course, but not with the T1.
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Many moons ago as a teenager I wanted to go on a residential school trip....... My Mum said no chance as you wont do anything to look after yourself. You are just a big baby 😡 I was furious at the time but it egged me on to be responsible for my self.
Saying that your son has only been diagnosed 2 months so is doing very well 🙂 He is in even more shock than you at his diagnoses and he has a lot of adjusting to do.
So work as a team go through things regarding food insulin etc. Ask his opinion, if you don't agree with his views then discuss so you end up with the right answer.
Do let him go on the trip though otherwise he will be made to feel different and resent his diabetes.
 
Hi MariaMack-H went on a school residential about 8 months after dx- the team actually were good -the dietician got in touch with the residential place and got a meals /carbs listing -we had to change ratios for meals as there were physical activities-rafting.high ropes involved-.The nurses went into the school to talk to the staff prior to the trip plus he was moving into the sixth form anyway with new teaching staff -I know H is older -but I think they can resentful if they are not doing the same as others - youve got plenty of time to work on him
 
Hi Maria,

Are the School happy to do night testing? Is anyone trained to give the 'glucagon' injection? Is anyone trained to spot if your son is hypo - signs and symptoms? What have your team advised? Have School taken a diabetic child before to this place? Have School done a risk assessment yet? How far is it from the nearest hospital/ambulance station? I would want to know all this before making a decision.

I had to go on a residential with Alex (hidden and only the staff knew so Alex wasnt embarrassed) as his School refused to do night -testing and to be honest it was so active that even Alex would have struggled at times as he wasnt used to such extreme sports and he had been diagnosed for two years. School werent happy to be trained on Glucagon either so it was essential that I was there as it was in the middle of nowhere and 45 minutes from the nearest ambulance station.

I wouldnt be too keen on a newly diagnosed child being on his own to be honest as the big change in activity will have a huge effect on his BG's and something that needs to be managed properly rather than a non-trained Teacher guessing at what to do.

I would also allow the levels to run high for the time he was there - not ideal but it avoids the dangerous lows in the night. We lowered the basals and the ratio's to ensure levels wouldnt drop.🙂Bev
 
Hi Maria
Just wanted to say that it's quite a long time until the residential, so he may be much more independent by then. We were in a similar situation although our son was older (nearly 14). He went on a camping residential quite early on, and was fine although I worried a lot. We were lucky because there was a GP on the residential which helped me feel more confident. He ran a bit high as has been suggested here already, and tested more frequently.
You may do this already, but it's a good idea to get your son estimating his carbs and deciding his dose and then discussing it together. You'll soon see his skills improve - similarly, talking about any bg problems/surprises and getting him to suggest why. If he's keen to do the residential it will be a big incentive for him to start taking control. Maybe say that you'd like him to go if he's ready but need to review it a bit nearer the time? Also agree with others that you need reassurance that someone who understands his needs is on hand to help, or sign up to go too ...
 
Hi , i have been t1 since 3yr old. I know i have put my parents through alot & now i have 2 kids. When i was younger there where NO blood testinig & things where not as good as now. I hope your son is sensable & behaves himself but he has to learn. Good luck 🙂🙂
 
Also wanted to second the earlier comment that 2 months is hardly anything, so he's doing really well testing and injecting by himself. It's hard to imagine when it's all so new, but soon managing his diabetes will be second nature to him.
It did William a huge amount of good to have fun with his friends away from us, cope with the odd hypo, and gain confidence that he could pretty much carry on as normal, even if my nerves were in shreds 😱
 
Hi Maria and welcome to the forum. My daughter was diagnosed in October 2011, aged 11 and went on a school residential activity trip in the following July when she was just 12. To be honest I would much rather have said she couldn't go and I was a bag of nerves while she was away, but she actually managed fine. It was her twin sister who came a cropper walking blindfolded into a tree! My daughter was on a pump at the time and had always been very responsible about testing and treating hypo symptoms. As others have said, we adjusted her doses etc slightly so she would run slightly high for the trip and hopefully avoid the risk of going low. I cannot say I was that confident about the staff knowing what to do other than knowing she should test regularly, but having her sister there eased my mind a bit as she is also quite knowledgeable now and sometimes recognises a hypo before Hannah does. I was relieved to get her back with no incidents, but it was worth it for the confidence it gave her. At the moment she is a typical 12 year old, gaining more and more independence and her diabetes has not stopped her doing any of the things her friends take for granted. I am sure a few more months under your belt will make all the difference to him and you. No matter how hard, try and find a way for him to go as it will do wonders for his self confidence in managing his diabetes. Good luck x
 
Hi Maria, before my son went on his first post-diagnosis residential we had his teacher come over for dinner and showed her the routine of weighing the food etc. We also had the menu sent ahead of time so we could give her an idea of the value of the meals. He had a wonderful time and everyone in his class got to know about life with D. Hope you are hanging in there, it does get easier...
 
Thank you all for your advice. I have a meeting scheduled with the organiser and will be asking all the questions you have suggested. Still feeling anxious but Adam is so well adjusted and confident he will be OK. Again, thanks to you all xx
 
oh another thing I thought of today- our school rang me prior to the residential and asked me who H [ we do call him H] would like to share a dorm with so I suppose they were thinking who he doesnt mind testing and injecting infront of- and maybe would keep an eye on him- not that H was bothered he pretty much injects anyplace /anywhere these days
 
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