2 yr old son diagnosed with Type 1

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Janaka81

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Hi there.

Our son was diagnosed with Type 1 in the 3rd of this month. We were in complete shock as we have no real background knowledge of the condition and didn't really (and still don't!) know what it means for him and us.

The first week at home has been ok - day readings been ok I think, but the night-time insulin doses need tweaking as we keep having to wake him up to treat hypos. Hopefully we'll get it right soon!

We've been put on a list for a course in carbohydrate counting which I can't wait to get stuck into. Our diet is quite healthy anyway so we haven't really had to change anything, but we have no idea about how much of which type carb etc...

My head is just a big mess at the moment trying to make sense of it all, so advice from people who have been through a toddler diagnosis would be great!

Thanks
 
Hi, so sorry you have to join us but welcome! 🙂

My daughter was a toddler when diagnosed and I recall the first couple of weeks home were a bit hairy! She was on a combination of a mixed insulin on a morning, rapid at tea-time and long-acting at night. Her levels were quite high then eventually tapered off. She was extremely hungry and wanting to eat all the time, probably from the weightloss on dx. Her levels did come down , then we experienced hypo's and her night -time injection was stopped for several weeks - her team felt this was a "honey-moon period" where her pancreas was spurting out the last throes of insulin it had.

3 months on from dx we moved onto an insulin pump, which felt much more difficult to manage at first but really has been a godsend and would not be without it now - it gives a lot more flexibility around meals, activity and makes illness easier to manage. Things aren't ever perfect for too long for us and I can accept that now and get on with sorting out numbers rather than feeling too much of a failure as her mum.

She has settled into school now with the help of someone dedicated to looking after her BG's so she can get on with her education - again, not all plain sailing, but fine.

It's great you have been offered some tutoring in carb counting - this will help enormously to tailor his insulin to what he is eating. It takes a good while to get your head around the diagnosis, what it means for your child, and your family as a whole. You may find some comments from others (friends/family) will annoy and frustrate you, and people "don't get it". You have found a good source of info and support here.

I wonder if you have been given the Ragnar-Hanas book "Type 1 diabetes in children, adolescence and young adults" a very good resource to pick up and put down as needed.

Best wishes x🙂
 
Hi & welcome, you have come to the right place for addvice ect. Your head will be in a strainge place for the next few weeks & you will have to be learnig every day. On the brighter side & have been T1 since being 3 & now one year older than 49 😉 Good luck
 
Thank you for your replies. I have ordered the book from Amazon so should hopefully be here the next few days.

I think I have sort of adopted an attitude of 'no other option' - there is nothing we can do to change the diagnosis and so we just have to get on with it to enable him to enjoy the same possibilities in life as his 18 months older sister (who is being great in this whole thing, if she could stop asking for a chocolate egg every day! 🙄 )
Our DSN did mention that we may be looking at a pump further down the line, and I must admit that at the time I thought no way! But I am getting around to the idea as I am reading more comments from users and parents of users. We just have so much to learn, and I am grateful that I have come across this site as it seems to have a lot of sensible and positive contributors!

Thank you again. 🙂
 
Hi Janaka, welcome to the forum but sorry about your son's diagnosis. My son was diagnosed aged 4, so just about out of the toddler stage but still heartbreakingly young. But like you I resolved to look the facts in the face and find out as much as I possibly could about managing his diabetes, so as to give him the best possible chance of a long, happy, healthy life. I would definitely recommend a pump when you feel you're ready (you need to be happy carb counting), as it would have made life so much easier when my son was little. There are lots of advantages - please feel free to ask any questions! 🙂
 
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