Hi annie81. How are you? It’s a bit of a shock, isn’t it? Like you, my wife and I had never encountered type 1 before. We have no family history of it, then suddenly – bang! Within a few months, we had two in the family! My children were a similar age to your son, my daughter was 6 and my son was 5.
What you have been told is true, is does get easier, Scouts honour Now is the hardest time because life has changed in a way that only those who have been there can imagine. Yes, your son has changes to get used to, but so do you. Perhaps the biggest change is how much life will have to be planned from now on. That said, do you remember how much life changed when your son was born (assuming he was your first child)? Your life changed a lot then, too. What happened? You learned something every day, you got better at being a mum and what seemed difficult at first became routine. The good news is that the same thing will happen now. You will learn a bit more about type 1 every day, you will get better at dealing with it and routine will eventually creep back into your lives.
My daughter also had a fit of the screamies at injection time. To ease the pain, we used a sugar free ice-pop (available from most good supermarkets – and probably a few bad ones as well) to numb the injection area first. Once the injection had been done, my daughter disposed of the ice-pop the only way a 6-year-old child knows how, she ate it! I know you said you don’t think the injection hurts, but your son will still feel something. Sometimes, the insulin can sting as it enters the body.
I suspect the 35g carb limit has been put in place so that your team can see how his body reacts to insulin, helping them get the ratios right. This happened with both of mine when they started as they were on mixed insulin. When they were put on a multi daily injection regime, the limit was lifted and we were given ratios instead. Is your son on mixed insulin? Cheese and slices of meat are carb free, so make good snacks. I’m sure the dietician in the hospital team can help you with food ideas that fall within the carb limit. Children’s taste buds tend to develop as they grow older. My daughter used to hate mushrooms and now she loves them, although I’m yet to persuade either of my children about how delicious Brussel sprouts are! I will, mark my words Another good book to buy is Carbs and Cals. It has pictures of food on a plate, giving the weight and various nutritional information for that weight. The pictures really help judge how much you are putting on your child’s plate, although scales are invaluable. There is also a Carbs and Cals app (there’s an app for everything these days) Carb counting is another part of life with type 1 that is difficult as first but gets much easier. I can now judge how many carbs are on a plate of food from 100 yards Britain’s Got Talent, here I come!
I know you have a lot to think about and your mind is turning faster than a washing machine, but have you had a chance to think about school life yet? There is a Diabetes in School board if you have any questions about care in school. In the meantime, you may find the schools section of the Diabetes UK website useful, it’s at
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Your-child-and-diabetes/Schools
Don’t be afraid to post any questions you have, either here or on the school or parents’ boards. No question is too silly
Good luck to everyone and remember, you’re all doing a great job.
