8 year old daughter just diagnosed with Type 1

[Northerner]

Great to hear that she so doing so well 🙂 Take care and have a safe journey home 🙂

 

[Bloden]

Glad to hear your little girl is doing well, and that you'll soon be home.🙂

You sound really positive, and ready to start living with diabetes...it IS an emotional rollercoaster at first, but as everyone says it DOES get better, and just becomes another part of your life. Take care.

 

[Amberzak]

Glad to hear she's feeling better.

There will be ups and downs, and you may feel overwhelmed learning everything. But it will soon become second nature.

As you become more confident with the insulin, you can start to experiment with food. The key is that nothing is off limits for a type one diabetic. I choose not to drink sugary drinks because it raises my blood sugar, so I go for diet drinks, but I still eat chocolate at Christmas and birthdays and as an occasional treat. I did have to cut it all out at diagnosis though, just to get control.

One thing most people say is avoid the 'diabetic' chocolate. It had just the same affect on the blood sugars and so you may as well eat normal chocolate.

 

[Northerner]

One thing most people say is avoid the 'diabetic' chocolate. It had just the same affect on the blood sugars and so you may as well eat normal chocolate.

A very good point Amberzak - anything supposedly 'diabetic' contains polyols and sweeteners that can cause nasty gastric problems. The thing to remember is that a diet which is good for people with diabetes is a diet which is good for everyone, we just have to be aware of carbohydrate content in the things we eat and drink. People without diabetes would also benefit from doing that also, since they are putting extra strain on their bodies - they may be able to cope with it, but it's still not the kind of balance the body needs! 🙂

 

[AlisonM]

Life with this disease doesn't have to be that restrictive once you get your treatment and/or dietary regime right. Judging by the folk on here, the average 'aware' diabetic eats a far healthier diet than the average 'Joe Q' anyway. But that doesn't mean no treats, ever. We just don't eat the 'treat' stuff all the time. Like yesterday when I went to lunch with a friend, my numbers were fairly low so I sinned a little and had some apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Oh, I did enjoy that! I just covered for it with extra insulin. I also have a bar of Green & Blacks Sour Cherry sitting here at the moment and I sneak a square of it or two here and there. I'd rather have a little of something good now and again than put up with the so-called diabetic friendly nonsense which, I reckon, tastes awful anyway.

 

[Northerner]

I've got strawberries and cream on the menu for tonight, slurp! Strawberries are relatively low GI and the fat in the cream will slow the digestion and prevent my levels from rising too steeply 🙂

 

[robert@fm]

When I was on Eastbourne Pier recently, in the middle was an ice-cream seller offering about 40 different flavours, including "diabetic vanilla". I thought to myself "type 1 or type 2?".

Still at least this ice cream was the same price as the other flavours, unlike the usual "diabetic" stuff which is usually sold at a premium (another good reason to avoid it)...