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Child excessively hungry

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Cpfc09

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Parent of person with diabetes
Hi,

My daughter 7 was diagnosed with type 1 nearly 3 weeks ago but this last week has been waking during the night 2-3 times asking for food she is so hungry all the time, I'm not sure what to do we give her more than enough food during the day but it's at night that's the problem she just wont stop eating, her sugar levels are good but I'm worried I might be doing something wrong for her to be this hungry, it's like having a newborn again. I would be grateful if anyone could help weather this has happened to anyone else or not.
Thank you
 
Do you check her glucose level when she says she’s hungry as it can be a sign of a hypo?

Did she lose weight before diagnosis? I know mine did. It may be as simple as her making up for the weight loss now she’s feeling better.
I’ve noticed since diagnosis that my daughter goes through phases where she seems hungry a lot and I think for her it’s just normal growth spurts that previously she would have just snacked a bit more whereas now we really notice. When she was first diagnosed we tried to keep her on lowish carbs but then she was hungry a lot of the time so now she has 60-70 carbs (sometimes more) at each meal and eats big meals 3x a day (easily double the breakfast she used to have) with the odd snack too but mostly having bigger meals and dessert for lunch and dinner means she doesn’t need to snack as much. She will have a snack before bed if she’s on the low side or if she’s hungry.
 
Cpfc09 said:
Hi,

My daughter 7 was diagnosed with type 1 nearly 3 weeks ago but this last week has been waking during the night 2-3 times asking for food she is so hungry all the time, I'm not sure what to do we give her more than enough food during the day but it's at night that's the problem she just wont stop eating, her sugar levels are good but I'm worried I might be doing something wrong for her to be this hungry, it's like having a newborn again. I would be grateful if anyone could help weather this has happened to anyone else or not.
Thank you
Click to expand...
In the first few weeks after I was diagnosed I was absolutely ravenous all the time 😱 I think it was a consequence of my body going for so long being unable to process glucose correctly, and once I was put on insulin it was a complete transformation in my appetite. Your body goes through quite a lot in the lead up to diagnosis, and then has to adapt to the new you, and I think we can underestimate that. Things did settle down eventually, but it did take a couple of months with me (although I was much older - 49 - at diagnosis). Maybe she able to satisfy her cravings during the day, but it persists into the night when she wouldn't normally be eating? I found that eating something high protein helped me - cheese, nuts, cold meat - as it satisfied my pangs without affecting my levels 🙂
 
Yes I think it's probably her body just building itself up again after getting a bit of a battering while the diabetes was developing. My daughter ate everything in sight just after diagnosis but it calmed down after a few weeks once she started to put the weight back on again.
 
Thank you for your replies I do check her levels when she says shes hungry and they are good, she woke me up 3 times in the night again for food, she did lose some weight before diagnosis so yes it makes a lot more sense that maybe her body is telling her to eat to put the weight back on.
 
Before I was diagnosed, God I felt awful, but actually it was wonderful, since I'd now be able to get into a size 10 - so I had decided I'd just wait till I felt a bit better and then go and treat myself to a load of new clothes!

Sadly within a few weeks I'd put the half stone back on - and back up to 8st 2 and size 12.

So YES - she absolutely needs to put whatever she's lost back on, and if she happens to be having a growth spurt too, it will take more than her normal diet to achieve it.
 
If your daughter is only 7 years old then she doesn't have the same capacity as an adult to store and release energy between meals - she could be adequately fed, but just not when she needs it. Maybe you could organise several mini meals for her to eat when/if she wakes to sustain her through this period of recovery. I'd suggest protein foods too - she might well have fallen behind in her physical development due to being unable to properly utilise what she ate before diagnosis.
 
Hope your daughter’s appetite settles very soon @Cpfc09

Must he exhausting for all of you 😱
 
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