Concerned Mum

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KateSan

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Hi everyone,

My 13 month old son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last weekend, and has been in hospital all week due to the severity of his dehydration and unstabilised BM.

Tonight is our first night at home (single parent to two, my daughter is 4), and well I'm nervous to say the least!

He has been running 'high' all week while we try establish the right insulin dosages for him. Current reading 14.2 before his dinner just now, followed by 2 units of NovoRapid so hoping it will be ok for night time now.

Any words of advice or support right now would be most appreciated!

Thankyou,
Kate
 
Hi Kate - welcome to the forum though so sorry about your son, he's so young :( My daughter was just a toddler too and like your son the first couple of weeks her readings were fairly high ( she was also eating lots more than she normally would have and wanting to graze which didn't help with her injection regime )

Have you got hypo treatments on standby at home, just in case? Not sure if your son has experienced a hypo yet but he won't be able to say he's feeling rather odd/rotten so it will be a learning experience knowing what his symptoms will be and how he'll play it out. I would advise in these early days just to keep a close eye on his blood sugars whilst things are unstable and unpredictable. Keep in contact with his Diabetes team by recording his readings and feeding them back so they can help you make any necessary adjustments. These things will be what you will eventually know how to deal with yourself but it is quite a learning curve!

Most of us here would advise you (if you haven't already) to get the Ragnar Hanas book Type 1 Diabetes in children, adolescents and young adults. It's very informative and something you can reference as you need it.

Things will settle down and you will all adjust to a new way of doing things but it's super hard and I really feel for you.

Hope you all have a nice settled night 🙂🙂
 
Thankyou 🙂 Relieved to hear that things will settle down eventually.

Our diabetic consultant has said he is very very young, but will grow up knowing nothing different for him.. so I guess I can get a bit of comfort from that.

Still quite shocked from it all, part of me is still waiting for them to tell me they got the diagnosis wrong. Realistically I know they're right and will take time to adjust.

I have strawberry jam, digestive biscuits and soya milk (his drink of choice) on hand for any Hypo's and will like a protective worrying mother be testing those blood sugars when I feel necessary until I can spot those symptoms. Still waiting for my Glycogen kit though from the diabetic team, which I should get tomorrow.
 
Hi KateSan, welcome to the forum 🙂 So sorry to hear about your little one's diagnosis, and at such a young age :( Things are bound to be very worrying for you right now, but it does sound like you have good support on hand from your team, so do call on them whenever you feel the need. There is a lot to take in at first so the learning curve is pretty steep - as suggested already Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas is an invaluable reference guide and for just thumbing through to find out potential issues to be aware of.

You might like to have a quick read of Adrienne's essential guide for parents of newly diagnosed children, and also you may find the Children with Diabetes website useful.

Although his levels are on the high side at the moment, they are not hugely high and it will take a little while for you to learn more about his reactions and needs so don't worry that you need to get everything perfect right from the start. If there is ANYTHING you are not sure of then do ask - there is a wealth of experience here and we will always be happy to help in any way we can.

Although diabetes is a serious condition, it can be managed well and there is no reason he shouldn't grow up to be the happy, healthy boy you are all hoping for. It's hard work, but you will get there! 🙂
 
KateSan said:
I have strawberry jam, digestive biscuits and soya milk (his drink of choice) on hand for any Hypo's and will like a protective worrying mother be testing those blood sugars when I feel necessary until I can spot those symptoms. Still waiting for my Glycogen kit though from the diabetic team, which I should get tomorrow.
Click to expand...

That's good. I found it handy to have some glucogel on prescription (comes in 3 individual treatment tubes or one large one with 3 lots together) which is helpful for a little one to suck on sleepily if ever low in the night and also if they won't finish a whole biscuit or drink which we used to have bother with. We use jelly babies and sugary drinks these days in the main which are fast acting. Milk used to do the job when she was still a toddler but was not quick acting enough as she has got older.

Keep posting and let us know how you get on 🙂
 
I was trying to recall my daughter's first hypo, it was fairly uneventful in terms of symptoms and we were a couple of weeks into the diagnosis, at home. It was the regular BG checking that picked it up, then a mad dash to the cupboard to get something to treat it. I made a mental note of taking a good look at her - and yes she was very pale and had also been clingy for me. On the whole this was her pattern until she was able to articulate her feelings. Although anxiety provoking as a mum, be reassured that they do recover incredibly quickly, it's quite remarkable the contrast 🙂
 
Hi KateSan
I'm so sorry your little chap has to deal with all this, and you of course. Hope everything goes well your first night, and the little chap starts to feel much better soon 🙂
 
Thank you everyone for the kind words, will definitely be looking at the reading references tomorrow whilst the eldest is at school 🙂

I've got my son to bed now on a 9.2, with a bottle of milk to put him to sleep so I will be checking how he is getting on with his first night in a few hours and have the baby monitor on FULL volume lol. Excited to be home after a horrendous week, but nervous too. So here's hoping the first night goes well for us!

I will remember (I hope) to make a mental note of symptoms if his blood sugars drop, thankyou Hanmillmum.
 
Welcome to the forum, KateSan. Sorry to hear about your babby's diagnosis. Good luck with everything. 🙂😱
 
All the best. It must be a huge worry for you at the mo but you've come to the right place and there's lot of good advice from mums on here.
 
Welcome to the forum Kate, and really sorry to hear about your little boy's diagnosis. I know all too well how it must have turned your lives upside down, and how scary it feels right now. Please be reassured though, that your son will still be able to do all the things in life that he would have done without diabetes - although it may seem impossibly hard right now, given time his diabetes management will just be a small part of his life. My son was diagnosed at the age of 4, and I was devastated, but over 9 years later he is a happy healthy teenager, doing well at school and taking part in all sorts of things - black belt in taekwondo, even lucky enough to take a flight in a light aircraft this summer and be at the controls - we don't let his diabetes hold him back!
Do get the Ragnar Hanas book - this is such an optimistic can-do book, with loads of practical advice for when you can't reach the clinic team on the phone. My other piece of advice would be to get yourself a support network right from the start if you can. I am a single Mum too, and unfortunately my ex husband doesn't take an interest in our son's diabetes, so it all falls on my shoulders, and I daren't be ill or out if action. My family don't live nearby either, so there is nobody who could safely have him overnight. If possible, try and make sure that your son's Dad, and other family members, are involved in getting training from the hospital in diabetes care, and get them to practise their skills regularly so that you have someone to fall back on.

Hope your first night out of hospital goes smoothly. Do come and ask any questions you need to..... 🙂
 
Hello Kate, welcome to the forum, sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis. It is really scary at first, a lot to learn, you will still be in shock and have to grieve - but it does get easier with time! Your son's BGs will be a bit high to start with, but keep in regular contact with your medical team and I'm sure they will soon get his doses adjusted correctly. Although you will also learn that it's impossible to get it right all the time!

The thought of the first hypo is also a very scary one, but once you've dealt with one or two you realise that it's not hard most of the time! We've had a few that took a while to come back to normal, but mostly it only takes one dose of the chosen remedy and daughter is up and running around again within minutes! She was dx at 6, so has always been able to tell me when she doesn't feel very well; there have been a few times though when I've preempted her because I could see the signs. Hypo symptoms tend to be things like pale skin, listlessness, stroppiness, tearfulness, having difficulty doing things they wold normally find easy. As others have said, test regularly to begin with and you will learn what your son's particular symptoms are.

I don't think I can really add anything else as the others have covered everything; I wish you well though, and please ask as many questions as you need to 🙂
 
Thanks again 🙂

First night went okish, I checked his levels every 3 hours during the night as I had never seen them that low before bed but all was safe!

Had a big drop this afternoon (19 before lunch to 6 just now) so watching him closely.. this is going to take some getting use to!
 
Hi kateSan. Welcome to the forum. So sorry to hear about your little ones diagnosis but already it seems other mums are helping you through it. Best wishes and hopes for a peaceful night.
 
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