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Hello all

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Frogger

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hi, my son was diagnosed with type 1 6 weeks ago just after his 5th birthday. Luckily he didn't need treatment in hospital so we were able to go home after a few hours. He has coped well with injections and blood tests which has made it easier for us to cope with.

It's been a rough year- my 2 year old was diagnosed with autism in July. I was already struggling to work, look after my family and keep up with endless appointments...it's ridiculous now and some days I think I'll bump into myself Round the next corner!

Yesterday the consultant changed my son from novomix to humalog twice daily. He's quite keen to start him on MDI in the New year as his control's not too good yet. Most days he has a hypo and a high reading, although his first hb1ac was 8.5 which I was pleased with (although probably due to the hypos). Our diabetic nurse seems really keen to keep him on twice daily injections. I'm confused by their different approaches.

I know pumping is best but we're not ready for that yet. I'm worried about MDI on the basis that I'm awful with numbers and am worried I might not be able to work out the correct dose. Any wise words on that would be most welcome!
 
Hi Frogger, welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm sorry to hear of your children;s diagnoses, I can imagine that it must be quite overwhelming at times - hopefully, things will ease as you get into the routine. I would definitely vote for the consultant over the nurse as far as MDI is concerned - much more flexible for all concerned as you can learn to give the insulin needed for the food your son wishes to eat (or also if he doesn't), on two injections times can be much more rigid as will the carb amounts, plus much more difficult to take account of different activity levels, illnesses etc. Really, MDI and carb-counting is not difficult to grasp and mostyl is simple arithmetic - people here are always around if you want a hand with things.

I would highly recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas to give you a better understanding of what it all entails. You might also be interested in checking out the Children with Diabetes website, where you will find many more lovely parents happy to help out and support you 🙂 There are more good links in our Useful links thread.

If you have any questions, please do ask and we will try our best to help! 🙂
 
Hello Frogger and welcome to the forum.
So pleased to hear your little lad is coping with his injections ok.
It sounds as if you are on a complete roller coaster at the moment ((((hugs))))))) Things do get easier as time goes on. It may seem daft but believe it or not things will become second nature soon.

Worried about getting the sums wrong..... how about a calculater. There is also a couple of meters on the market that work things out for you once it's programend to your sons needs. There are also some fab carb counting books available as well to help you out. This is all good practice before a pump comes along.
 
Hi Frogger
My fave game in the 80's! Anyway welcome to the forum you'll get plenty of help and support here 🙂
 
Hello from me too 🙂 You've a lot on your plate I must say. You will be fine with MDI though, the carb counting isn't so hard as you quickly get to know what the carbs are for your usual portions of pasta, chips or whatever. Carbs & Cals is a useful book with pictures of different size portions of food on a plate, with the number of carbs beside it. Helps a lot in the beginning, especially if you are going out to eat and can't weigh anything. It also comes as a smartphone app too, although we don't have that. I would definitely recommend MDI. It will make your life much easier and your son's diabetes will be better controlled. Looking forward to getting you know you on the forum.
 
Hi and welcome from me too. Yes, I too agree MDI is best.

One thing I did was to type up a chart of regular food my son ate, and put the carbs next to it per portion, and yes, I weighed things like rice and pasta as I served them up. Once you are told what ratio of insulin to carbs, you could actually write the amount of insulin needed for that portion. You hopefully have been seen by a dietician too, and he/she should be able to help you with all that.

It was easy for us as our son was told 1 unit of insulin to 10g of carbs, so if the carb count is 20g, it's 2 units of insulin, 30g = 3 units and so on. If the meal has 2 different items with carbs in you just add them together then divide by 10. Pre-packed food has carb value written on it, usually per portion (like bags of crisps for example) so you can see at a glance what that is. Making up a lunchbox you would have to add up the carbs for each slice of bread (15g approx per slice x 2), crisps (say 12g), cereal bar (15g) piece of fruit (15g) - total 72g. Divide by 10 = 7.2. With the insulin I would have rounded that down to 7 units. With a half unit pen you can give half units, otherwise round up or down to the nearest unit.

It really does become second nature. It gets more complicated if the ratio isn't 1 unit to 10g carbs, but as I said, if you can get help with basic calculations you could write it down and have a chart to hand to help you. People on here would help you willingly, as would your dietician I am sure.

Glad to hear your child is accepting injections and testing ok though, that's a really positive start.

You really do sound like you have had a tough year, but hang on in there, things will get easier with time. It's all so new at the moment, and with other issues to deal with I'm sure you must be feeling pretty low right now, but you still have your two lovely children.

Good luck.

Tina
 
Hello-and welcome from me too- nearly a year on and I still use a calculator,notebook,and weighing scales maths was not my best subject ! we take a guess when eating out or you can get various eating out lists -subway ,pizza express,greggs etc some restaurants will have it on their websites too well done to your brave and strong little boy its all alot to take in but with careful planning he can and will be able to do everything he wants too.I still feel a newbie but everyone will always chip in and advise and help you-welcome again
 
Just wanted to thank you for your lovely replies. I feel a bit more confident now that I'll be able to work out dosage. My son's levels are all over the shop since we went onto humalog. High, low, low, normal, high...he's on a glucose rollercoaster. It makes me even keener to do the MDI even though It'll be a leap of faith letting school do injections. He's the only child in his school with diabetes and though they have been very kind and helpful, I can tell they wish they didn't have to have all the hassle.

Snazzaroo - you're right! the 80s game was my inspiration for a log in name-i frittered away many hours guiding frogs across roads!!
 
http://www.childrenwithdiabetesuk.org/

Hi Frogger,

Join the above email list and you will get lots more help from other parents in the same situation as you. Do you have a care plan at School? Control wont be great until you get onto MDI so the sooner the better. It will also be best for your son to get him used to MDI asap and maybe one day a pump which is much better for quality of life and control - but dont worry about that yet!🙂Bev
 
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