Mum of t1 3 year old

[Luciemaycock]

Hi there my daughter Luna was diagnosed with t1 diabetes in October last year when she was 2 years old. As I’m sure you will all understand it has changed our lives. We are getting better with every passing month with all the tec and carb counting and are fortunate to have a pump and cgm for her. I swing from feeling like I’m coping to not at all. It feels very lonely sometimes even though I have my partner to talk to and I still struggle from feeling overwhelmed by it all. My friend pointed me to this forum as a way of connecting with other people going through similar things, so here I am!

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Hi and welcome. It’s so tough in the first year or so. My kid was 8 when diagnosed and that was hard enough. Dealing with a toddler with diabetes brings its own challenges. We’re here to support you through the ups and downs.

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum
There are quite a few parents of children of all ages here so hopefully they will be along to say hello and I'm sure they will answer any questions you have.
I can imagine your lives will have been in turmoil but hopefully it will get better.

 

[Docb]

Hi @Luciemaycock and welcome to the forum. Way out of my experience I am afraid but we have a number of regular contributors with children of all ages who no doubt will be along soon to share experiences. In the meantime I am sure that the consensus will be that it will get easier as you get more experienced and one way of speeding things up is to ask questions. No question is considered silly on here.

 

[Windy]

Hi, sorry to hear you all have to be dealing with this, I appreciate it can't be easy at all. There's a parents forum you can have a look on, loads of useful information on there, if you haven't found it already.
Sarah

 

[Sally71]

Hello, welcome to the forum. My daughter was 6 at diagnosis, so not quite as young as yours, but yes it is tough in the beginning. It does get easier though. Can your hospital maybe put you in touch with some other families? We used to have get togethers, camping trips and so on and all the kids could bolus/inject and eat together and finger prick together so that they weren’t different any more, and the parents could have a good rant to other people who actually understand and swap tips. It’s wonderful when you find that other people have exactly the same worries and difficulties as you do, and even better if they can offer solutions. If you have any specific questions do please ask here! Nothing is too silly, we’ve all been there.

 

[Luciemaycock]

Thank you everyone

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @Luciemaycock .

I am pleased that you have found us, and I am sure that it will help you being connected to others managing diabetes. Whilst it is a manageable condition it takes a lot of work and there is so much to learn initially.

It is great that you already have a pump and CGM. You have already got your head round the carb counting and I hope that you are now experts on lots of the more common foods. There are always times when we have to resort to a bit of guesswork.

If you are happy to tell us which pump you are using and which insulin it can help us to focus our responses to any of your questions. Keep in touch, ask any questions that you have, or just pop in for a rant to people who will ‘get it’.

 

[Luciemaycock]

Welcome to the forum @Luciemaycock .

I am pleased that you have found us, and I am sure that it will help you being connected to others managing diabetes. Whilst it is a manageable condition it takes a lot of work and there is so much to learn initially.

It is great that you already have a pump and CGM. You have already got your head round the carb counting and I hope that you are now experts on lots of the more common foods. There are always times when we have to resort to a bit of guesswork.

If you are happy to tell us which pump you are using and which insulin it can help us to focus our responses to any of your questions. Keep in touch, ask any questions that you have, or just pop in for a rant to people who will ‘get it’.

Hi, thank you, we are using a Medtronic 640g pump and Medtronic 3 sensor with nororapid insulin

 

[SB2015]

I recently switched to the Guardian 4 sensors from the Guardian 3. It really 'does what it says on the tin'.
I no longer have to calibrate at each meal. It is one calibration after the warm up and then that is it for the rest of the week.
I now have far fewer alarms going off. It might be worth asking about switching. They are no more expensive.

Diabetes UK run Family Weekends for those who have a child that has T1.
This includes parents, siblings and the children with T1. They are busy weekends catering for children of different ages, and giving time for parents to talk to each other about the practicalities of managing T1 in the family. If I was more tech savy I would drop the link in here for the ones that are coming up (Help @everydayupsanddowns ?) I have volunteered at these events and know that I enjoyed being with the other volunteers who helped me to put my T1 in a better balance just by seeing them get on with things. They are fabulous weekends for all involved.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

If I was more tech savy I would drop the link in here for the ones that are coming up (Help @everydayupsanddowns ?) I have volunteered at these events and know that I enjoyed being with the other volunteers who helped me to put my T1 in a better balance just by seeing them get on with things. They are fabulous weekends for all involved.

Here you go!

Family events

Our Type 1 Events can be life-changing for children and young people living with type 1 diabetes. The events provide young people with time and space to build their confidence in managing type 1 in a fun and safe environment, and offer the opportunity to share experiences with people who know...

www.diabetes.org.uk

Highly recommended 🙂

Welcome to the forum @Luciemaycock

There are also thriving ‘Children With Diabetes’ CWD groups on Facebook where you can compare notes with others, and former member Adrienne (whose small child with diabetes is now studyng medicine at university) wrote this helpful intro many years ago

The essential guide for parents of newly diagnosed children pt.1

Written by Adrienne - many thanks from all the Moderators! Hiya I have been asked to write a ‘sticky’ for the parents, especially the newly diagnosed families. So welcome to all. A bit about me and mine first. We've been at this 11 years now, my daughter is 11 years old and had her first...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

 

[trophywench]

I sincerely live in hope that all and every 'out of date' diabetes medic in the world has either retired or has expired by now - well out of the way of all their innocent patients!

There's a very informative and useful book to which Adrienne has referred in her letter - this has been updated on a regular basis. It is

Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Seventh Edition: Amazon.co.uk: Ragnar Hanas: 9781859597989: Books

Buy Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Seventh Edition Seventh by Ragnar Hanas (ISBN: 9781859597989) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

The older versions are still available and are cheaper, in case you were wondering why one with a different colour cover was £20 cheaper that Edition 7 ! Of course we can't tell you what will have changed, so I can't recommend saving money here.