My 4yr old princess has recently been diagnosed with T1, struggling to come to terms with it all

[Hannahli]

My 4yr old was diagnosed about a week ago with T1. She's been very very poorly since the age of 2and hasn't had much of a normal
Childhood, due to how ill
She has been. This diagnosis has hit even harder now because it takes even more normality away from her. I'm struggling to come to terms with it all, my daughter is struggling to understand that we have to have a new "normal" and I'm just overwhelmed with all the information and things I am going to have to learn. My daughter had a hypo in the middle of the night but didn't wake up from it, it's only because I did her nightly blood sugar check that I saw she was very low. I'm so scared and now I stay awake all night watching over her and making sure she is ok. The community nurses have told me that it will get easier in time but is this really true!? I'm still finding it hard to let it sink in that this is life changing and it's even worse to see my daughter struggling to come to terms with it, scared of every finger prick she has and refuses to eat because she thinks she won't have to have her insulin! Still hoping that it's all a bad dream really. Does anyone have any tricks on how to make injections/finger pricks more "child friendly" and good 10g snack ideas? Any help is really appreciated xx

 

[Sara W]

I can't imagine how awful that must be for you; I have no experience of childhood diabetes so can only sympathise. It's all scary enough at my age, which is 71 - I'm three weeks in, only... and I can say no to sweet things quite easily, by being rational.

I do know that some parents find it easier to use the glucose meters which don't involve needles for their children, although these can be very expensive in sensor pads. If your daughter is so distressed by the needles, it might be worth looking into this route. No doubt others with experience of having diabetic children will be along to advise.

I guess you have to try to stay sunny and unperturbed, as she will pick up on your anxiety. My heart goes out to you

 

[Sara W]

There's a designated forum for Parents on here btw, so it might be a good idea to tap into that...

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/parents.18/

 

[Sally71]

Yes it does get easier with time! My daughter was 6 when diagnosed, and that seems an awful long time ago now (4 1/2 years). You are in shock at the moment and need to grieve, this can take time for some people. But over time it does start to become more "normal" and to fade into the background a bit. With regards to your daughter not liking the needles, that's a tough one, we had a problem for a few months and tried everything under the sun, but eventually daughter just realised on her own that things would be a lot less stressful if we just got it over with quickly without fuss. Nowadays when I dish her tea up, half the time she can't even remember whether we've done finger pricking or not, she's so used to it! There is one parent on this forum who used to give her son "prickle pennies", i.e. Every time a finger prick or injection is successfully done, a penny/small amount of money goes in a box, when the box contains enough money you go shopping and choose a treat! Would that help your daughter?
10g carb snacks include things like a small apple, bag of Quavers, small pot of yogurt e.g. Petits Filous
(Darn iPad doesn't seem to understand that you can write the word apple without a capital A 😡)
Hope that helps, sorry this isn't a longer answer but it's late and my brain is not at its sharpest! Any questions please keep asking, nothing is too silly and there is always someone who has a good answer 🙂

 

[Hannahli]

I can't imagine how awful that must be for you; I have no experience of childhood diabetes so can only sympathise. It's all scary enough at my age, which is 71 - I'm three weeks in, only... and I can say no to sweet things quite easily, by being rational.

I do know that some parents find it easier to use the glucose meters which don't involve needles for their children, although these can be very expensive in sensor pads. If your daughter is so distressed by the needles, it might be worth looking into this route. No doubt others with experience of having diabetic children will be along to advise.

I guess you have to try to stay sunny and unperturbed, as she will pick up on your anxiety. My heart goes out to you

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. I try and stay positive and put a brace face on but inside I am just broken...I have my moments when I cry and sometimes it helps but then reality suddenly hits again and I'm back to square 1 with it all, I can't imagine it's an easy diagnosis for anyone no matter the age- it's life changing and some people just don't have a clue. I have had so many people tell me that I'm being over sensitive and a drama queen- I try and ignore the comments because it's simply a lack of knowledge on their part.
I have heard about these patches and I am intrigued about it. The diabetes nurse said she would look into getting me a free 2 week tester patch. I hear so many different things about pumps and patches that my head is spinning and I wonder if I am making the right choices all the time.
Thank you in pointing me to the parents forum, everything is so new to me that I dont even know how to use these forums properly

 

[James 048]

Hi Hannahli
Warm welcome to the forum

 

[HOBIE]

Welcome 🙂

 

[Bloden]

Hi there, Hannahli. 🙂 So sorry to hear about your little girl's diabetes. Keep asking questions - there's lots of good advice and support here. You don't have to feel alone. 😳🙂