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new 7yr old T1 - how do we explain - repeated finger pricks/ injections

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Littlefoot

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Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
my niece son aged son just yesterday been diagnosed .... T1 . in hospital now .. my own son aged 23 has from age 17. I am trying to help .... as my niece has asked .... me and my son don't have experience for little ones. the boy looks up to my son.

immediate issue is the boy is struggling to get he will have to do finger pricks and injections - repeatedly - is crying and has taken 45 mins to persuade him to do the last one - has got harder through the day - the first day . Niece has asked how does she explain - how can my older son help him ... - my own son didn't struggle as he just got on with it and took the pain/hassle as his life depends on it ... at aged 7 you don't get that .... what do we say please .....


My niece has just only had a new baby too .. ... life sucks sometimes doesn't it . ?


ANY IDEAS PLEASE ..... welcome soonest please .... don't want boy to get too upset and traumatised as will I am sure make matters worse ... ..thank you ...xx
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Hi @Littlefoot sorry to hear about this little one’s new diagnosis. How great though that he has someone he looks up to so much for support In your son.
my son was only 2 when diagnosed so we didn’t have to go in to full on explanation of everything at that age - but would say that maybe you don’t need to here either?
the diagnosis alone will have been tough enough for him, why the pressure to get him to do his testing/injecting himself? Of course many kids of that age can from the off but that doesn’t mean it’s right for him. Particularly if he is getting very upset and taking a long time, perhaps just let someone else take it on for him for the time being, until he feels ready?
 
Hi @Littlefoot , so sorry to hear about your great nephew’s diagnosis. It is hard at any age, but must be so confusing at age seven. I do not have experience or diabetes at that age apart from supporting schools. I will tag @Sally71 and @Bronco Billy who both have experience of this.

I am aware that many parents help out atbthe star and do the tests and injections for the child at first, and that the child takes this in when they are ready. His Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Nurse should also be able to help with strategies as they will have dealt with similar situations before.

Is it the discomfort of the test and injection? I know that some have use an ice lolly to cook the site before doing an injection, and then they get to eat the lolly as a reward afterwards.

There is no way of avoiding the fact that the tests and injections are for life now, and I hope that some of the parents can help with ideas. You already know that it is a serious condition but, with a bit of organisation it does not need to stop the child from doing anything. This seems an important th8ng to get across.

Many people have found the book Type1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young Adults by Ragnar Hanas useful. It is well explained with clear diagrams, and I still refer back to it at times.

Sorry not to have more practical advice, and I hope that things will settle.
 
Oh bless him it’s so hard at the start. When my daughter was diagnosed we had a lot of support from our team but with covid in-person visits are really difficult. Has she registered with JDRF yet? We got a welcome pack through our team including the bear. It can help if he uses the bear for play or indeed for practice. It may help for a parent to do finger pricks on themself for a day - my husband did a day of finger pricks and dummy injections in solidarity.
We moved the basal to the mornings as having it in the evenings when she was already tired was just a nightmare. It wasn’t uncommon for it to take an hour or more to get her to do injections and she went through a period of not wanting to eat. She tended to be better with fingerpricks than injections. It’s so hard. We tried to have minimal drama around it with just repetition of ‘you need this to keep you healthy’ and lots of hugs and patience through that period.
Change is hard for kids and with a new baby, covid meaning schools are closed and this it’s a lot for them to deal with as a family. Their diabetes team should still be available for support and it’s good to lean on them and build that relationship. There should be a psychologist on the team for both the boy and his family and at this stage it can help for the parents to have that support so they can support the kid.
 
Hi @Littlefoot. I’m really sorry to hear of the diagnosis.

My daughter was diagnosed when she was six. She had similar issues, I remember some of her injections taking an hour to do. Three weeks after her diagnosis, we went to stay at my parents’ house for a week. My Dad is type 2 and as such, didn’t need to test BGs very often, maybe once or twice a day. While we were staying there, he tested every time my daughter had to test. It became a thing they did together and made it much more tolerable for her, even adding a bit of fun to the process.

We found it helpful to numb the injection site prior to injecting with an ice cube or the frozen peas. Another option is to use sugar free ice pops to numb the site and give it to him after the injection, a sort of carrot and stick approach.

Part of the upset will be caused to the shock of diagnosis. The chances are he will overcome the objection to finger pricking fairly quickly. Injections will take more time to get used to. The best thing to do is be honest and explain why the pricks and injections are needed but put a positive spin on it. By doing these, he will still be able to do all the things he likes doing, still be able to play with his friends (when he goes back to school) and still eat all the food he loves. His body just needs a little more help to function, that’s all.

Your son could have a major part to play, especially in the first few weeks, as he has the credibility of having type 1 himself. By talking to the boy about his experience and, again, stressing the positive of not being held back by type 1, it will help him accept his diagnosis when he realises that life doesn’t have to change, it just needs a bit more thinking about.
 
thank you everyone for these replies ... my son did a video call to the little one and his mum while still in hospital and that brought a smile to the little ones face. 🙂

My son is going to do the testing and injections with the little one over the coming days on a video call - thank goodness for tech! ...

the last injection of the day went better after my sons video call - so my niece felt a bit of relief from it all .

I am sending all your replies to her so she can dip through ...

early days .....

thank you!! 🙂🙂
 
We had the advantage that my mum is also type 1 so we just said “you're like Grandma now”. She knew Grandma had to do injections but I don’t think she really knew why. I think we just said that something in her tummy had gone wrong which makes her poorly but the injections would make her feel better again.

My daughter went onto a pump very quickly so that meant cannula insertions once every 3 days instead of injections many times a day; I think cannula insertion probably stings more than injections though because the needle is bigger and it goes in at speed! All went well for many weeks, then we had an incident when the cannula inserter didn’t fire properly and she ended up with the cannula and inserter stuck to her skin and the only way I could get them off was by yanking a chunk of her skin up inside. I did it as quickly as possible but it must have hurt, so then after that every cannula change became a nightmare, we had to chase her round the house and there were many tears (hers and ours!). We tried distracting her, we tried bribing her with chocolate, we tried not allowing her to do something she enjoyed until it was done etc etc but nothing worked. This went on for many weeks and then suddenly it dawned on her that the whole procedure would be a lot less stressful if she just let us get it over and done with quickly, and then because she was more relaxed she discovered that it didn’t hurt so much either! And she has never looked back, and fortunately the misfiring incident which caused it has never happened again either.

There was a member on here who used to give her son “prickle pennies”, every time he did a finger prick or injection without complaining she would put a penny in a jar and when they had collected enough they would go and buy a treat, I don’t know whether that sounds like an idea to you? Not one that we ever did, and could be tricky in the current circumstances, but supermarkets do sell some toys and books!

Good luck with it all, it's scary in the beginning and so much to learn, but it does get easier!
 
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thank you ....think grat ideas ... if the problem continues - no SOS requests from my niece last 24hrs and they are home now ..... so hoping things will feel a bit better .. suspecting there will be tricky days. These tips for the store for those days !

I have sent her all these posts . 🙂
 
Being home might help as well. When my son was diagnosed, aged 5, he was upset at the prospect of spending a second night in hospital and we felt his BGs were remaining high as a result. We took him home, where he was calmer and his BGs went down gradually. Hopefully, the familiar environment and lack of strangers will make him less agitated come testing and injecting time.
 
Thanks for asking. Seems to be looking good.. He is keen to do his own injections.... Is carb counting .... So getting on...

And he is looking a lot healthier - pink and putting on weight again... he'd lost a lot before and was starting to go a bit grey... lucky caught him before nasty bit!

His mum has a very matter of fact / just get on with it attitude so think will be fine .... Initial shock subsiding for her and grandma + great grandma

So x fingers. Early days.
 
That sounds very positive.
 
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