New diagnosed teenage Type 1 daughter

[nicola78]

Hi, My just turned teenage daughter was diagnosed in June. She is really struggling to cope, often emotional, everything hurts but she does not want a pump due to body image. She has the libre but is talking about not bothering as what is the point she still has to finger prick. She is angry all of the time.
Does anyone have experience of this and advice of how to deal with it?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi
So sorry to hear about your daughter's diagnosis and at such a difficult age. Frustration and anger are common with diabetes, even those of us who were diagnosed later in life need to have a rant every now and then but as a teenager with fluctuating hormones it must be 10x harder to cope with it. I have no experience of children myself and I am only 9 months into Diabetes but I can tell you that it does get easier with time and it helps to be able to share your thoughts and frustrations with others who are going through the same situation. I believe there are Facebook groups for young diabetics which might help her to come to terms with it by chatting to peers. It is also important to keep in touch with your diabetic team as the specialist diabetes nurses will have been through this with many other young people and from what I have read, it is a common feeling of helplessness both as a parent and the teenager themselves. There may also be local support groups where she might make friends.... again your team should be able to point you in the right direction. There is also a parenting section here on the forum where parents of other children who have gone through this might be more likely to see your post and tell you how they handled it and coping strategies.
I wish you and your daughter lots of luck in finding a way through this together. I cannot begin to imagine how scary it must be for you.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Hi and welcome.
Does your diabetes team have a psychologist? The early months of diabetes are especially difficult and getting as much help and support as possible for you and your daughter makes a difference. My 9 year old was diagnosed in March. The 3-5 month period after diagnosis was most difficult for us. She tried a libre for a bit but decided that she’d rather finger prick as she had to do that anyway. Having the option to stop the Libre really helped her to be positive about the finger pricking. We decided that giving her as much control as possible was good for her autonomy and made it easier for her to do the things she needed to, the finger pricks and injections. There are still lots of ups and downs but she’s generally much happier at dealing with her management.
I don’t know if your team have talked to you about funding for a pump. Here under 12s get NHS funding which then goes with them as they age but if you’re over 12 the funding isn’t secure so I don’t know what pump options you were offered. It’s early days still for a pump so don’t rule anything in or out yet. If they offer a pump information day then it’s worth going along to get an idea of what’s on offer and to be able to feel the pumps. A pump allows close management and can be more convenient but it’s perfectly possible to get good management on injections.
Talking through with her team about her issues with pain and working her nurse is key. We had several tweaks of insulin brand and where we keep it (tresiba in the fridge for long acting currently) so there are options that can give her the feeling of control.
It’s really hard dealing with diagnosis. It’s hard watching your child struggle. Lean on your diabetes team and if she’s at school have a chat with them too. I hope things get easier, they did for us.

 

[Hannah.amelia]

I can only speak from experience since I grew up with diabetes through teenage years. I think a good option is to give as much autonomy as possible and checking up on her often, but allowing her to figure out what methods work for her. Finding other teens with diabetes is a great way to be able to make friends that are going through the same things and understand what you're going through. There are usually support groups that meet regularly. One thing I did was get involved with JDRF which has regular events and meet ups along with volunteer opportunities. It is a rough time as I remember exactly what she is going through, but it does get easier along the way.
Hope that helps and best of luck with everything.