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New to Diabetes - Son very recently diagnosed with Type 1

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J

JJNMarriott

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hello World

I'm mum to a 10 y/o boy. Newly diagnosed as being Type 1 Diabetic. After an unexpected trip to A&E and being admitted with Diabetic Ketoacidosis. We're still in the emotional stage of dealing with his diagnosis (from a parent's perspective). Any helpful tips and advice on managing everyday life post-diagnosis will be very much appreciated. Thank you.
 
Welcome @JJNMarriott 🙂 I hope your son is recovering ok from the ketoacidosis and feeling much better in himself.

Let me tag some parents for you @Thebearcametoo @Bronco Billy @Sally71

My tips would be to get into a routine, to always keep hypo treatments near, to be kind to yourselves, and to just take one day at a time. It’s overwhelming to start with but it gradually gets easier.

There’s a great book called Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas that you might find helpful.
 
Thank you, Inka. I'll take a look at the book you've recommended. In time I hope it does get easier.
We're at home now - trying our hardest to cope.
 
Welcome to the forum from another parent. Mine was diagnosed last year at 16, so quite a bit older. I also have type 1, but still found their diagnosis a huge shock. Be kind to yourselves, it is a huge amount of info to take on board, on top of the emotional roller coaster of trying to adjust to the diagnosis.

We are here if you have any questions, need to vent, need a virtual shoulder to cry on etc.
 
Hi and welcome. My daughter was diagnosed 2 years ago just before her 9th birthday. The first few weeks are overwhelming. You will get used to the day to day management though and it will get easier emotionally too I promise. The ‘good’ thing about being diagnosed as a child is that the paediatric teams offer lots of support. They are there for any questions and queries you have and don’t be scared of contact them out of hours if you need to (you can also call the children’s ward in the middle of the night if you need to although they tend to not to have as much specific diabetes knowledge). Even now we still have to make out of hours calls to our team every now and then.

There will be a psychologist attached to the team too. They are there for you as a family not just your son. Don’t be afraid to see them if you need somewhere to offload. We’re here to support you and to answer questions where we can.

We found it really useful to have a notebook to jot down regular meals and things like dominos pizza carbs/100g. You will get to a point where you know the carbs by heart but to begin with it helps to have it written down and not have to hold too many things in your head at once.

I’ve found it really useful to try and stay in the moment. The only constant, especially with kids with diabetes, is that things will change. Being able to go with the flow will help keep you sane.
 
My daughter was diagnosed aged 6, nearly 9 years ago now, so I guess we're as used to it as we'll ever be! it does get easier, but you are still dealing with the shock at the moment and grieving for your old life. Just take things one step at a time, you have to be organised and take so much stuff everywhere with you and it's hard to be spontaneous any more, but diabetes shouldn't stop them doing anything, there's always a way! it just takes a bit more thought. Keep in touch with the medical team, they will be able to help you through the early difficult weeks. Get in touch with school as well and get a care plan made, and make sure his teachers understand what to do in an emergency and what procedures are necessary at lunch time. All schools now have to have a member of staff who is willing to be trained up to do whatever is necessary to help with medical conditions. Good luck 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum @JJNMarriott

Sorry to read of your son’s diagnosis and I hope that he is starting to feel a lot better, albeit with a few extra things to do every day in managing his Diabetes. I found the Ragnar Hanas book that @Inka recommended an excellent reference book.

I am sure it seems like a lot to cope with at present but it does get easier. Keep in touch with your hospital team, they are there to help you. Ask any questions that you have. There is plenty of experience to tap into on here.
 
So sorry to hear about your son’s diagnosis @JJNMarriott

It’s a steep learning curve, and will feel overwhelming at the start, but just like learning to drive, quite soon all the things that need careful thought and ‘front of mind’ space, will become almost automatic.

It’s a marathon of lifelong learning, and it’s great that you’ve found the forum to share the ups, downs and occasional headscratching running in circles!
 
Hi @JJNMarriott. I'm sorry to hear about your son's recent diagnosis.

I was diagnosed just before my 10th birthday and I completely empathise with how you must all be feeling. My mum beat herself up for not noticing the signs before and so was quite upset when the doctors said what it was.

Echoing what everyone else has said, it is obviously a big learning curve to adjust to but make use of your son's diabetic team when you can and need. I think looking back, me and my parents learnt on the job, as it were. We took it in turns to do things like taking blood sugars and delivering insulin. It definitely helped me develop my independence to manage my diabetes on my own.

I remember one instance of telling my dad that he's not doing my injections because I could do it better myself (though maybe that was the moody teenager in me coming out)!
 
Hi, welcome from another parent. My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 last year at the age of 5. I have only just joined the forum but had been a serial lurker for a long time!
My main piece of advice would be to give yourself and your family time. Things will become easier once you start to get your head around things and to get into a routine.
Our world fell apart when our daughter got diagnosed and I struggled to see how she would return to school, swim, go to the park etc. We have managed to overcome all these worries and our daughter now loves school, we feel she is incredibly safe and things will become easier for you in time. I promise. Be kind to yourself right now.
 
Hi hope your son is feeling better. Talking from the child point of view it really helped that my parents normalised diabetes. Everyone live the life with me so I didn't feel odd. Acknowledge the bad days and celebrate the good. Most definitely make use of the team and any help from psychologists. Especially as he gets older. You've got this and we've got you.
 
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