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Parent needing advice.

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Lisamax1

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hi I am new to the forum and in need of some support.
I'll try and keep it brief!.
My son who is 17 was diagnosed at 12 and up until now has had fantastic control of his bs numbers.
Yesterday I had to take him to a&e because he has become very unwell and is struggling to keep his numbers steady.
He was put on a drip because a small amount of ketones were found and these have since cleared.
The problem is he is autistic and has got himself obsessed about checking his numbers.
He is suffering extreme anxiety and is due to start antidepressants after the bank holiday, he needs something to help as he is unable to eat properly hence the erratic numbers and the trip to the hospital.
It seems to be in the evening that his numbers drop and he is going to reduce the amount of insulin he takes with his tea but he is convinced there is a reason for his numbers dropping as he has had great control in the past and this has just started to happen.
Unfortunately he is in a bad way at the moment and is really finding it hard not to worry about having a hypo when he is asleep.
How do I reassure him that he has a lot to cope with and that things will be alright? The consultant said his numbers are fine but this has not convinced him.
He didn't eat much of the hospital tea and I have since brought him home and his numbers were 4 so he has managed a slice of toast before bed and tested himself again and was 3 but he didn't leave enough time for the toast to register before testing.
I'm just in need of some support because I'm finding the whole situation heartbreaking .
 
It is not unusual for doses to change in time - and especially when eg weather warms up.

When low-ish and you eat something to correct it, you MUST wait at least 15 minutes before testing again. It is possible to alter the 'alarm' times on some meters so they don't go off and remind you to retest, too soon.

Does he even wait for the 'post hypo' alarm?

You need to discuss this with his hospital clinic team, to try and get them to sort him out with the right equipment for HIM.
 
My son is also 17 , well he will be tomorrow, autistic and suffers from extreme anxiety and anxiety induced mutism, fortunately he is not diabetic. I find i cant reassure my son about anything no matter what I say to him. My son has been on medication for a few years now for anxiety and low mood, hopefully meds will help your son. Sorry can't help with the diabetic side of things but didnt want to read and run. Hope it all settled, autism so hard on them.x
 
So sorry to hear about the problems you and your son are having @Lisamax1 :(

It must be very difficult to juggle the competing demands of T1 and autism.

I really hope your son can find some stability in his numbers soon. What did you mean by saying he cannot eat properly at the moment? It may be that folks here can suggest some strategies based on what he is able to eat - eg waiting to calculate the dose until after he has eaten?

How has he managed his diabetes until now? Have you been carb counting and adjusting doses to match food?

As @trophywench says, it’s not uncommon for dose requirements to change during the year, so while you’ve not had this experience yet, it is not all that rare and nothing you have done wrong.

If he is worried about BGs dropping overnight, it may be that his background insulin needs reducing a little?

Hope you can get it sorted soon.
 
Sorry to hear about the difficulties your son is having. As others have said it is not unusual for insulin needs to change over time, and in response to changes in weather. I had not realised how much these change at first and did fasting tests just once a year, prior to my consultant appointment. I now understand that things do change and no longer worry when I need to change ratios.

It is difficult to know how often to test. I found it very difficult when I was told I was becoming obsessive, especillay as I felt I wanted to know what was happening. One thing that helped me was to be told that I could test when I felt I wanted to. It took out any feeling of guilt away when I tested.

It might also help your son if he was able to use a Libre, which monitors his glucose all the time and shows him the numbers, the direction of travel of glucose level and also a graph of what has been happening over the past eight hours. I know that using one gave me back a lot of confidence and meant that I easily headed off highs and lows as I could see them coming.
 
Welcome Lisamax. Sorry to here. A Frestyle libre gives a graph & tells you what his BG is 24hrs a day. If he was asleep you can see what it is in the middle of the night without waking him. You learn so much from them, expensive but worth it. Really good luck 🙂
 
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