Parent of 17 Yr old type 1 refusing insulin

[Nav_97]

Hi Meeshy,

I am sorry to hear about your daughter, I am a newbie who saw this forum and I thought maybe I could try to help.

The situation your daughter is currently in was fairly similar to the one I had. I was diagnosed when i was 17, just after my A level exams although the damage the symptoms did was already done by that point. A little while later i became a total recluse, in that i never left my room or communicated with anyone despite everyone trying. I practically use to live in the dark for many months and slowly lost a lot of weight. It was clear that depression had taken a very firm hold on my life.

After a while, i was referred to the mental health crysis team, which proved to be highly beneficial. They saw me every day for almost 4 months, and I normally went to them because if I did not they would come to my doorstep and enquire on the same day. This could potentially be an avenue to explore as it may not only give reassurance for your daughter but other people to talk to. I wonder if it is an idea to locate and ask about this situation as it could be benificial. They are normally used in difficult situations where the safety of the person may not be entrusted to themselves.
Then again, your daughter is accepting her new sensors and she seems to be in some good company, and good company is probably one of the best possible things she could have, something i did not.

Anyway I hope she manages to fight through it and please keep us posted.

Kindest regards,
Nav

 

[rebrascora]

I agree that asking for the sensor is a big step forward and you did really, really well to restrain yourself and not enquire about her readings or anything. If she is not wanting to inject so often it is possible to eat a very low carbohydrate diet, eat well and maintain weight and minimize the mount of insulin you need. It is certainly not about starving yourself but I can get by on one injection of Levemir at night and one of Novorapid, sometimes two and keep my BG reasonably low and reduce the risk of hypos. I understand that it is better to split Levemir but my consultant does not want me to do that at the moment and most of the time I manage fine with once a day. Eating very low carb does take some getting your head around and planning but once you get into the swing of it, it can be very enjoyable. Maybe this is a route that would suit her.... certainly better than starving herself, but not sure how you would pass this info on to her or help her to learn how to eat a very low carb diet healthily, if she does not want to communicate with you.
Good luck and I hope you continue to get positive updates.

 

[Nomad722]

Sorry to hear about the problems. Maybe we might meet one day as I visit Bristol sometimes. You needn't worry about me as I am 62, have arthritic knees and walk with a cane and only meet people in public.