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Single parent feeling very guilty about a sudden diagnosis of T1

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Hannahli

Hannahli

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
My 4yr old was diagnosed about a week ago with T1. She's been very very poorly since the age of 2and hasn't had much of a normal
Childhood, due to how ill
She has been. This diagnosis has hit even harder now because it takes even more normality away from her. I'm struggling to come to terms with it all, my daughter is struggling to understand that we have to have a new "normal" and I'm just overwhelmed with all the information and things I am going to have to learn. My daughter had a hypo in the middle of the night but didn't wake up from it, it's only because I did her nightly blood sugar check that I saw she was very low. I'm so scared and now I stay awake all night watching over her and making sure she is ok. The community nurses have told me that it will get easier in time but is this really true!? I'm still finding it hard to let it sink in that this is life changing and it's even worse to see my daughter struggling to come to terms with it, scared of every finger prick she has and refuses to eat because she thinks she won't have to have her insulin! Still hoping that it's all a bad dream really. Does anyone have any tricks on how to make injections/finger pricks more "child friendly" and good 10g snack ideas? Any help/ideas/information/experiences are all appreciated xx
 
Hi Hannahli
Sorry to hear about your daughters diagnosis. I really feel for both of you .
There Is so much to get your head round right now but hopefully with the help of your GP and D care team you both will be fine .
Please ask plenty of questions on this forum as the members are extremely helpful and well equipped with good information and advice
I honestly would not be as well as I am today had I not found this site as I have learned so much more here than from my GP regarding living with D .
I sincerely wish you both well on your journey and look forward to reading future posts .

DX 07/10 2016 .
Type 2 . Height 5"11 , Weight 16st 4lb
Metformin 1000 mg twice daily .
Simvastatin 40mg at night
13/ 10 /2016 mmol/L 17.5
24/11/2016 mmo1/L 7.2
28/1/2017 mmo1/L 5.2 . Weight 14s8lb
 
Hello ! I have been T1 since England won the world cup , aged 3. I have never been unemployed in my life & worked all over. Learn every day & in time it will be a normal day. Please keep asking & welcome 🙂
 
It really does get easier, but it does take a while - so make sure to cut yourself some slack! It will probably take you longer to adjust than her, since the burden of care is on you (for now, it is amazing how quickly they start to do things for themselves). My son was diagnosed at 4 and doesn't remember life before diabetes. He doesn't remember how scary he found injections and things at first either, they're so routine now.

Is she still struggling with tests and injections or has that settled down? I found it took a couple of weeks. You just have to find what works best for your daughter - distraction, having a process (rub the site first with a little ice, inject, magic kiss after), or sticker charts - that worked well for my son. Often it's the anticipation rather than the pain (my son never woke up when being tested, and my two year old has done finger pricks on herself with no fuss so it can't hurt) which will naturally stop being an issue as she gets used to it. Try letting her do her own finger pricks if she is up for it, sometimes having control of it themselves is a big help.

As for 10g snacks, that is going to be a bit of trial and error I'm afraid, what is great for one person isn't for another. Tesco have some decent cereal bars in their low calorie range that come in at about 11g which aren't easy to squash in a nursery bag, a small handful of grapes or a couple of cream crackers sandwiching something yummy goes down well for us - avocado is a favourite at the moment!

There is a lot on your plate now, but you aren't alone - there's a wealth of experience here so you'll always have support.
 
2 jelly babies!

It's hard coming to terms with your new normal even when you're an adult. It must be very hard for you and your little one. Best wishes - it will get easier.
 
It's such a steep learning curve, but you will get there. Best wishes to you and your little princess xx
 
Hannahli said:
My 4yr old was diagnosed about a week ago with T1. She's been very very poorly since the age of 2and hasn't had much of a normal
Childhood, due to how ill
She has been. This diagnosis has hit even harder now because it takes even more normality away from her. I'm struggling to come to terms with it all, my daughter is struggling to understand that we have to have a new "normal" and I'm just overwhelmed with all the information and things I am going to have to learn. My daughter had a hypo in the middle of the night but didn't wake up from it, it's only because I did her nightly blood sugar check that I saw she was very low. I'm so scared and now I stay awake all night watching over her and making sure she is ok. The community nurses have told me that it will get easier in time but is this really true!? I'm still finding it hard to let it sink in that this is life changing and it's even worse to see my daughter struggling to come to terms with it, scared of every finger prick she has and refuses to eat because she thinks she won't have to have her insulin! Still hoping that it's all a bad dream really. Does anyone have any tricks on how to make injections/finger pricks more "child friendly" and good 10g snack ideas? Any help/ideas/information/experiences are all appreciated xx
Click to expand...

It's a horrid diagnosis, but in time you WILL cope and it will become part of normal life. My son was 4 when he was diagnosed, and fingerpricks and injections were horribly traumatic and upsetting. We bought him a big piggybank, and every time he had a "prickle" (a fingerprick or injection) he was given a "prickle penny" to put in the piggybank. When it was full up he'd get a trip to the toy shop to choose something he wanted. This bribery helped him accept the situation :-/.
 
Do not feel guilty! It's nothing you or she did. It's just one of those things.

I don't know how you begin to explain it too a child. This forum is full of advice and support and you are not alone. There's not a stupid question and in most cases someone has had the same issue as you before and can help.

Nighttime hypos are the worst but you must sleep. Could you use alarms to test at certain times rather than stay up all night? You know like test before bed and then at certain times throughout the night?

There's a lot of us here who got it at a young age, I was 16 so I remember like before and I was at an age where my parents didn't have to do it all.

She will adapt to it, she will be okay. Just take each day at a time.

Love to you both xx
 
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