sugar or not?

[Patricia]

I know, I know...!

I'm grateful to you anon, for your reassuring noises! My son too is getting used to low snacks between meals, but i've never heard of giving him just one, and can't really imagine that. If he's hungry, he's hungry -- AND if he gets too hungry, he'll have a hypo, of course.....

I confess we've found E easier to dose with low-carb meals, so our family is gradually shifting more that way. ALTHOUGH it is not at all unusual for him to eat 300g rice and 350g chili, as he did last night... which is still a lot of carb, even though it's half sauce! With cheese on top. And he was still hungry, and had two cold sausages! And of course the high amount of sauce and other low carb stuff is much more expensive, hence the need for DLA is understandable (though why adults don't get it is completely beyond me and ridiculous).

Oof. Do adult type1s out there find they deliberately eat low carb, or when things settle does it not matter as much?

 

[bev]

So Patricia, are you saying that your son is allowed more than 1 x 14g snack in between meals?If so, how long do you leave it between snacks? 350g of rice- that does seem like a lot - how old is your son? I keep asking at clinic how many carbs are an 'ideal' amount for a days requirement - but they just keep saying let him eat what he wants! Also, we have been told 5 jelly babies for a hypo - do you think thats too many?Bev

 

[bev]

Also forgot to add - are you sure the DLA stops when they become adult? I have been lead to believe that its for life? Bev

 

[mikep1979]

dla bev is no longer awarded for life normally needs to be reviewed on an individual basis and i have never been able to have my application for it accepted as they feel diabetes in an adult is....... a) not a disability, and....... b) it doesnt stop you doing your day to day tasks on your own.

 

[Patricia]

um, he often has two or even three snacks in a day: one between b'fast and lunch, one between lunch and dinner, and sometimes one before bed, especially depending on his bgl. If he's really starving, to avoid hypo we will sometimes give him half a piece of bread or something literally 45 mins before dinner...If a snack is two or three hours after a meal, the novorapid will help a little, though of course you haven't dosed for it but there may be something.... And otherwise, we wouldn't give him snacks on the trot, like half hour intervals or something, because that's stacking up the carbs, but I wouldn't hesitate personally to give him a snack every two or three hours if needs be...I would have thought it's about allowing enough time for the food to digest and therefore be covered by the levemir, whereas too much too close together can't be covered?

E is nearly thirteen, and is very slim, about 5'5", always eaten LIKE A HORSE. So does his father. Fast metabolisms. As I say, we've tried now to stop depending on carbs like we used to, but even with half sauce/half carb, it's a big meal!

Hypo-wise, he's not a sweet fan really, and does it via glucose tabs (tropical flavour!) and if he's at home, fruit juice (again, fresh tropical!). He loves cereal bars and carries them everywhere: Sainsbury's maple go ahead ones have good carb level, as does choc chip trackers. Also the rice crispie and coco pops small lunch bars, but they are rare for us -- burn quick and prob aren't good for follow on carb after a hypo!

Re DLA -- I think it stops. We could ask on another thread, though it may say so on the disability thread...

 

[Patricia]

Sorry mikep1979, we overlapped...A rant: But having diabetes *is* surely time-consuming, with all the run around and planning, and we are finding it more expensive for food... AND good eating is such a contributing factor for long term health esp in diabetics...How do you feel about not getting DLA? I may be speaking out of turn...

 

[mikep1979]

sorry ment to say on my post above that you dont get dla once your an adult 🙂

 

[mikep1979]

lol no worries 🙂

regarding dla i hate the fact i dont qualify for it as i feel that i spend probably twice as much on food as others do because i eat healthy and i have a low fat diet (mainly because i dont want to run a high cholesterol level). i also find it incredible that they will award dla for someone who has a stoma (colostemy bag) but cant see diabetes is life changing. i have given up on trying to get my application accepted but i hope that those who have diabetes now as youngsters do have the applications accepted in the future as i believe the system is wrong 🙂

 

[bev]

I think we have had the DLA question answered. It doesnt seem very fair to stop when your an adult, as the requirements surely are still the same as for a child? Food costs being one of them! So when Alex goes to uni he wont be 'cushioned' at all for extra food etc. Seems ridiculous to me. So what is the criteria for claiming 'disability allowance' for an adult?

Alex eats these for snacks:

cheese and apple
asda cheese curls 6.6 per bag
frankfurter sausages
low fat yoghurt
2 x cream crackers and cheese spread
2 digestive biscuits
wotsits
mini bags of cookies

If you could give us any more ideas it would be appreciated! Thanks . Bev

 

[mikep1979]

not sure what the exact criteria for dla is. all i know is that diabetic adults dont qualify which is really poor. as for the snacks bev i think you are giving alex some really good ones there. i like to eat ryvita with cheese on as they are filling and release the energy slowly to.

 

[Northerner]

I think we have had the DLA question answered. It doesnt seem very fair to stop when your an adult, as the requirements surely are still the same as for a child? Food costs being one of them! So when Alex goes to uni he wont be 'cushioned' at all for extra food etc. Seems ridiculous to me. So what is the criteria for claiming 'disability allowance' for an adult?
...snip...

I was surprised by all this as I don't consider that I have any extra expense food-wise in order to eat healthily. In some ways it works out cheaper because I don't buy ready meals that I used to occasionally before diagnosis. I can see that catering for a child in this respect might prove difficult though - I'm not criticising anyone! When I was in hospital the menus had letters next to the meal options stating whether they were suitable for people with certain conditions. I remember being very surprised at the time that just about the only thing I wasn't allowed was treacle pudding I do tend to avoid anything with high levels of saturated fat, like pies, but still allow myself good quality sausages - life wouldn't be worth living without sausages!

 

[bev]

Hi Northerner,

I must admit that our food bill has gone up by about 30% since diagnosis. This is because i feel it is more important to give alex a healthier diet than we used to eat, for example, we used to eat fish maybe once a fortnight, but now i prefer him to have it twice a week. Also i do buy the more expensive saugages and meat etc which works out a lot more expensive. I also now only buy good quality bread, and he now eats more fruit and veg etc. Before diagnosis a snack for him would be a chocolate bar - cheap- but now its a little more expensive as i give him better quality cereal bars etc. I know it doesnt sound like a huge difference but over a week it really does add up! Perhaps they change the rules when a child reaches adulthood because they then have an earning capacity? But everything low fat or low sugar is always more expensive than the normal brands i find. Bev

 

[Copepod]

The criteria for DLA care component (there is also a mobility component) is that you need help from another person. The vast majority of adults with any type of diabetes (and no complications nor other conditions) do nearly everything diabetes related themselves, so they don't qualify. The occasional assistance by someone else when approaching hypoglycaemia isn't enough to qualify. Assistance with housework tasks doesn't count, as it's not personal care. Adults can qualify for lower rate care component if they can't cook themselves a meal most of the time, but this "meal test" is not availably to children, who usually qualify for middle rate (or higher rate if they need help day and night).

DLA is not means tested, so earning capacity is not considered - that is dealt with by Incapacity Benefit, although that benefit is being changed now for new claimants.

 

[mikep1979]

i found before i was diagnosed i could use cheeper cuts of meat and also fill up on other foods which were cheeper. i also used to have a few packets of crisp in and some chocolate to. now however i find i eat a very healthy diet and have lots of fruit and veg. i also have no frozen chips etc and i have lots of fresh potatoes too. this has increased my food bill by nearly 40%.

 

[anon]

My son is allowed any amount of cheese, meat (sausages are good) and nuts as a snack without it affecting his carb counting. He's skinny so extra calories are okay. When I get peckish between meals, and I do regularly, then I also fill up on cheese and nuts. Neither affect my bg, great isn't it!

 

[Patricia]

My goodness what a lot of info on this thread all of a sudden! Fantastic.

We haven't had such a massive increase in our food bill partly because we had lots of fish and expensive sausages in the first place, big foodies. BUT with E growing we were really depending on high carbs to keep him filled up, and this is where we've noticed the difference. Also, as you say Bev, the cereal bars are more expensive certainly. He's eating *more of* more expensive things. We *do* have more fruit than we used to. I've always liked it, but had rather given in to the rest of the family. We are buying more now, which is good.

Re snacks I think you have a great selection Bev! Crumbs. Another quick one we might use is strawberry Actimel -- doesn't last him, but is a good quick boost. He also adores humous, so with a few tortilla chips it's a tasty snack. Also one package of crisps is only 12g. He also likes fat free vanilla Activa yoghurt. Or hot chocolate: and I was wrong, it's the Highlights one we like, not the Options one...sorry!

Re dosing hypos, this also goes back to anon earlier, number of jelly babies etc. E usually starts with 3 glucose tabs (about 12g?), waits 5/6 mins. If doesn't feel better, takes another two. If does, at 10 mins ish eats carb. For juice: 100ml ish first (again, 12 g ish). We have though occasionally just had one or two glucose tab if he's low and we are *nearly* eating -- as long as not too low, cos then won't come up properly for dinner. Thinking about it, he may like jelly babies for a change...

Re DLA: it's a mixed bag, isn't it? I guess everyone has things they have to incorporate into their lives, but I feel worried that E won't have that 'cushion' you speak of Bev. It still seems a lot to cope with for him, as well as LIFE.

My overall feeling is one of great and continued admiration for anyone coping with this chronic illness... the management of it is undoubtably stressful and requires quite a lot of energy to be successful. That's the thing; little is by rote, though some becomes more natural. Anyway, hats off to you all.

 

[Patricia]

Sorry anon, we overlapped...are you type 1 too?

 

[aymes]

dla bev is no longer awarded for life normally needs to be reviewed on an individual basis and i have never been able to have my application for it accepted as they feel diabetes in an adult is....... a) not a disability, and....... b) it doesnt stop you doing your day to day tasks on your own.

This touches a little on what I do work wise (advice, not actually working within benefits agency) so here goes:

DLA is a non-means tested and non-contributory benefit, it is made up of two components, each made up of different rates, it's possible for someone to receive both components at the same or different levels, or just one component.

1) Care Component - designed to help with personal care needs. Lower rate: claimant needs attention with bodily functions for a significant part of the day. Middle rate: needs frequent attention with bodily functions during the day or prolonged/repeated attention during the night, or continual/prolonged supervision. Higher rate: attention or supervision needed day and night, or is terminally ill.

Bodily functions for attention needs can include: eating and drinking- eg cutting up food, being fed etc, keeping clean, dressing, going to bed/sleeping, using trhe toilet, sitting/walking, communicating, medication and treatment- eg giving medication, changing dressings etc. Supervision needs can include having fits/attackes, hyperactivity, memory prolems, unsteadiness, no sense of danger etc.

To qualify for DLA you must be at least 3 months old (except for terminally ill babies) and under 65 at first claim. The claimant must have needed help for the previous 3 months and expected to need it for at least the next 6 months.


There are special rules for children with regards to DLA, you would need to show that the child's needs are substantially in excess of normal requirements of a child that age or that they have substantial care or supervison needs over that which is expected for their age.

2) Mobility component - probably self explantory

Hope that helps, if not sorry for the long and involved post

 

[anon]

Patricia, yes I am also Type 1.
ps I'm also called Patricia.

 

[Northerner]

Jelly babies

I always have Bassets jelly babies - they're softer and easier to chew than other brands (tried co-op ones - like rubber!), and are 5g carbs/sugar each, so 3 are usually enough to bring me up from a mild hypo. But I always eat 5, erm..., just to make sure!