[TeamDiabetes]

Hello. My son was diagnosed June 8, 2011. His BG was 688 when I took him to the ER. Needless to say I was devastated and broke down in tears right in front of him. Typically I wouldn't have, as I am usually an emotionally strong person. However, it had been a bad year after losing my mother months prior. I'm a single mom raising two teenagers with no help from their father. So, it was really hard to swallow especially because my son is very athletic and always ate healthier than my younger son and I. He hardly ever drank soda, but seems to drink a lot of it now after the diagnosis.

He was transported to another hospital which specialized in juvenile diabetes and stayed for two days. Apparently he was responding well to the insulin they gave him because initially they wanted to admit him to the ICU. However, they said he was ok enough to go straight to the PEDS unit. So that gave me some relief.

It's been a hard seven months for him, even though he really doesn't show it. He's had some road blocks because of it, but has done exceptionally well with the responsibility of managing it. His Endocrinologist is amazed at how well he has done.

He left the hospital with a carb to insulin ratio of 1:5. Now it is 1:25 or 1:30, depending on his scheduled activity for the day. His long acting was up to 22 units when he left the hospital and is now down to 7 or 8, depending on his scheduled activity. His A1C was high too, but is now down to 6.5. His doctor thinks he is still in "honeymoon" but doesn't think he will be much longer.

I am very proud of the way he has taken responsibility of it and I'm very proud of the way his brother, friends and team mates look out for him. However, he is seeing that the diabetes has delayed him from being a normal teenager right now.

He turned 16 last month and still hasn't been able to get his learners permit because the doctor apparently didn't send the paperwork into the Medical Review Board or they lost it. I have to resend it and was told it takes several weeks to process. It breaks my heart because he is such a good kid and had the attitude "it is what it is" when he was diagnosed. He didn't deserve this and deserves to be enjoying the teen years like his friends.

I hope it gets easier for him at some point and it doesn't hold him back from his goals in life. I think he is still a little scared because I do see a little hesitation now in his athletic abilities. I don't know what to do to help him through it. Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

 

[tony0611]

Hello. My son was diagnosed June 8, 2011. His BG was 688 when I took him to the ER. Needless to say I was devastated and broke down in tears right in front of him. Typically I wouldn't have, as I am usually an emotionally strong person. However, it had been a bad year after losing my mother months prior. I'm a single mom raising two teenagers with no help from their father. So, it was really hard to swallow especially because my son is very athletic and always ate healthier than my younger son and I. He hardly ever drank soda, but seems to drink a lot of it now after the diagnosis.

He was transported to another hospital which specialized in juvenile diabetes and stayed for two days. Apparently he was responding well to the insulin they gave him because initially they wanted to admit him to the ICU. However, they said he was ok enough to go straight to the PEDS unit. So that gave me some relief.

It's been a hard seven months for him, even though he really doesn't show it. He's had some road blocks because of it, but has done exceptionally well with the responsibility of managing it. His Endocrinologist is amazed at how well he has done.

He left the hospital with a carb to insulin ratio of 1:5. Now it is 1:25 or 1:30, depending on his scheduled activity for the day. His long acting was up to 22 units when he left the hospital and is now down to 7 or 8, depending on his scheduled activity. His A1C was high too, but is now down to 6.5. His doctor thinks he is still in "honeymoon" but doesn't think he will be much longer.

I am very proud of the way he has taken responsibility of it and I'm very proud of the way his brother, friends and team mates look out for him. However, he is seeing that the diabetes has delayed him from being a normal teenager right now.

He turned 16 last month and still hasn't been able to get his learners permit because the doctor apparently didn't send the paperwork into the Medical Review Board or they lost it. I have to resend it and was told it takes several weeks to process. It breaks my heart because he is such a good kid and had the attitude "it is what it is" when he was diagnosed. He didn't deserve this and deserves to be enjoying the teen years like his friends.

I hope it gets easier for him at some point and it doesn't hold him back from his goals in life. I think he is still a little scared because I do see a little hesitation now in his athletic abilities. I don't know what to do to help him through it. Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Hi, Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to know how things have been for your son and you but it's a great achievement to bring down his A1Cs and BG levels.

We have many T1s on this forum who have very successfully managed their diabetes for several decades (50 years and more). One of our moderators has been T1 for 60+ years.

I would also recommend you to order a book (The diabetes solution) written by Dr Richard Bernstein, who is another T1 diabetic for the last 65 years. Even at the age of nearly 80 he does very strenuous exercises. Several of our forum members ride bikes for 30-40 miles regularly.

All of this has made me believe that Diabetes both T1 and T2 is completely compatible with a full life and will not come in the way of him achieving his goals

You mention that your son is very athletic and always ate healthier than your younger son and you and that he hardly ever drank soda. But I am sure that by now you would have found out that T1 Diabetes is most definitely not caused by eating junk or other unhealthy diet. In-fact T1 is definitely not caused by diet and exercise lifestyle choices.

Since carb counting is so important, are you also trying to limit carbs in his diet ? Whats you approach to planning his meals and carb choices ?

I am a T2 so maybe a little short on information. Many of our T1s will be online soon. I just wanted to welcome you and congratulate the efforts that you and your son have made so far !

~Tony

 

[TeamDiabetes]

Hi, Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to know how things have been for your son and you but it's a great achievement to bring down his A1Cs and BG levels.

We have many T1s on this forum who have very successfully managed their diabetes for several decades (50 years and more). One of our moderators has been T1 for 60+ years.

I would also recommend you to order a book (The diabetes solution) written by Dr Richard Bernstein, who is another T1 diabetic for the last 65 years. Even at the age of nearly 80 he does very strenuous exercises. Several of our forum members ride bikes for 30-40 miles regularly.

All of this has made me believe that Diabetes both T1 and T2 is completely compatible with a full life and will not come in the way of him achieving his goals

You mention that your son is very athletic and always ate healthier than your younger son and you and that he hardly ever drank soda. But I am sure that by now you would have found out that T1 Diabetes is most definitely not caused by eating junk or other unhealthy diet. In-fact T1 is definitely not caused by diet and exercise lifestyle choices.

Since carb counting is so important, are you also trying to limit carbs in his diet ? Whats you approach to planning his meals and carb choices ?

I am a T2 so maybe a little short on information. Many of our T1s will be online soon. I just wanted to welcome you and congratulate the efforts that you and your son have made so far !

~Tony

Thank you Tony.

We do try to limit his carb intake and look at carbs before we buy anything new. It is still hard to do for a growing boy and one who is still so active because he's hungry a lot. In the hospital he was starving because they weren't giving him enough food. The three of us are on the thin side to begin with because we apparently have a good metabolism. So he eats more than three meals a day. Sometimes he eats up to five smaller meals a day because that is what seems to keep him fuller than the three big meals. We now have gone to wheat or whole wheat breads, pasta, etc and try to eat anything that is high in fiber. Anything with 5 grams of fiber or more he divides in half and subtracts from the total carbs. He was told he can eat whatever he wants he just had to compensate with insulin. He has figured out some things to eat that he doesn't have to take insulin.

I think the hardest thing about diabetes is eating out. Everyone doesn't have nutritional guides. So sometimes he has to wing it and he has been doing pretty good with it. The holidays were tough on him with the variety of foods, but he did really well.

After his diagnosis, I now know that T1 is mistaken for T2 a lot, but in the beginning I just didn't want to believe it. I even felt that it was my fault because I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with him, but it was controlled by diet. No one in the family has T1, but a few did have T2 later in life. I say did because they have passed on, but not from complications of the disease.

I still believe he had it for quite some time because he was showing behavioral signs but the dr never checked for diabetes. When he was in kindergarten he use to get unexplained dizzy spells that the doctors couldn't figure out. I requested a GTT but his dr refused until the ENT requested it. It came back negative but they weren't able to do the full screen because he was so difficult to drawl blood from.

Also, when he was in pre-k he had the hand foot mouth virus but the endocrinologist said it was too many years that had past to associate the diabetes with it.

I think the triggering factor was the two doses of Prednisone within a months time last spring from poison ivy but again the doctors don't feel it was that either.

So who knows. Someone even asked if it could be sports induced diabetes. Wonder if there is such a thing.

Well I've rambled long enough. Thank you again and I will look into that book. Have a great day.

 

[tony0611]

Thank you Tony.

We do try to limit his carb intake and look at carbs before we buy anything new. It is still hard to do for a growing boy and one who is still so active because he's hungry a lot. In the hospital he was starving because they weren't giving him enough food. The three of us are on the thin side to begin with because we apparently have a good metabolism. So he eats more than three meals a day. Sometimes he eats up to five smaller meals a day because that is what seems to keep him fuller than the three big meals. We now have gone to wheat or whole wheat breads, pasta, etc and try to eat anything that is high in fiber. Anything with 5 grams of fiber or more he divides in half and subtracts from the total carbs. He was told he can eat whatever he wants he just had to compensate with insulin. He has figured out some things to eat that he doesn't have to take insulin.

I think the hardest thing about diabetes is eating out. Everyone doesn't have nutritional guides. So sometimes he has to wing it and he has been doing pretty good with it. The holidays were tough on him with the variety of foods, but he did really well.

After his diagnosis, I now know that T1 is mistaken for T2 a lot, but in the beginning I just didn't want to believe it. I even felt that it was my fault because I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with him, but it was controlled by diet. No one in the family has T1, but a few did have T2 later in life. I say did because they have passed on, but not from complications of the disease.

I still believe he had it for quite some time because he was showing behavioral signs but the dr never checked for diabetes. When he was in kindergarten he use to get unexplained dizzy spells that the doctors couldn't figure out. I requested a GTT but his dr refused until the ENT requested it. It came back negative but they weren't able to do the full screen because he was so difficult to drawl blood from.

Also, when he was in pre-k he had the hand foot mouth virus but the endocrinologist said it was too many years that had past to associate the diabetes with it.

I think the triggering factor was the two doses of Prednisone within a months time last spring from poison ivy but again the doctors don't feel it was that either.

So who knows. Someone even asked if it could be sports induced diabetes. Wonder if there is such a thing.

Well I've rambled long enough. Thank you again and I will look into that book. Have a great day.

The first and most important is that T1 diabetes is not a result of Gestational diabetes. I know I am not a scientist or doctor so you can say that I am not qualified to make that statement but that what I have read so far. There is no way in the world you can blame yourself for your son's T1. I don't think there is any scientific backing to it. T1 is caused when your body attacks your own beta cells, thinking of them as enemies. It more like a misfired missile. I would like you to read

Blood Sugar 101

This site will help you understand the real causes of diabetes. Please do not blame yourself.

Well you are right that that your son needs energy. He's in his growing years. Have you considered increasing the portion of the fat in his diet ? If he is exercising and playing a lot he can have some more protein as well.

Theoretically it's true that a T1 can have any number of carbs and have the required amount of insulin to cover it. But consider this, in a meal if you have 20 carbs you may need 3 units of insulin. If you ate 200 carbs you will need 30 units. Here are the potential side effects

1. The margin of error is huge. In the scenario of eating 200 carbs suppose you miscalculated carbs by 10% you would have taken 3 units more than you actually needed which could have dropped your blood sugar to dangerously low levels. Incase you made the same 10% error with the 20 carb meal you insulin dose calculation will not be really impacted. Less carbs mean more accurate predictions, and less chances of error. This is called the "Law of small numbers" (courtesy Dr Bernstein)

2. On diet you will observe that whole wheat bread/pastas and normal bread/pastas is not really that different in terms of carbs.. As a T2 I have completely eliminated all food made from grains. I follow a low carb - high fat diet. Fat does not effect BGs. Apparently lot of research indicates it's not bad for our lipids either. If you have a problem to accept that right away I would suggest you start with non saturated fats.

I really suggest you read that book from Dr Bernstein. Its a good guide on diabetes, food, insulin and everything that impacts a diabetic. And have a look at the the above website (bloodsugar 101)

I am really hoping that some of the experienced T1 come online soon.

Anyways keep reading around the threads here


A WORD OF CAUTION:

If you reduce carbs, insulin requirements drop significantly. Moving to a low carb diet and taking normal doses of insulin can cause serious life threatening hypoglycemia

The process of moving to lesser carbs should be done slowly and in a controlled manner. Its better to be very conservative with insulin. Higher numbers will not really be that harmful once in a while but every low number can be life threatening



.

 

[Richard157]

Hello, and welcome! Your son's control has improved so much, both of you should be very pleased! The reduced insulin dosages, the much improved carb ratios, and his very good A1c should lead to a long, healthy life without complications. I was diagnosed in 1945, when I was 6, and am very healthy.

There are probably not any members here with teen aged diabetic children. You might want to look at the following site, where there are many parents with type 1 children:

children with DIABETES Online Community

There is also a book that might help. It is called "Using Insulin" by John Walsh. it explains carb counting and many other things. It is sold in some bookstores and on amzon.com.

Richard

 

[TeamDiabetes]

Thank you all for the "welcome" and for the info you have provided. I will look into the books as well as the link.

I have two questions, which is how I stumbled to find this site. I tried to find answers, but was unsuccessful. However, I read a lot of the postings and found this to be a great information tool. So please forgive me if these questions are asked somewhere else.

First, does anyone know of any place that specifically carries food that caters to diabetics, like candy shops or grocery stores? When we find something we like, it seems like the store stops carrying the product. I have to stock up on the 4oz juice boxes when I see them because the store doesn't always carry them and other stores might carry a different brand or only larger sizes.

Second, what is the best way to dispose of the insulin vials and pens that have expired? Is it okay to throw them away in the trash?

I'm good about the syringes, lancets and the needles from the pens. I stick them in a bottle with "biohazard" written all over and seal it with duct tape. The reason for biohazard instead of "sharps" is I'm afraid someone would try and steal the bottle. I know it sounds crazy, but where we live it certainly could happen. Hehe

Thank you again for the info. I look forward to reading more about everyone.

 

[David Burke]

Many pharmacies will take expired medication for proper disposal. Ask around. I'd think your pens could go in the sharps as well, it's sealed so what goes in is only known to you.

 

[TeamDiabetes]

Thank you. Unfortunately, they don't. That's why I asked.

 

[David Burke]

Bummer. Around here most pharmacies take expired meds and the free clinic does waste disposal as well. Have you tried a free clinic or local health dept for advice or guidance?

 

[Stargazer]

Have you tried a free clinic or local health dept for advice or guidance?

That's what I would do. The local health department should have information about proper sharps disposal. May call the information desk at a hospital?

My pharmacy gives out free sharps containers. I know that Walmart also sells them for a few dollars. I would suspect that no where would take used sharps unless they were in an "official" container.

 

[Stargazer]

I follow a low carb - high fat diet. Fat does not effect BGs.

While I agree that fat does not directly affect glucose levels, my own experience is that it greatly slows down the absorption of carbs. This is what I'm having trouble with in my own control. If I eat a high fat meal, my glucose levels spike super high hours later.

 

[Stargazer]

I think the hardest thing about diabetes is eating out. Everyone doesn't have nutritional guides. So sometimes he has to wing it and he has been doing pretty good with it. The holidays were tough on him with the variety of foods, but he did really well.

That's the hardest part for me, too, now that I'm trying to count carbs more carefully. What I find really handy is there are several apps (if your son has an iPod or smartphone) that are really helpful for finding nutritional information. There's not one that's "perfect" but I've narrowed down a small list of apps that work for me. Because I always carry my phone with me the information is always at hand.

 

[marshagolightly]

I like calorieking.com there is an app for it. I also use glucose buddy for charting carbs, activity, meds, and BG. Calorie King was recommend to me by my dietician when I was learning carb counting.

 

[Shanny]

Calorie King also has a pocket-size edition to take along when you eat out . . . it has listings for many of the more popular restaurants & fast food places. That's how I got started - it was later that I found them online.