[MomToThree]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and I'm desperate for help. I care for a 7 year old child who has type 1 diabetes. Her mother controls her insulin and provides her breakfast, lunch and snacks while at my place. Her mother gives her a needle in the morning with 2 different insulins (L&N) which are to cover her for the day.

On a usual day she will start off anywhere from 3 to 20 at 7:00 am. Breakfast provided by mom is generally fruit loops, sugar crisp or frosted flakes (insane, I know). By 10:30 her number is generally around 20 or higher. Snack is often cheese crackers, juice and applesauce or sometimes fruit snacks. By lunchtime I test her she will often be anywhere from 10 - 28. Lunch is often either a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a pizza pop. By the afternoon she is sometimes nearing a reasonable reading of 10, but sometimes as high at 25.

Yesterday she was 28 at 10:30, 25 at lunch and 17 at 2:30. I called mom at work, but she said she couldn't get away.

I know that this is not good, but I guess I need concrete information about her food choices. When I suggested that fruit loops might not be a good choice for her, her mom said "oh, they are actually fine for diabetics". I asked if PB&J was ok, and she said she uses special sugar free jam and peanut butter.

Yesterday, an uncle was visiting who also has diabetes. He said to me "have you contact child and family services and reporter her for neglect?".

So, my question is this:

Is Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes or Corn Pops an "OK" choice for a diabetic?

Is a pizza pop or a PB&J sandwich ok?

Should I report her considering this has been ongoing for about 3 years (to my knowledge, 3 years, likely longer)?

If her mother doesn't smarten up, could she end up in kidney failure?

Thanks.

 

[Iggycat]

So, my question is this:

Is Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes or Corn Pops an "OK" choice for a diabetic?

Is a pizza pop or a PB&J sandwich ok?

A diabetic can eat everything she wants As long as she gets insulin.
If she's not given insulin everytime she eats, she should only get food without carbohydrates:

Vegetables (except potatoes and corn)
Meat
Eggs
Fish
Cheese

Should I report her considering this has been ongoing for about 3 years (to my knowledge, 3 years, likely longer)?

YES!

If her mother doesn't smarten up, could she end up in kidney failure?

Yes, that and also blindness and nerve damages.


Physical activity is also recomended for diabetics, but if the value is higher than 15 hard Physical activity can do more damage than good, but if she's lower than 15, running, swimming jumping (trampoline) etc. is very good for her.

Good luck, and please tell us what happens!

 

[Richard157]

It is true that these food choices are safe provided that enough fast acting insulin is used to compensate for them. It seems that her mother does not know about "carb counting". I need 1 unit of insulin for every 6 carbs I eat. Other diabetics might need i unit for every 15 carbs, of every 30 carbs. It varies from one diabetic to another. Carb counting is very importane for good control. Her control is very poor and if she continues to run high blood sugar like this for a long period of time then the possible side effects include kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage. etc.

I never eat cereal and I rarely eat pizza. The only pop I drink is sugar free. The bread I eat has only 8 carbs per slice. I follow a low carb diet so I will not need a lot of insulin and I exercise every day. If I did not do these things i would have developed terrible complications and would not be alive after 64 years of Type 1 diabetes. This mother obviously knows very little about diabetes and she is putting her daughter's life in danger.

 

[Anthill]

So, my question is this:

Is Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes or Corn Pops an "OK" choice for a diabetic?

No not really, but then if I was her, I would run a mile and work it off.

Is a pizza pop or a PB&J sandwich ok?

Again yes and no as the pizza is a high carb and low GI Glycimic Index. The Peanut Butter is a carb too but don't get too worried.

Should I report her considering this has been ongoing for about 3 years (to my knowledge, 3 years, likely longer)?

If her mother doesn't smarten up, could she end up in kidney failure?

Thanks.

The only thing is to do some exercise and get her to do a test and see if that will bring down the BG's. Wile exercising have with you a OJ as this will revive her if she feels low or off her normal self.

Diabetes is about balance in three ways. Food, Insulin, Exercise. Ask Mom about the doses of insulin as the diet don't match each other so I would add 1U of insulin and test to see that she is in 6 MMOL/L
Is she thirsty??

 

[spfdspeed]

special k w/red berries,skim milk,and wheat toast would a good place to start for breakfast.a walk of a couple blocks,followed by some light stretching would help too

 

[deafmack]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and I'm desperate for help. I care for a 7 year old child who has type 1 diabetes. Her mother controls her insulin and provides her breakfast, lunch and snacks while at my place. Her mother gives her a needle in the morning with 2 different insulins (L&N) which are to cover her for the day.

On a usual day she will start off anywhere from 3 to 20 at 7:00 am. Breakfast provided by mom is generally fruit loops, sugar crisp or frosted flakes (insane, I know). By 10:30 her number is generally around 20 or higher. Snack is often cheese crackers, juice and applesauce or sometimes fruit snacks. By lunchtime I test her she will often be anywhere from 10 - 28. Lunch is often either a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a pizza pop. By the afternoon she is sometimes nearing a reasonable reading of 10, but sometimes as high at 25.

Yesterday she was 28 at 10:30, 25 at lunch and 17 at 2:30. I called mom at work, but she said she couldn't get away.

I know that this is not good, but I guess I need concrete information about her food choices. When I suggested that fruit loops might not be a good choice for her, her mom said "oh, they are actually fine for diabetics". I asked if PB&J was ok, and she said she uses special sugar free jam and peanut butter.

Yesterday, an uncle was visiting who also has diabetes. He said to me "have you contact child and family services and reporter her for neglect?".

So, my question is this:

Is Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes or Corn Pops an "OK" choice for a diabetic?

Is a pizza pop or a PB&J sandwich ok?

Should I report her considering this has been ongoing for about 3 years (to my knowledge, 3 years, likely longer)?

If her mother doesn't smarten up, could she end up in kidney failure?

Thanks.

I think you need to have more information. Right now you do not have grounds to report the mother for neglect. What the child is eating is perfectly normal for a child. It sounds like the mother needs more help with carb counting and matching insulin to carbs. Also if she is only gettiing insulin in the morning (L and N?) in the morning then the food she eats at lunch time is receiving no coverage for the carbs she is eating and thus you are seeing the high numbers. You don't say what the N means so I can't tell if that is Novolog which is a fast acting insulin that is used for meals and corrections or Novolin which is a regular insulin and lasts about 6 hours and has an unpredictable peak. It is common for young children to have numbers all over the place. Adults I would expect to have more control. The mother is not neglecting her child. She may not have the proper training and just doesn't know but the fact that she is doing what she was told is not neglect.

 

[jeremiahtren]

wow

A diabetic can eat everything she wants As long as she gets insulin.
If she's not given insulin everytime she eats, she should only get food without carbohydrates:

Vegetables (except potatoes and corn)
Meat
Eggs
Fish
Cheese


YES!


Yes, that and also blindness and nerve damages.


Physical activity is also recomended for diabetics, but if the value is higher than 15 hard Physical activity can do more damage than good, but if she's lower than 15, running, swimming jumping (trampoline) etc. is very good for her.

Good luck, and please tell us what happens!

I agree.her mom needs to get informed and diabetic education.

 

[Jen]

special k w/red berries,skim milk,and wheat toast would a good place to start for breakfast.a walk of a couple blocks,followed by some light stretching would help too

I'm sorry - why would you feed a diabetic child whose mother is not familiar with adequately calculating boluses a food (Special K with Red Berries) that includes rice (first ingredient on the label), sugar (#3), and high fructose corn syrup (#6)? Then pile on skim milk instead of whole milk, and wheat toast?

Surely there are better, more creative ways of minimizing carbs without sacrificing nutrition. How about an egg, a small bowl of berries, a half slice of toast and 8 oz of whole milk?

Jen

 

[deafmack]

I agree.her mom needs to get informed and diabetic education.

First of all, I want to say, we don't know the situation with this mom. We don't know what L and N means regarding Insulins. Is L and N Lantus and Novolog or is it Levemir and Novolog or is it Lantus and Novolin (Regular) Secondly the snacks and lunchtime meals are not being covered by insulin. What is the reason for this. Is this daycare unwilling to do the insulin injections via pen or other means? Also you would be surprised at the people who don't know how to count carbs properly even though they may have had diabetes education. There is a lot of information lacking. I am not picking sides, but just too much information is missing. I would recommend to tell this mother about CWD though. She would love it there and she would get so much support and help from the parents there. The website is children with DIABETES Online Community

 

[bxstyle]

hey

i hope everything goes well...god bless

 

[aoifewozere]

I grew up with diabetes and the hardest part when your a child is not being allowed to eat the foods you want, thanks to fast acting insulin this is no longer an issue so long as you know the correct dosage to administer with the foods you are eating this child's mother needs to speak to a diabetic nurse and dietician to figure out a regime for her child.
Also there is goin to be a withdrawal faze this child will feel once she start to get her blood sugars under control, the sudden upheaval isn't a pleasant experience ( I went through this in my teenage years) she will probably experience mood swings and fatigue so she will need a lot of encouragement to get through the transition of adjusting to life with normal blood sugar levels.