[Katy Blakeney]

Hi! My husband & I are struggling with our teenage daughter who refuses to acknowledge that she needs to manage her diabetes on a regular basis. Usually, I can get her to test regularly if I show up with her tester in hand. But, if anything is out of the ordinary, such as company over or an outing, or a visit to her friends, all common sense goes out the window. She will often wander away with her insulin pen in hand, and I find that an hour later, she still hasn't given herself the needle! She will quite often have reads in the teens and 20's. This is completely unacceptable to me. I know that she understands what to do, as she has been diabetic for over 6 years now. I've tried being patient, letting her take control, pleading, bribing, threatening, and everything else i could think of. We have had her to councillors, but anyone who calls her to task is an enemy pretty quick. I'm really scared for her. Any suggestions would be Hugely Appreciated.

 

[Richard157]

Hello Katy, I have a friend in England who was diagnosed when she was in her teens. She was also rebellious just like your daughter. She told us that her father took her to a diabetic ward at a local hospital there. She saw diabetics on dialysis machines because of kidney failure. There were amputees and also diabetics who were blind or nearly blind due to their diabetes. All these things can happen to diabetics who do not use tight control and take good care of themselves. My friend in England was so frightened by what she saw. She has taken very good care of herself since that time and has now been diabetic for 50 years and she has no complications. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1945 when I was 6 so I have been type 1 for 63 years and I have no complications. I have used very tight control.

There is an online diabetes site for teens that your daughter might enjoy. There is a chat room there where she can talk to other teen diabetics. Here is the link.

DiabetesTeenTalk.com - from dLife

Good luck to you and your daughter!

Richard

 

[johnleveritt]

Hello Katy, and welcome to the board.