Hello all! My 9 year old daughter was diagnosed on Monday and we were sent home from the hospital on Wednesday. Since her diagnosis, her blood sugar has not yet been in the target range of 70-150. The keep upping the amount of Lantus to give her in the evening, but it still doesn’t help. Her blood sugar is staying in the 160-250 range.
Has anyone else experienced this, where with treatment it still takes a while to get the blood sugar down to where it should be?
Thanks so much
@Michimom0405,
When I was first diagnosed back in 2000, I think it took a couple of months before I saw my numbers stay in recommended blood sugar levels. There is A LOT of trial and error in the beginning. Figuring out all of the different foods that affect blood sugars, stresses, exercise (sports) and what her rates need to be take a little time.
I honestly think in the first month my blood sugars ranged from 50-300’s. I actually remember like yesterday putting up the Christmas tree that year and experiencing my first low blood sugar. I started shaking, sweating, my heart was racing so hard, my mom handed me a huge glass of orange juice, and I downed it in like two seconds… So be sure to watch out for unexpected lows.
I had low symptoms for a while after being on insulin, even in the 160’s, because my blood sugars were so high before I was diagnosed.
Stay in contact with your doctor and CDE. If you can get a nutritionist specializing in diabetes to help you know which foods raise blood sugars, keep them stable etc… that would be helpful to you as well!
I hope I have helped you, if you need anything else feel free to tag me in a post @gina or inbox me by clicking on my profile!
Hang in there!!
Thanks! I guess I had the expectation that they would give her insulin and it would just start being in the “normal” range of 70-150. The endocrinologist we will be going to requires a visit with a nutritionist that they have on staff. Hopefully that will help, but that appointment is still 6 weeks out.
@Michimom0405,
I mean everyone is different! I hope that her blood sugars become more stable soon! She will feel sooooo much better and you will too, once that happens! I know you are probably worrying big time!
That stinks that the appointments are so far out! But, that is pretty normal in any office! So annoying! They require the visit with their nutritionist but that doesn’t mean you can’t go to anyone else! It just makes it easier for everything to be in the same office.
What kinds of things is she eating right now?
If you can, definitely try to purchase the book … Think Like a Pancreas! by Gary Scheiner a CDE and he also has diabetes too! http://integrateddiabetes.com/webstore/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=Pancreas It could help, you until you see your nutritionist! I actually had a copy but sent it to someone or I would mail it over to you! I may have another book I can send you, but I will have to look through my attic.
Hi there, my 12 yr old son was just diagnosed on Dec 8, its so hard. Are you from Michigan? I really struggle that my son wants a snack and I hate to say yes because he has to take another shot. Gina do you know of any foods that he can have as a snack and not have to take a shot? I am so frustrated, he went away for New Years and they let him eat what he wanted and never checked carb counts and he had lots of lows, one so low his vision was blurry and then they gave him Mt Dew. I am going to check out the book you shared. Thanks so much for being there to help us new people with this. Kris
Child diagnosed almost 3 months ago and numbers still range from 45-500 sometimes. I’ve had to learn that the instability is normal for a while.
The 6 week wait for the first appointment is frustrating. We had the same thing, and if I have any suggestions for how they could do things differently, it would be not to wait so long for the first appointment after leaving the hospital, but most importantly would be to separate the important and immediate big issues - the “have-to’s” - from the “as you establish a life routine…” issues. We spent the first several weeks trying to hold our child accountable to things from the hospital materials only to have her doctor tell her at the first appt they were not a big issue right now “in the overall picture.” (like timing of the shot in relation to showering, before-or-after meals, etc.) He was more concerned with limiting the stress in the moment and grasping the “absolutes” because everything was so new to us so that we could then begin to learn and establish a routine.
Just from my own personal experience… yes! Until you see your Nutritionist here are some things that have worked for me.
Free foods are any usually any snacks below 20 calories. You will also figure out quickly that some carbs raise blood sugars and others don’t. It really is all trial and error, and what works for someone else may not work for you guys. Try writing everything down so you will have a log of what has worked or not! It’s great for your doctor and CDE to see.
Something I also do is check my blood sugars two hours after I eat something to know if it raises my blood sugars or not. If you are good at excel you can keep a log through there. Or you can research Blood Sugar logbook in google to get free downloads. OneTouch has a pretty good logbook you can DOWNLOAD HERE.
I don’t know if your son likes jello but that is a great snack and doesn’t raise blood sugars. You can make a bunch of small sized cups so he can just grab them out of the fridge! You can even get fat free whipped cream and put that on the jello, because whipped cream hardly has any carbs either! I believe it’s pretty easy to make your own whipped cream too if you don’t want to buy.
Also, veggies and berries are a great snack as well.
Examples of other free snacks!
5 baby carrots and celery sticks
¼ cup blueberries
½ oz slices cheese, fat-free
10 goldfish crackers
2 saltine crackers
1 frozen cream pop, sugar-free
1 cup light popcorn
Hope this helps!!
Kacpdc, some snacks that don’t require an extra shot are string cheese or most meat sticks…things that are mostly protein will have very few carbs. Also, some veggies like celery with peanut butter work well, just be careful for starchy veggies like corn and peas that are full of carbs (of course those aren’t really snack foods). When I was little I used to make balogna roll ups with a slice of American cheese and mayo. I was diagnosed at 1 yr and and both of my parents said every time I was given the option between no shot and no food or taking a shot and having a snack I always took the shot…I think they started asking when I was 3 or so…
It takes a lot of time and patience to get the hang of treating diabetes so don’t be too hard on yourselves or your kids. It’s not a perfect science all you can do is try your best. Lows and highs happen to all of us, and I just passed my 21 year “diaversary” in November. It gets easier tho and treating the ups and downs becomes second nature. Hang in there!
Great advice! I forgot about string cheese! The only problem I have with deli meats is that they are higher in salt content. I am in the middle of switching my entire house organic though. so don’t go by me @Kacpdc ha ha.
I am a sucker for bologna though! Man that is good !
@Kacpdc, I know that you feel bad about giving your son extra shots, it really stinks. I forgot to mention this in my earlier post, once you become more familiar and things get “more normal” for you guys, there is insulin pump therapy which makes your lives so much easier. I have been pumping for 12 out of my 13 years with diabetes. Talk to your doctor about seeing if that is something you would want to do or not and which insulin pump would be best for your son.
A little bit more about Insulin Pumps, taken from the Type 1 Diabetes Dictionary on JDRF.org If you are wondering about all types of T1D terminology the Type 1 Diabetes Dictionary page is a great resource!
“An Insulin Pump is a device that delivers a continuous supply of insulin into the body. The insulin flows from the pump through a plastic tube that is connected to a needle inserted into the body and taped in place. Insulin is delivered at two rates: a low, steady rate (called the basal rate) for continuous, day-long coverage, and extra boosts of insulin (called bolus doses) to cover meals or other times when extra insulin is needed. The pump runs on batteries and can be worn clipped to a belt or carried in a pocket. It is used by people with type 1 diabetes.”
If you want others thoughts on insulin pump therapy, JDRF interviewed a bunch of T1D bloggers back in 2008, (still relevant today) which could help ease your mind about insulin pumps too.