My son was diagnosed in November and he was doing quite well with it. Even with all the lows he has he has been good. Last night he broke down and this morning was not much better. He is an athlete that is always on the go. He usually does not sit playing video games and now he is feeling very depressed over how he is going to deal with the summer, He does not want to always be eating every hour, which I don’t blame him. He always carbs before his sporting events but going outside and playing all day provides a challenge that I am hoping someone has advice for. My son is 15, he does not have the pump and he can get as low as 52 without even realizing that he is low. If anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.
when I was on long acting shots, being active required a full day in advance planning. By giving less basal insulin (for example lantus), he will be able to do more, have eat less carbs, and not have as many hypos. This will take practice, but if he uses 50% or 25% of his basal and he runs high during the day, he can use fast acting insulin as a correction.
on a pump, all I do today is dial in my basal rate, which I can change to meet what I am doing or how active I am going to be.
I am not sure what system your son uses - you didn’t say, the short answer is he should not have to eat carbs every hour or suffer endless hypos. see if you can work with a CDE (certified diabetes educator) who has experience with athletes. good luck
Consider taking him to the Child Eith Diabetes’ Friends For Life Conference in Orlando in July. He will make important connections with other kids his age with Type 1. My daughter is 15. This will be our 3rd year. It’s what gets her through to the next year.
Hello Soccormom… I am sorry that your sweet son feels so frustrated right now. It’s normal. Just being a teenager is frustrating. My son was diagnosed at age 6 and he is 12 now. He is a sports nut and plays Club Basketball four days a week. He also does MMA sparring, volleyball, flag football and swims ocassionally. The first year after diagnosis was hard. It is a learning curve where everyday is different; sometimes every hour. It does get easier because you and he will get more familiar and better at making decisions.
If you were diagnosed in November there is probably some Honeymoon stage stuff still involved. You said he does not wear a pump. The pump has made all the difference for my son and his athletics. It’s made a difference for his daily routine. We used injections for the first three years so I am well aware of the advantages/disadvantages in both. The Minimed is what we use; we made it a “project” to research what was available, and we went to Camp Bearskin Meadows (Diabetic Youth Foundation sponsored) in order to talk to others and see how families and kids made decisions. I could go on and on about the benefits of camp. There are other pumps available and all have their advantages/disadvantages according to your needs. It is like going back to school for a class - no way around it.
You will learn that not everything needs to be covered with food. All carbs are not created equal. The nutrition part of Type 1 never ends ; there is always something new to learn. Glucose tablets may not be the most palatable, but he should learn to trust their ability to raise his sugars when he goes low… they do work. There are other methods also. Just take small bites of information and incorporate.
Just don’t let your son think that his Diabetes define him. It doesn’t. It’s just part of him - and he will probably be able to help another kid along the way once he figures out how his body reacts to sports. There are adrenaline highs and lows, weather (heat especially) can affect numbers. Just remember that it’s a number - there are no good or bad numbers. We just correct the number we have at the time.
This is my first time ever posting. I hope that I have helped you a bit…
Stay strong and let your son know that sports will become easier again…they actually benefit his Type 1…
Best to you…jodygirl13
Totaly hear u , not having a fantastic summer either w my 9 year old son. Hope it’s working out now for u…
And loved your comment Jodigirl.