Help with senior in hs going to college in fall

Parents
1

my son is going away to college in the fall and it scares me to death b/c he still relies on me so much for his diabetes. he is completely capable and knows how to take care of all of it - he just doesn’t keep his blood sugars in a good range. the highs don’t bother him - for example, he spent the night at a friend’s house last night and stayed above 300 ALL night - didn’t care. (he has the dexcom share so i know what he is, although i have my alarms very liberal b/c i don’t want to check it all the time.)
so do i just let him go and let him damage his organs? i feel like this spring should be a trial run for him, but i also feel like it’s the last time i can help him keep bg in good range. i certainly do not want to hover, but am desperately looking for guidelines, suggestions, etc on how to transition him from dependence to independence. i WANT him to do diabetes on his own…i’m just not sure he cares or realizes the affect of high blood sugar over time:(

we have recently told him he can’t drive his truck if he is over 300, but i don’t know other steps, guidelines, etc to put in place to help him toward independence.

would love any suggestions! thanks -

2

I’ve had T1 for 30+ years, and the reality is that this has a lot to do with his personality type. I was considered a smart kid so everyone assumed I was on top of my diabetes, but I was awful in high school and college. I thought I was doing fine because I always took my shots, never binge ate, and never got drunk. Ha! But I barely ever checked my BG (no CGM or even decent meters in those days), and my work and school schedules and eating were so erratic that my control didn’t even stand a chance.

Fast forward a few years and I finally got a normal job after college, and got my act together gradually. You can’t totally protect him, and nagging obviously doesn’t work. This is the hard part of parenting…letting them find their own way. At some point he will have his “a-ha” moment and go from there. In the meantime, just keep the dialogue open, acknowledge that BG is difficult to control in the best of circumstances, let alone during college, and offer to help coordinate doc and CDE appointments for him because time just gets away from you in the craziness of college.