My son was diagnosed 8 yrs ago. It has been a struggle since then. His BG have been all over and finally we have had it under control some what since January. Due to the fact he was diagnosed with celiac then. Which would explain all the highs. My issue now is his BG seem to be stable between 120-200 depending on the daily activity. and his setting are changed monthly or bi monthly by the endocrinologist. My biggest concern after having such good number he has been admitted to the hospital 3 times since July for DKA. His A1C is 10.8. with all this going on he all seeks negative attention with also sneaking foods he is not suppose to be eating. Not sure what to do with the A1C and Negative behavior. I must say he is a smart and intelligent young boy and very loving.
Hi Daneen @dmgazzola, a Warn Welcome to TypeOneNation! - I hope this site, and the people ypu meet here will be a good experience for you…
Your son was diagnosed 8 years ago so I’m guessing he is either a teen or getting close to those “fun” years trying to balance activity, food and insulin - it is never easy but ….
Keep in mind that a “good” HbA1c does not help us achieve that really difficult balance I mentioned - it is only a “Report Card” which gives us a starting point to reach goals. An HbA1c of 10.8 [did I read you correctly?] indicates that his average BGL [Body Glucose Level] during the preceding 90 days was about 264 mg/dl. I was “spared” these BG and A1c marker points when I lived my wild teen years in the 1950’s - but somehow I survived with only one blood sugar lab test a year.
A couple of suggestions - and I’ll leave the “living through teen years” to many other helpful people here who are closer in age.
- For a while, work together with your son [the whole family] in counting carbohydrates and practice calculating insulin doses.
- Let your son know that you know he is hungry and needs something between meals - try to remove the “sneaking” guilt;
- Let him have “free” access to his insulin once he shows he can calculate properly for WHENEVER he takes a snack;
- Teach him how to avoid “stacking” insulin - insulin to cover foods eaten ONLY;
- Let him enjoy life, live fully and achieve.
.
Thank you for all the suggestions, please see answered information below:
- For a while, work together with your son [the whole family] in counting carbohydrates and practice calculating insulin doses. (we have completed this he always counts carbs even for the littles things he eats)
- Let your son know that you know he is hungry and needs something between meals - try to remove the “sneaking” guilt; ( i will def try this again he use to snack times daily)
- Let him have “free” access to his insulin once he shows he can calculate properly for WHENEVER he takes a snack; (he actually has teh omni pod and distributes it him self)
- Teach him how to avoid “stacking” insulin - insulin to cover foods eaten ONLY; (sometimes its laziness)
- Let him enjoy life, live fully and achieve. (this is the hard part he makes it more complex than what it needs to be
Hey! Dennis pretty much covered everything I was going to say (and probably far more eloquently than I would’ve been able to say it), but I just wanted to offer a few more words of advice since I have a pretty good idea of what your son is going through.
Having had T1D for 8 years, just as your son has, I know that there are times when I just want to stop dealing with it. It’s a huge burden for any teenager, and it sounds like your son has reached a point where he wants to live without having to care for a chronic condition. I think everyone on this site, at one time or another, has felt that way. A few things have helped me, and I think they might help him too:
~If your son doesn’t have any friends with T1D, that’s a great first step. One of the worst things about being a teen with T1 is the feeling that you’re not “normal” or don’t fit in with anyone else. I don’t know a single person at my school who has this condition, but I do have more than 30 online friends from around the world living with it and they’ve helped so much. It’s great to have someone to talk to on those days when nothing is working. Your son can get an account on here, or he’s more than welcome to reach out to me (my snapchat is bookwormnerd13).
~Remember, when dealing with this situation, it’s not you vs him–it’s both of you vs his condition. Calling him “lazy” or blaming him for a high A1C is only going to make things WORSE. Work with him, and his endocrinologist, to figure out a plan for bringing his numbers back under control. Accept that it’s not going to be perfect; there will be times when he makes mistakes. Focus on his progress and encourage him to figure out what went wrong when his numbers aren’t where he wants them. Keep an open dialogue; it’ll make things much easier. If he feels like he’s in trouble when his blood sugar is too high, he’ll be less likely to share his numbers with you, and more likely to ignore them or not treat them as he should.