I need help / guidence!!! My 9 year old son has been having issues with sneaking food in the middle of the night and having tantrums among other behavior issues. He is new enough to be barely out of his honeymoon stage but not stable in his dosages yet. How do you tell the difference between ADHD and the effects of highs/lows of diabetes? I have done the talk about controlling his own temper and the effects of sneaking food. NOT WORKING! any suggestions? I need a local club or group for us with diabetic activities too.
I feel for you Georgia. It's always a fine line for us parents to walk when we're trying to figure out whether a behavior is diabetes related. My daughter has a very even temper, so it's rarely an issue, but when she's really out of sorts, I always find that I want her to test. I usually try to mask it as a snack test or next meal (if it's close) because I don't want her to associate bad behavior with diabetes. It could just be a combination of being a kid (my son could be such a brat at that age, but he grew out of it a few years later), and maybe some frustration with his diabetes mixed in. Have you considered taking him to a child counselor? Sarah is very concerned about growing up (she's mid-puberty and just wants to stay my little girl forever) so we've had her talking to someone to help her transition. So far it's been a really great experience.
As far as the sneaking food. Is the issue that he's not allowed to have certain foods? We have a policy that Sarah can basically have anything she wants (within the bounds of reason and decent nutrition of course), as long as she tests and takes her insulin. The deal is that I won't question an extra load of carbs if I see she's dosed for something - like if someone brings cake to school, or she wants a candy bar. She can have it, as long as she tests and takes her insulin. I don't want her to ever feel like she needs to sneak anything, so we try to make it a non-issue.
Handle this carefully. A lot of diabetics have eating disorders because of the emphasis and restrictions put on food. And a lot of people rebel against the relentless demands of diabetes (though it's usually more common in the teen years).
There's a good book on diabetes burnout that may help you. Try to talk to your son to figure out what his frustrations are and what you can do to help him. You may also need to lighten up in your expectations of his diabetes care. And visit with his doctors about ways to make diabetes fit into his lifestyle, instead of the other way around.
http://www.amazon.com/Diabetes-Burnout-What-When-Anymore/dp/1580400337