My daughters just got diagnosed with type1 I am a very nervous mom.i am more worried about her school and at nights or when I am not around her…
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@Madhokraj Hi Chetna, and welcome to the TypeOneNation Forum!!! Here you will find that you are not alone, and many here will offer tips & suggestions based on experiences while living with diabetes. Although I’m NOT a licensed medical professional, I will make suggestions based on my seven decades living with diabetes; your daughter’s physician is the person on whom you should mostly rely.
Diabetes can be very scary for your daughter and for you, it can also be a challenge for trained medical professionals when diabetes hits them or their families. There is much to learn, so I suggest that you move forward in small increments - one step at a time. I’m still learning, both because my body has changed over time, and there are wonderful advances in medicine.
The first step that her doctor, your daughter, and you will attempt is adjusting her insulin doses to fit her lifestyle and what she eats. That is working to find a balance between Food, Activity, and Insulin - it is not simple because a 14 year old girl is very active and she is growing and developing. Emotions, stress, and hormones are very significant factors that affect BG[ Blood Glucose] Levels.
As her insulin doses are adjusted to “fit her” [and that fit will change just like clothing sizes], you will be less worried about her when she is sleeping, and when she returns to school - nice that you have a bunch of weeks before school resumes.
Feel free to visit this site often - even if just to moan or cry - we will hold your hand. Ask whatever questions you have - we all have questions, and you will find warmth and respect here.
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Hi @Madhokraj. Dennis has a great deal of experience with diabetes and always contributes very wise advice. You can post questions wherever you feel is appropriate, but there are topics with headings for parents as well.
Take a deep breath. I’m sure this is overwhelming, and there is a learning curve, but it will come more naturally with time and practice.
A few suggestions:
Find a good endocrinologist who specializes in managing diabetes in children and their changing bodies.
Check out apps that will let you track foods, activity, general health, stress, and insulin intake. Keeping this organized will help you and your doctor understand her insulin needs.
Determining insulin doses involves some trial and error, and even then may need to be changed from time to time. Eventually you will learn to adjust on your own, but for now work closely with her doctor as you learn.
You will hear a lot about insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMS). Many people find they do better with a pump and like the convenience and how discrete it is when taking insulin. But many people do just fine on shots. I would highly recommend looking into getting a CGM though. It provides updated readings every 5 minutes, and while you may need to do occasional fingersticks to calibrate, it is less than doing a fingerstick every time you want to see a number. CGMs also can give you alerts to know if her numbers are high or low. Having this information and knowing how to respond will give you lots of comfort. Some CGMs let the user share their readings with a parent, school nurse, or whoever you select.
Speaking of school, you will want to put a 504 plan in place with her school. Speaking very generally, this will ensure the school knows about her diabetes, gives instructions on how to treat lows and highs, and should prevent issues of age needs to do a finger stick or check her CGM at school.
Many of the people on this site have lived several decades and got through childhood without the technology that is available today. It sends overwhelming now but she can enjoy a good, long life with diabetes.
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Hey there @Madhokraj! I’m Abby; I’m 18 years old and I’ve had T1D since I was 7. Welcome to TypeOneNation! I’m so glad you found us. This is a great place to ask questions and get advice as you acclimate to the confusing world of T1D.
First of all–I hope you and your daughter are doing ok. I know the period after diagnosis can be a confusing and turbulent time, and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed right now. Please don’t hesitate to reach out on here with any questions or concerns you may have; we’re all here to support you!
A few tips from my perspective: First of all, you’re gonna make mistakes. There are gonna be times when you try your absolute best and your daughter’s blood sugar still goes out of range. That’s ok! Learn from them as best you can, and then move on. Don’t be afraid to contact your daughter’s endo if there’s something you need help with.
You said you’re worried about school and nighttime; that’s completely understandable. Once you get a bit more comfortable with the ins and outs of T1D, I would highly recommend that you look into getting your daughter a continuous glucose monitor! That’ll help you–and her–feel more at ease when she’s not with you.
One other thing: Your daughter has just been diagnosed with a chronic condition at a time in her life when “fitting in” is super important. If you can, try to help her find some friends with T1D so she doesn’t feel alone. If there aren’t any other teenagers at her school with T1, I’d be more than happy to chat with her! Please feel free to pm me and I’ll give you my contact info.
Best of luck with everything!
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Thanks soo much Aby …yes I am nervous cause it’s all new for me but knowing there are ppl like you to reach in case I need support is very helpful for me thanks I will pm you.thanks and God bless you
Thanks so much Dennis …I am very scared but it’s a relief that I have someone to talk to … but I am nervous and trying to hold all emotions in front of her since I am still in the hospital alone with her.all i wanna know if she take care of herself will she be fine ? And can live a normal like …how many times her sugar will drop will she be able to take care when I am not aroud
I read your post and feel relief after finding about Cgm.Thanks for taking the time to write a review thanks for your support I will be reaching all for any question please help me
Hi @Madhokraj. People with diabetes learn to recognize the signs that their blood sugar is low - they vary from person to person and your daughter will learn get own responses and must important, how to treat them. I was diagnosed at 3, and by the time I was maybe 5 I could tell my mom and dad that I felt funny. We didn’t have glucose meters out CGMS back then but we knew it meant I needed to eat. As I got older I was able to define the sensations and knew due myself what they meant and what I needed to do. A CGM will give you both GREAT peace of mind.
As for living a normal life, there’s no reason she can’t as long as she puts in the work to care for herself. There are a number of celebrities, professional and Olympic athletes, entertainers (Nick Jonas is one popular with teen girls), and even Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor. Some diabetics engage in endurance events such as marathon running and distance biking. And most of us lead lives with some combination of jobs or careers, school, spouses, parents, hobbies, friends, and interests. There is a saying that “I have diabetes - diabetes did not have me.” Right now you feel - understandably - like it’s got you in its clutches; but with time and learning you will find this comes more easily and naturally. There will always be some worry, but it will be more manageable.
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Thanks Wada I am crying after reading this I guess it’s a emotional relief thanks so much all this information is very helpful.yes the CGM sounds very helpful so with that I’ll be able to find out her glucose level from anywhere right? Without her calling me just by attaching my contact information right?
I use a CGM made by Dexcom, and it has a feature called Dexcom Share. I don’t use it myself so I do not have details, but as I understand it you can connect to her Dexcom so it automatically sends her readings to your smartphone so you can see how she’s doing.
I suggest you speak with her doctor or diabetes nurse educator to learn about how it works and what it does and does not do - it will help her manage her diabetes but there are things she must do herself. They can give you specifics about how it works. Medtronic also has a CGM you might look into. There have been discussions on the forum comparing the two, and if course you should do your own research online to learn about both.
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Ok thanks …I think Cgm will be great help.one more question as a nervous mom I wanna know if we are monitoring and managing then hopefully glucagon will never be needed … What I’m trying to say that she will be never in that situation if we are taking cares right
Episodes of low blood sugar come with diabetes; but many or most can be managed before Glucagon is needed. There is also a new product that is inhaled to bring up blood sugar, and may be easier to handle if there is an emergency as you don’t need to measure anything - just put it in the nose and squeeze, to put it bluntly. In nearly 60 years of diabetes I’ve only needed help twice. A always carry some fast carbs with me in case of an emergency.
Hi Chetna @Madhokraj, I can relate to, and easily understand how your daughter, and you too, would be nervous. YES, she is beginning a new, and very significant life. I will say, to relieve a small portion of your anxiety that your daughter will be able to still lead an exciting, a full, and active life.
Visiting here you will be exposed to many of the “difficulties” and “pit-falls” experienced by other people living with diabetes - an almost natural phenomenon of a posting forum because most people only post when having difficulties. I will assure you, that there can be more positive aspects of your daughter’s life simply because she will develop a mentality for life disciplines just because she has mastered diabetes - one of the major life-time obstacles. Personally, after being diagnosed with diabetes on my 16th birthday, I’ve had a prosperous business life both while working in my own company, while working in government, in large private business organizations including serving a President/CEO of a national entity, as an elected representative, and mostly enjoying life.
meeting other people, personally, with diabetes is a way both your daughter and you van see the positive side of diabetes. Too bad that this pandemic has put some limits on gatherings, but you can still find and talk with friendly people like yourselves at JDRF Chapters. Click the “Events” Tab at the top of this page, select "JDRF Near You", and enter your ZIP Code or city name.
Another suggestion, take a breath, enjoy your daughter as a person, take things bit-by-bit while listening to her doctor. You do have much to learn and “diabetes” will come to you over time. Ask questions whenever needed, just as you did 14 years ago when your daughter arrived. As a new parent, I still remember ALL that I had to learn, even though I had four younger siblings each of whom I “helped” raise. Diabetes is your new adventure.
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Oh then I will find out about that more but thanks for answering.its very helpful
Thanks Tyron after reading this I feel much better thanks God bless you.
Her sugar is now in between 108 to 170
But she is complaining blurred vision …not too much but slightly specially yesterday when it was 268 after lunch I am scared pls reply .i called the doctor they said they will call me back …
Hi @Madhokraj. You and your daughter will find yourselves adding some specialists to your health care team, one of which is is ophthalmologist familiar with diabetes. (An ophthalmologist handles any medical conditions involving the eye and should not be confused with an optometrist, who handles eye health and vision exams, diagnosing vision problems, etc. Ophthalmologists do what optometrists do, and more.)
Sorry to get off topic. Blood sugar issues can cause vision problems - it can be one of the symptoms, in which case getting back into range should get her vision back to normal. Diabetes can cause eye problems, so it will be good for her to see an eye doctor as suggested above to make sure that’s not going on. Hopefully since she was just recently diagnosed that’s not an issue, but it will be good for her eye doctor to get a baseline to compare with future visits.
If your insurance has a diabetes help line you may find it helpful to call if your doctor is not responding as promptly as you like.
PS - 180-170 sounds great!
Hi Chetna,
I was in your situation 2 years back when our daughter (16 now) was diagnosed with T1D, right in the summer before beginning high school and 2 weeks before we were moving across countries. Life changes completely and we as parents will continue to think and worry about our children for ever, I think, but we learn and get better each and every day and technology certainly helps. Our approach has always been to have our daughter and our whole family lead life as we would, with or without T1D, and manage diabetes along the way. I read a lot and forums and communities such as this help get so much useful information, but as has been said by many, every individual is different and every day for the same person is also very different. Just have to go with the flow.
I am happy to chat with you anytime if you have any specific questions.
Stay positive and strong. Things definitely get better.
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Thanks so much I will make an app with eye doc ASAP thanks
Thanks so much very nervous since she is daylong she is seeing little blurry but only for 2 min in the morning