Hi! Wow this is so overwhelming! Friday June 19, 2009 my 4 3/4 year old son was dx. with Type I diabetes. He was admitted to the hospital is DK non-acidosis. It looked like the flu! In fact, I was afraid it was swin flu! We had him tested before and it was negative. Right now they are just trying to regulate his insulin and follow trends. Any suggestions on making the shots easier? He does ok with the finger stick, but really fights the shots. Does this get easier?
Thanks!
amy
Hi Amy,
My daughter just turned 11 and she was dxd October 2008, things seem a little overwhelming right now but it does get easier. The best thing to rember is just take it one day at a time. Shoot some days we were taking it one minute at a time! I have talked to some people about maybe doing rewards for no problems with having to test or shots. One of the best things you could of done is coming here. I was lost until I found this site! Everyone is helpful and they understand (which is the best part). Casie did ok with the shots, then in April she went on the pump. It was one of the best things we did! Please get in touch if you need someone to talk to!
Kathy
My son is four and was diagnosed seven months ago. One of the things that helped him was getting a stuffed animal and a syringe without a needle. He would give his bunny shot before his own shot each time. He would comfort it and tell him it was ok, good job etc. I am thankful that he only had problems with the shots for a couple of days after coming home from the hospital.
Hang in there. I am too new at this to answer the "does it get easier" question. I take it day by day and celebrate the small accomplishments.
Brenda
my son was 3 1/2 when diagnosis 4 months ago March 21 09 It is crazy but it does get more"normal" although we have just switched to a pump. I love it and so does my son. I had to fight pretty hard with the insurance company to get it though since it was so close to diagnosis.
My suggestions are to take a deep breath and tell him you love him and that is why yu have to do it. some how my son is now closer to me than ever before I think he believes I keep him alive he has said strange things like that to me. Love them and try let them know you think it sucks too somehow that helps
Hugs to you mom I know how hard it is but you will be amazing!!! just like him
HI my daughter turned 4 in april and was diagnosed in nov last year. It does get easier, a bit anyways we are still going crazy somedays. Lately she has been playing that she does not have diabetes so I think the diagnosis is really sinking in;almost 8 months later. At first she was so great about eating when she was supposed to and not when she couldn't, now somedays she begs me all the time for a treat such as popcorn she goes hysterical when I say no but besides that now we can do the shots (pens) without having to sit on her at first it took two adults to hold her still enough. I still cry alot and have alot of anger towards this disease. We play a game sometimes where we pretend we are holding "diabetes" like a ball in our hands and take turns telling what we would do to it such as throw it of a cliff or feed it to a bear etc. I know this cheers her up when she is feeling a little down.
I remember how stressed out I was in the first couple of days I was more scared to leave the hospital with her after diagnosis then I was when she was born; we loitered around in the parking lot double checking we had all the supplies. I laugh now but my husband kept saying do they know who we are we aren't doctors? Do you think we should go back in and just do a quick review with them?
Remember it does get easier and try to not be the only one responsible for everything diabetic and remember they are not diabetic kids just kids with diabetes always a kid first!!
Hi Amy! I can really relate to where you are coming from. Clay was diagnosed on June 27, 2008 when he was 5-1/2. He also did really well with the finger sticks but fought us on the shots at first. For the first two weeks or so we really had to hold him down to get him to take them. In a relatively short period of time it did get much better. He now takes them without fighting us, but he does tense up sometimes because he thinks it is going to hurt. Just hang in there and keep taking good care of your son. It will get easier!
Josh
Amy - I am sorry to hear about your son's dx. My son was dx on May 28, 2009 and he is 3.5 yrs. Yes, it took a while to get the shots easier. I would say by about 10 days, it was a LOT easier than when we were in the hospital. At least the crying after the shots stopped. Now we are 1 month in, and he knows that he needs his shot after he eats and will say "OK, are you going to get my shot ready?" And then only freaks out when you have the syringe ready, but only for a little bit and as soon as you say "Done." he is fine and back off to playing (with now only an occasional "That hurt me, Mom!"
I am really proud of everything he has learned about this so far, like he knows what foods don't need shots: Cottage cheese, carrots, water. And will ask for them as snacks. He also likes to tell me that fruit snacks are only for when his blood sugar is low.
But we have bad times too - if you have any suggestions on how you have gotten your little guy to eat or drink when he is low and sleepy, I would sure love it! That is the hardest part. I know I would hate it if I got woken up and told, "You must eat!" So far I feel like I have gotten no good suggestions on that one. Well, I did try frosting last night. John was still mad and I was squirting it in his mouth and then holding his mouth shut. It did get the job done, but I feel like I am torturing him. At those times, I wish there was a sugar shot I could give him - we'd be done so much faster and he could go back to sleep!
Dear Amy, My son is 5 1/2 yrs old and was diagnosed Feb 24,2009. He has done amazingly well, but still has days when he whimpers and says "I hate it I hate it I hate it". I try really hard to encourage him and praise his courage. He says he is a "warrior" when he is extra brave, so we practice "warrior faces". (I know it is not for everyone, but he even is sporting "warrior hair"- the mohawk he was begging for-in various, spray on, colors!) I will go to any length to make sure he knows he is strong and awesome. Shots still hurt, but I also try to give him another goal.....as soon as we get this shot out of the way we can : play outside, go swimming, read a book, work on an art project, etc. Good luck to you! It is so scary and overwhelming when it is our little ones with this disease. Know that you are not alone and that you and your son are in my prayers.
Advice on the nighttime thing........I know the age is entirely different, but it is worth a try. My son (5 years) is hard at 2am also, so I bought a crazy straw, you know the twirly ones and found that his favorite juice (Simply Apple) he will actually drink while he is sleepy. I just tell him, "it's your favorite, and I have your silly straw, drink it and you can go back to sleep". I have never tried food at night, I have always done drinks. Good luck!
Brooklynn was 6 1/2 when dx. She was 504 at the Dr's office and we were sent to St Louis, MO Cardinal Glennon's Children Hosp. After 4 days, she got regulated and trained. I had to work so my husband stayed with her up there. I was freaking out myself because I didn't have the information. You know how it is with guys and trying to get information out of them? uggh! Anyways, it was not as bad as feared with the shots... one reason is because her daddy has had Type II diabetes for 15 years so she has been around blood testing and shots all her life. She was even giving her dad shots when she came home. We did have some bad days where we had to hold her down to give her shots. Right now she's on the pump and it's great.. but the infusion set change sometimes tends to be a challenge. She came home with a Rufus the diabetic bear and book and that helps too. I really want to get her a CGM, but as of right now, they are not covered by insurance and the cost is like $1,000 for the system and supplies. I think JDRF is running a campaign to try to show insurance companies the imporance of CGM and it's not just a 'luxury' item for diabetics.
Our daughter was diagnosed last monday...she was over 600...our son was dx at 11...which was 5 yrs ago.....he was easy to deal with it...she is fighting it and it kills us to give her shots...but we do it b/c we know she has to do it....when does it get easier??????? any help or advice would be greatly appreciated...
Thanx, Anthony
Nashville, Tn
My daughter who is 10 was diagnosed on July 31 2000. A good thing to use at night is cake mate gel. It is absorbed in the mouth. And they do not have to be very awake to take the gel. It is also quick acting. They eventually get use to getting sugar in the night my daughter can eat starburst basically while she sleeps. I feed them to her with water and watch while she chews them. These kids are very resilient and can adapt to so much. Now that she is on the Navigator it will alarm and wake her up to let her know she is going low which is nice, although when the walk in to your room at 3 to tell you they are low and you are in a deep sleep it can take some years off of your life.
Anthony, my 15 yr old was diagnosed this july w/ sugar over 600. It has been a struggle the whole way. Reading about other people surviving this (as a caregiver or a patient) definitely makes me feel better. But somedays i am so stressed and angry nothing seems to help. Sometimes I don't notice how stressed out I am until I wake up in the middle of the night because I am grinding my teeth so badly that it hurts. Since the diagnosis i have managed to crack one back molar and break another in half...and we are only in the first year of diagnosis! It does help to vent and get support on this site. If it weren't for the website, I might not have any teeth!
What is the Navigator? Is it a continuous glucose monitor? Is it something that is covered by insurance? My daughter is 8 and she is used to me waking her up to drink juice in the middle of the night.. it's kinda cute to watch... sip sip sip.. but I agree.. the middle of the night wake ups are hard on you!
Jennifer, OUCH! You should consult your dentist for a night time mouth adapter to keep from grinding. Brooklynn grinds her teeth and I am sure it's from all the stress of having to deal with diabetes. One thing about having a later diagnosis.. your child can be a little more understanding. The young ones are what's hard to deal with because they don't understand.
The Navigator is a Continues Glucose Monitor. It takes a blood sugar ever minute, records every 5 min blood sugar. It will alarm at preset highs or lows. It also will give you trend info, and warn of a potential low or high. It works with the interstitial tissue. It is another site that the child must were and change every 5 days. It is nice because you can up load to a computer along with your pump and graphs that show you what is happing. It is great for making adjustments for the pump. You end up having to check blood sugars about 5-6 times over the 5 days. They suggest you check before you give sugar or insulin.
Hi Amy,
This is a rough time for you I am sure of it, but you can get through this. I have two children with diabetes my oldest son was diag at 10yrs old in 12-06 my daughter was diag at 3yrs old in 03-07. Your question does it get easier I am not sure but it does becomes a new normal. Normal to change insulin to carb ratio's normal to get and give insulin injections. Normal to walk through the store and have your children ask for something and when you say no they ask why to many carbs? I don't know if your son likes stickers or not but this is how we were able to give her the injections without making it more tramatic. I learned with her I had to have the insulin already drawn up and ready to go. If she watched me do this she would become very upset and cry. Then we had stickers and picture of a teady bear. The picture of the teady bear had little x's on the spots where we could give the shot. She choose one sticker and put it on where she was going to give the shot and then once we were done she choose another sticker for her own sticker book. You could maybe do the same for him but something he likes maybe cars or a dinosaur. Just find a color book picture he likes then mark a bunch of tiny x's on the arms, legs, tummy etc. then copy it. I think for her it made her feel in control of where we gave it. Now she is six and is on an insulin pump and I am so proud of her how she handles everything. When she started kindergarten last year someone said her pump belt was stupid and she told them this isn't stupid it keeps me alive. So they understand why and how important it is after awhile. The first couple of weeks were rough though she told us she hated us and cried alligator tears she would ask why mom why do I have to do this. I fought back tears while in front of her and explained it was because she needs medicine and I didn't want her to go to the hospital. While this is hard you will all be great just remember you can do this.
Penny
Hey, folks,
I just wanted to jump in and say "Yes! I DOES get easier!" Just hang in there, learn everything you need to learn, do your best to comfort your child, and get the support that YOU need. Juvenation was a life-saver for me any my family. The first three months were the absolute worst, but four months after diagnosis, I feel like we're all handing this way better. We've gotten past "settling into a new routine", and William's care now IS routine. He's testing himself as well as injecting himself. I spot lows much faster and can treat them on the fly. I know how many glucose tablets he needs to take while swimming. If we miss a test or a dose, I don't freak out, just correct at the next meal. We still have "why me" moments and tears and frustration, but far fewer than before.
You CAN do this, and it DOES get easier. Just keep breathing.
Blessings,
Mo