Hi everyone,
My 3yr old son Jackson was recently diagnosed with T1D and I’ve been concerned with how many overnight checks everyone does if your child isn’t on a cgm or before they were put on a cgm?
Hi Shawn. My daughter was older when diagnosed so it was easier for her to tell me how she felt. Depending upon her bedtime number I usually did a midnight and 3am check for first month we were home. Is she was low at that time I would giver her 15 carbs and do one 15-20 minutes after. I found during the night she wasn’t good about drinking so we kept tube frosting on hand. hope this helps
Hi Shawn,
My daughter was diagnosed at 16 months and we spent the first month on shots (then went to pump) and the first 3- 4 years without a CGM. I would check her about 10pm and about 1 am (depending on her BG before bed and what she ate for dinner). Active insulin for her at the time lasted about 3 hours. The CGM will give you lots of peace of mind. I can actually sleep through the night now! That was never a possibility for me before the CGM. As you get use to his trends and what foods can make his BG vary, you will get more comfortable with how often to check him over night.
we check at 12 and 3 over night and have the Dexcom G4 share, no pump yet, when we upgrade to Dex G5 which is now FDA approved for dosing insulin, then I will likely stop the 3 am blood check and maybe got to just look at dexcom. CGM is a lifesaver.
Keeping it on a 3 year old will require some finesse! Use RockTape, Vet Tape, K Tape, Tegaderm, etc.
Also, some have allergies to the Dexcom or adhesive, my son does. If this happens DONT GIVE UP “Flonase” prescribed by your doc is a MIRACLE for us, spray on and NO RASH!!
Hi Shawn! Our 3 year old was diagnosed just a few months ago and we are already on a CGM! Before the CGM, we did her “bedtime” check around 10:00 PM (she was asleep by then), and then again around 2:00 AM. We were told to target a blood sugar of 140 or greater for her bedtime reading (approximately 3-4 hours after dinner).
After the CGM, things get less stressful. We get alarms in the middle of the night for lows, after which we will give her some juice. The CGM is wonderful in that it shows you the direction of her blood sugars (going up, down, or steady). This information is so invaluable!
It is not difficult to keep the CGM on our 3 year old. We place it on her lower back, above the butt, and alternate sides weekly. She doesn’t even notice it’s there, and it’s never failed to last the whole week. The most difficulty we have is when we have to change the sensor (weekly). Even though it doesn’t hurt her, she still freaks out about it some. But less than a minute after it’s over, she’s off playing again.
Best of luck!