Hey ya'll - don't know how many (if any) this will apply to - but I'm throwing it out there anyhow... After all these years, I have found something new to keep me up at night. My wife and I have a 2 year (+ a few months) old son and another one on the way. So far, my son is (thank G-d) D- free but my hypoglycemia unawareness scares the heck out of me where parenting responsibilities are concerned. I was watching a video with my son the other day, went to the kitchen to test (it'd been a little while since I tested last) and I was 36. Now, he was fine and I was able to get myself back to functioning normally in about 20 minutes but i can't help but wonder - what happens if he hurts himself or gets in trouble and I'm mid-low. I'm hoping to pick up a CGM soon but - nothing today is 100% - so I'm wondering - am I the only one worried by this scenario?
Oh - the other fun thing is my son thinks my watermelon glucose tablets are his favorite candy so when we're out - i'm low and low on tablets, I get to wrestle to toddler for sustenance... I'm pretty sure this crosses me off the parent of the year awards, LOL
Thanks for any input any of you may have t' share!
I was (and still am) terrified of lows around my son (now almost 6). In response to that (and probably to my own detriment) I do tend to run a little higher when I am alone with him. When he was very little, I had to constantly remind myself that 'hey, all that exercise you're doing chasing after a little one is wearing your BS down!"... and consequently drank juice at regular intervals throughout the day.
It might be a good idea to have a 'buddy' that you can call on a moment's notice if you do get really low. I am always looking for 'strategically placed people' (lol) that I can use as emergency back up.. a neighbor, a co-worker, SOMEONE who I can just buzz fast and say, 'HEY! help me a sec, would ya?'
I am very stubborn.. and very strong willed.. but I have decided that it is better for me to admit this one little weakness than to have to figure it out with Low BS brain ;)
I loved your story about the glucose tabs! My son used to drink the juice boxes that I kept on my night table for those 'middle of the night lows'. I finally told him he had to stop because those weren't just juice.. they were mommy's medicine! To this day, every time I give him a juice box, he asks me if this is 'juice or medicine'... lol
I'm stubborn and I don't know if it is a hold-over from when I was a kid or what, but I have a real hard time admitting I'm low sometimes while I actually AM (this usually happens when I'm lower than high 30's... I find myself thinking the words "I need to tell someone" or "I should call my wife," but - it doesn't turn into anything vocalized.
I am going to be applying to get a CGM (gave paperwork to doc today) - hopefully that'll help. Any additional insight is something for which I'll be grateful. I give you a lot of credit!
I was completely paranoid with my first son before CGMs were out. And I had some dangerous lows. I'm also stubborn and completely deny that I'm low. The CGM has helped that now. The only problem is that if I'm low overnight and my baby (8 months) wants to be fed, I'm slower to wake up (of course, he doesn't need to be fed ever). The CGM has made me a lot more comfortable parenting. The 2 scariest places are driving and bathing your kids so make sure that the CGM is accurate or your glucose is okay. Its doable.
I am very grateful to you for weighing in on this one!I do focus on safety first and still the hypoglycemia unawareness is the pain. I hope that baser stats will suffice for my CGM submission, though I am also looking for my cable. As often as I test, my meter usually only holds a little over 3 weeks worth of results (sometimes less) which is well shy of the months of data you offered to the Aetna deities for your CGM submission. I can list the number of lows and lows requiring assistance and offer up that my A1C (while excellent) was probably .6 – 1.0 points lower than I would have expected given my meter results.
Having an MD who gets it and lives the D and has your insight and willingness to share is absolutely fantastic.Thank you for offering up so much of your time and so many of your insights!
Its my pleasure. Aetna has been really easy. I think they have a deal with Dexcom but I can't guarantee that. Good luck and enjoy your babies - they seem to grow quickly and get a lot more difficult!
Parenting along with D can always pose a challenge! I have to be sure my sugar is up when I leave with my girls (7yrs and 2yrs.) I always try to have a few canned drinks with lots of sugar along with me...i just throw them in the bottom of the stroller. It works great when you are not even close to a spot at the mall where you can get anything to eat or drink. In fact, now I almost panic when I don't have any with me and I am sure to hit the nearest GAC corner for cookies for the girls and a regular coke for me!
I had a low with my 2yr old, in a swimming pool, by myself...only the Grace of God saved me and her...I was in the water with her in a swim class and phased out...when I came to, no one else was in the pool with us but I had her in my arms. I don't remember getting out and going to the locker room, but once there, she started crying which snapped me out of it. At that time, 5 years ago, I did not make it a habit to carry sugar with me but we had some M & M's in our bag and those helped me come out. It scares me to death to think about what could have happened. She is a beautiful 7 year old girl and she could have been gone - because of me...
But now, God has helped me to work a little smarter and stay more on top of my sugar! Thank you, God, for taking care of children and idiots! LOL
becoming a parent was the only thing that made me really get a grip on my diabetes. as soon as I found out I was pregnant( it was not planned) I changed my entire behavior I checked my bg all the time took insulin on time every day this may seem normal to you all but I was a very bad diabetic before i became pregnant. within the first few months of becoming pregnant I had an a1c of 6.5 and it just got better from there. but anyway low bs do scare me when i am with my son especially when i am driving I tend to check even more.
My husband usually wakes me up every morning before he leaves for work and makes me test my bs which is great, sometimes annoying, but great. well anyway one morning he was running late and just hollered at me to get up and test. well about an hour later I just remember standing in the kitchen clutching a carton of orange juice. my son was at my feet so I had gotten him out of his crib and carried him down 2 flights of stairs to the kitchen all with low bs . that is very scary needless to say my husband got an earful later for not waking me up that morning.
Julia, that is exactly the same as it happened for me...I had D for almost 20yrs with no type of control but when I got pregnant I started taking it all very seriously! I often think that my daughters saved my life becuase my pregnancy woke me up to what I should have been doing all along. I thank God that both my daughters have no birth defects - I'm sure my A1C had to have been terrible with my first one but by the time my second was born, I had everything where it should be...but still, that is no guarantee.
So glad to hear that so many of us have wonderful spouses who help us! It is so important and it means so much to us!