My son is afraid of giving himself his insulin shot :(
He was dx on June 12th, and is apparently in the "honeymoon" stage. Any suggestions on how to help him??
Also - how long do they wait until a person is allowed to go on the pump? We have SO many questions since we left Boston's Children!! We have two appointments this week - one with nurse educator and nutritionist -- advise on how to prepare for these follow up meetings??
Thanks so much......
Alright, the big one: giving shots. I remember how hard this was for me, I was 11 when I was diagnosed (Here, child, have a syringe. In fact, until you can poke yourself with it, we won't let you leave..... mwa haha! -- that's how it seemed when I was little, anyway...). And then, at times when my parents stepped in quite a bit I would forget to practice and build up my fear again.
One thing that helped me was having my parents do it with me, just building up to it slowly. You know, I pinch or I poke or I push the end of the syringe (I apologize for forgetting its name), and work up to doing it by myself. Another thing was material. This sounds horrible, but I was paid five bucks to give a shot once... When I was too afraid to get over it mentally. Its odd but I believe something material can sometimes get over the mental parts.... sometimes. I gave that shot, needless to say.
Really, just being there for your son. I mean honeymoon phase can be tricky as it is a lot of adjusting and figuring - but it is also a great time to learn the ropes. Usually, or as I was informed by my doctors, one can go on the pump as soon as the honeymoon phase is over. Which means one's numbers have regulated more (honeymoon phase is when the pancreas is still fading out, so it is still making some insulin in addition to what is taken by the diabetic -- in case you didn't know :D), so it can be configured by the diabetic without the pancreas' input.
I would write down all my questions. In fact I've started a binder for that recentley as I often forget what I'm going to ask. Oh yikes I have to remember a web site here, but this is actually great as well for forms to fill out (for example for doctors)... I'll post back with the site address lol as my brain isn't cooperating. Other than that, basially its all rocking and rolling. But also prepare for a lot of information, perhaps some overload, so also bring stuff to take notes with :D And actually take them lol I can't tell you how grateful I am for the notes I have to fall back on that my parents have taken when I lazy out :)
This site is great, actually, as it has oodles of sheets worth filling out. They are great especially for doctors appointments. I've filled out a few myself and its an easy site as they also have sections for parents/caregivers, teens, and professionals.
Here's the parents link, I believe: http://cshcn.org/parents-caregivers
Lucky for me I had a older brother with t1 so i wasn't afraid all that much. But I think another thing that helped was going to a diabetic camp and watching the other kids do it made me feel odd if i couldn't do it myself
I would say don't force him to do it. Ask him You want to help us with your shot today? If he don't then dont make him. I like the advice Alyssa gave.... Start him out by doing something small... taking needle out of wrapper or drawing insulin in. Just take small steps dont force him to do it.
Anything you need you can find here.
I am not sure how old you son is but---bribe--There have been times in my daughters d care,when it was just too much!!!!So,I would bribe,you do this-we will do this,---I have even given her extra spending money.It has worked for us,to get over the bumps.
I was dxed at 4 and didn't give my own shots until around 10 (remember this is back when you only took 2 shots a day, so my parents didn't have to come give me injections at school). I could do everything but give the shot. Eventually my parents got me used to the idea of using an "Inject-Ease" so I didn't have to go through the torture of pushing the needle in. Then they convinced me giving a manual shot hurt less than the inject-ease, and that's how it worked for me.
i gave my first shot to myself when i was either 4 or 5 i was diagnosed at 3 but even very young i wanted to take control of my treatment. my parents wanted to make sure that i had it down pat so i could hang out with my friends at my own lisure by the way how old is ur son??? hope all goes well!
I know that feeling. The funny thing about me not wanting to give myself the shot is that I was 19 when I was diagnosed, old enough to do it on my own and old enough to know that it really isn't that bad.
I used to sit at the dinner table for sometimes an hour just holding the needle and crying. Until one day I just did it, I got so annoyed and so hungry and my parents refused to do it for me anymore. Once you do it a handful of times, you never have that fear anymore.
So, here's some advice, let him hold the syringe or pens (whatever you use). Let him get comfortable with just handling it himself. Let him practice giving a shot to a fruit or a pillow. He needs to get comfortable with actually handling the needle before he does it on himself.
For the pump situation. I was just diagnosed on February 21st of this year. I am going for my pump training today. I was approved for the pump 2 weeks ago. So it has been about 4 months. It all depends on his situation. A family friend of mine is has a daughter who is 8 years old and she got approved for it very early on because she wasn't capable of giving herself the shot at this age, so her mom does it for her and then sends her to school where the school nurse works with her everyday.
Preparing for your follow up meetings is pretty simple. Making sure to record BG readings and insulin taken on a day to day basis is important when you are first diagnosed. Take that information as well as how you've been counting carbs. If you don't already have the Calorie King book, get it! It will come in handy when you are out and don't have boxes telling you exactly how many carbs is in something. The diabetes educators let you practice on administoring medicine in a pillow or whatever they will use and that helps in getting used to giving the needle.
Good luck, and if you need anything all of us are here to help!
Courtney
This is bringing back so many memories! I was diagnosed when I was 4. I remember injecting an orange for months. Then, when I was 7, I finally did my own injection. My parents made it seem like a special thing for being such a "big girl" -- ha, ha. I still remember how I was surprised how little it hurt and how easily it went in. I bet in a few months, your son won't even think twice about it. (:
As for endo appts, I always bring my list of questions and a pen, my recent numbers, insulin doses, etc. If your son's had any lab work done, make sure to get the results in writing. An hour later, I can never remember, "Was my A1c 5.8? 6.2? Did he even tell me???"
This is the toughest time. Soon, you'll be giving advice to others on Juvenation!!
Our son (8) uses the Inject-Ease, and it works great. He was terrified of needles before, but one I showed him how to inject using the device, he took over injections himself. I think a big part of it is you don't actually see the needle coming at you, and it snaps the needle into the skin so quickly it doesn't hurt as much. You may want to call your DE or endo office to see if they have them available; our endo gave one to us at our first visit. http://www.palcolabs.com/section_products/injectease.html
Mo
My daughter was diagnosed in March. We never pressured her to do her own shot. We just asked her every so often if she wanted to try it. It may help to explain to your son that if will give him a certain amount of freedom that he had before. For example, it allows my daughter to spend the night at Grandma's and to be able to attend friends' parties. We just communicate by phone when it's time for her to have a shot. I'm not sure how old your son is, but he will come around. The "independence" is something that no kid wants to give up. It took my daughter about a month to work up the nerve to try it herself. She still wants us to do it sometimes, but she knows that she is capable of doing it. It really is just a comfort issue and your son has so much on his mind right now that it may just be to overwhelming to think about.
Best thing for learning to take shots and getting over the fear for me was diabetes camp. I actually gave myself my 1st shot @ diabetes camp.
Hurry up and sign up for one =) you still have time! It is a very important resource for your child to meet other diabetics and learn more about his disease and himself.
After I was dxd, my mom gave me shots for eight months. I was so afraid to do it.
I can't say this enough-- Look into the Inject-ease: http://www.palcolabs.com/section_products/injectease.html
it helped me SO much. It is a spring-loaded device that inserts the needle at the push of a button so you don't have to push it into your skin yourself. Then you push the plunger to deliver the insulin. The fact that the needle is hidden from view helped me a lot.
Once I started using the inject-ease and was giving shots on my own (about 8 months after dxd), my endo said I could begin the process of pump training/selection/trial/actually starting it, which took about 6 months. So by 1 1/2 years after dxd, I was on the pump.
They usually say 1 year after dxd is when you can get a pump but since I hadn't been giving myself shots they wouldn't let me do it for a few more months. So by getting your son to do the shots on his own, you might make it so he can have a pump sooner, and only have one injection every 3 days instead of 4 a day!
[quote user="stilledlife"]
Best thing for learning to take shots and getting over the fear for me was diabetes camp. I actually gave myself my 1st shot @ diabetes camp.
Hurry up and sign up for one =) you still have time! It is a very important resource for your child to meet other diabetics and learn more about his disease and himself.
[/quote]
I agree with this. Don't rush it. My son was diagnosed at 5 and didn't want to do so I didn't push it. He went to Camp Sweeney when he was 7 or 8 and did it the first time there. They work with them on it encourage them and make a big deal about it when they succeed. He came home after that and still didn't want to do it. So I didn't push it again. After a while he took it on himself.
I also related to the post of getting it when 19. That's when I got it and it was rough at first even at that advanced age!
My son was dx on June 30, 2008 at the age of 8. By around Thanksgiving started giving himself shots. We would always ask him if he wanted to do it first. After a while he would select the site and pinch up his skin for us. Then one day he surprised us by filling the syringe himself then he gave himself a shot in the belly. After that he would only let someone else do it when we made him change injection sites.
Christopher started using an Animas Ping pump on April 7 of this year. We were told that our insurance company would let a patient start the process of getting a pump a minimum of six months after dx. Things have been so much better after he started using the pump. No more strict meal, snack, and sleeping schedules! As far as the honeymoon stage goes, our endo. told us it wasn't a problem to start pump therapy while still honeymooning. He said it can make it last longer and that it was a good thing to extend that period as long as possible.
Shannon
I am overwhelmed with such gratitude to all the responses to my post! Truly speechless....all of your insight and advice as a T1 or a parent of a T1 is so valuable to us.
Michael is 14 and we are truly very proud of him these last three weeks - he is our hero.
I will keep everyone posted on his progress....
Another question? What is insulin resistance? Again-- THANK YOU THANK YOU
Nancy
[quote user="Nancy Quigley"]
I am overwhelmed with such gratitude to all the responses to my post! Truly speechless....all of your insight and advice as a T1 or a parent of a T1 is so valuable to us.
Michael is 14 and we are truly very proud of him these last three weeks - he is our hero.
I will keep everyone posted on his progress....
Another question? What is insulin resistance? Again-- THANK YOU THANK YOU
Nancy
[/quote]
Hey, Nancy,
Insulin resistence when the body is not able to use insulin effectively, whether it's insulin produced by the body or injected. It can be a precurser to T2, and I think that is why many T2's can start out on oral medication to help them use the insulin they are producing. My MIL is T2 and takes a non-insulin injection to help utilize the insulin she injects, as well as her own. I think it can be seen in T1 as well, and they would need to take a medication to help them absorb the insulin they are injecting. There are probably a couple of "pros" on the list who have experience with this...
Give Michael big hugs from the whole Juvenation Gang. We're all pulling for him, and for you.
Mo
I used to be afraid to give myself shots. When I was at the hospital they gave me a "bag of hope". In the bag was Rufus the teddy. I would give him shots or I would practice giving them on an orange. After I did that I would give myself one. It helped me out a bunch. I always pinch the skin up where I'm gonna give the shot so you can't really feel it.
We just found out Saturday that my 10 year old son has type 1. He has always been scared to death of needles. We were very surprised when he decided to prick his finger himself. After a couple of days he decided he wanted to give himself his shots. He told us he couldnt feel it when he gave it to himself. He says it doesnt hurt and insist on giving them to himself. When your son gets up the nerve to try it one time he will do it himself from there on. Good luck! We all need help and support.