Thanks! He has heard a couple of horror atories, but he is a typical teenager and thinks that could never happen to him.
Thank you so much! He is your typical teenage and thinks nothing bad could ever happen to him. I pray that he is right!
Thanks! He may eventually be interested in a camp or a support group for teens.
Thanks, prayer are powerful!
Hi Melissa
My son was diagnosed at 15 as well. He turns 20 next week. I wish I could tell you that you have seen the worst so far but that might not be the case. Be sure to watch for the end of the âhoneymoonâ period. It can come at any time. For my son it was almost a year after diagnosis and he ended up in the hospital again. It is a hard road but you and your son can do it! And he is capable of more than you can imagine. He will grow up quickly and you will look back on this time withmixed emotions. I pray for a cure every day. I will add your son to my prayer list. Please reach out to me if I can help.
Thank you so much for sharing! Can you elaborate or explain what you mean when you say splitting dosages for high carb count or for pizza to avoid an insulin reaction? My son has not had many high carb meals but has had a couple that required 10 units to cover. He has tried to keep his carbs lower. I havenât stressed diet because the doctors and educators have stressed he can eat what he wants and cover it with insulin. I havenât heard anything about an insulin reaction or splitting doses before. Thanks
Thanks for the suggestions!
Thanks for sharing! You give me hope!!
Thank you so much for the prayers! I keep hearing about the honeymoon period but not sure I completely understand. How do I know when he is on or off the honeymoon period?
Welcome @Meloliver74,
You probably already realize that youâre going to get some excellent support here. Thatâs important because nobody is going through day-to-day life expecting to hear âyou (or your child) have T1D.â Even though Iâm well trained in this stuff, and essentially figured it out, it was simultaneous with the labs and the urgent care trip. I literally told my wife on the phone, âitâs like heâs got diabetes, but it doesnât make sense.â Anyway, I hope to provide a little medical perspective to help you out.
Initial DKA proceeds somewhat slower than any subsequent DKA events probably will, which means that your sonâs body was burning fat for energy over a longer period of time. This leads to an elevation in fatty acids in the blood. Expect his cholesterol to drop on his next check.
Psychological support is important because as has been mentioned by others, this is a traumatic, life changing thing. Your son may not want any of the excellent technology yet because it can make people feel self conscious and others may view them as some kind of medical monstrosity with things attached to them. He may also be worried about what to do if those devices fail for some reason, or are accidentally torn off during school. Check out Adam Brownâs book âBright Spots and Landmines,â and the diaTribe website for news and support as well.
Best wishes
As his glucose levels are better controlled, his insulin requirements may drop, so that he needs less basal insulin, or can even go without rapid insulin injections for carbs if heâs very active. At this point the inflammation that has been going on in his pancreas is reduced and his pancreatic beta cells are still making some insulin for him. As time goes on, the immune system will continue to attack those cells and heâll have no more insulin production. This is the end of the honeymoon period, and his insulin doses will have to increase (itâs usually incremental, not sudden).
I didnât understand at all until it happened. And everyone is different, so it is hard to know. But what it means is that your son is still producing some insulin now. As time goes on, that production will stop or gradually decrease. For my son, it happened over a period of a few weeks. He thought his insulin wasnât working or he had bad insulin, but the reality was that he needed a lot more insulin because his body had completely stopped producing. It was a scary time so just be on the look out. If he is high for extended period of time, check with the doc.
Things are so scary for you right now but you will adjust and your son will too! and know that there is a lot of help out there.
Take care!
Medora Vestal Koenig
My name is Roseann but every one calls me Nikki. Iâve had type 1 diabetes since I was 18 months old. I went through a faze in my teens were I didnât take the best care of my blood sugars as I could have but eventually I stepped up my game and got things under control as best as I could at the time. What helped me was finding others with health issues and Diabetes, also having what I call a cheat day ⌠Meaning I would sleep in a little later an eat a breakfast a little later. I took my diabetes on at that time and now as a learning experience. The do have diabetes camps if hes in to that. Plus seen someone els striving to take care of their self helps as a role model. Finding and keeping healthy snacks and meals in the house heelp. Also try giving it some time to let him absorb what just happened while reminding him that its very serious and he could loose limbs if he doesnât take meds or check his blood sugar. I know itâs a lot rite now but it will eventually be just a nother step in the day just like brushing your teeth.
You are getting lots of suggestions, so I will be brief and to the point. Dr. are not the best life coach, and may not be an arm chair psychologist. Ask your Dr if he has worn a pump for any length of time, doubtful, but most diabetes patient educators have experienced everything they recommend. Go to a Dr that has a patient educator. Look into the Omnipod pump as well as a CGM. The Omnipod is very discreet. Teenagerâs hate to be different, especially if it doesnât seem cool, so keeping his life as close to B4 diabetes is the best. He needs to own his diabetes management, but donât expect it will happen quick give him a year or two, he has to deal with it the rest of his life. The Omnipod pump auto-injects, your son will be in denial for a while, get him some devices that make diabetes more comfortable and convenient.
My 11 yo daughter was diagnosed a little over a year ago. I think one of the most helpful things that has happened for her is that she found a âdiabestieâ. I know at first she felt very isolated and alone. She was the only T1D at her elementary school. One day at Sunday school we noticed another girl the same age had an insulin pump. It took 2 or 3 weeks for her to ask her about it, but that T1D commonality made it an instant connect. She lives 20 or so miles away, so they donât see each other that often, but they text and FaceTime a lot. She knows that there is someone she can talk to that completely understands her now. Someone else that will get excited when they find a new low carb snack that tastes good and understands the challenge of eating pizza, and never getting to eat as much as you want. She still has all of the same friends she had before, but now she have an extra one that is really important. Try to get him to let you help him get connected with the T1D community. It will make a huge difference. Our JDRF chapter hosts monthly get togethers at a local burger joint, and itâs a great experience. Maybe yours does something similar. We also found that when she talks to other people she goes to school with about it, it is such a positive experience. Last year, I went with her and talked to her 5th grade class with her about it, and it made a huge difference. This year, she talked to her Science class about it, without me being present. She was nervous about it, but she was so happy with how it went. The kids asked good questions and generally wanted to understand. She loved having the opportunity to tell them she can eat anything she wants (just maybe not as much as they get to), that itâs not contagious, that she didnât get it from eating too much candy or not exercising enough. Basically, she got to answer all of their stupid questions before they even got to ask them. Oh, and by the way, if your endo has a time rule attached to getting a pump and/or CGM, get a new endo. Thatâs antiquated thinking. I mean really, why would a good endo want to keep tools away from you that are scientifically proven to help lower A1C because of some arbitrary timeline they have in their head. My daughter was diagnosed in September, and started both her CGM and Pump in December. While the diagnosis is life changing, the technology is life enhancing.
If newly diagnosed and in good control, you may want to read about the Poseidon Trial at the DRI web site. If there are siblings, have them tested through TrialNet. If they have one or more autoantibody and are not yet diagnosed, they can sign up for the field trial and scholarships are available at D*action Project to Prevent Type 1 Diabetes - GrassrootsHealth
Hang in there with the teen years. It will get better 