My son is 17.5 years old and uncontrolled T1D! He skips meals or over-eats and skips shots/doesn’t check blood sugar. I have exampled and he knows the effects it can have on him. He is has ADHD/ADD inattentive type and tried medicine thinking it will help him manage his diabetes. I’ve thought maybe depression but he says he’s not. He won’t talk in counseling sessions. I’m at a lost and need help with helping my son. He’ll be 18 in December and I want him to learn to take care of himself!! How do you help a teenage boy?
My son is 14 and we go through the same issues. I think there is just a lot of burnout during the teen years. My son will be responsible and consistent for a while, then have times he doesn’t check sugar but pretends he does, it makes up a BG that he thinks I will like better. Basically I think teens just want to be spontaneous and being diabetic is the complete opposite. I am sorry I don’t have a solution, but I wanted to let you know you are not alone and I am willing to talk any time.
My son is 15, 16 in August. Since last December he has had poor control. But last week he went to the hospital and his hba1c was 8.3. This is a big improvement. My son was also going through the same thing. E.g. not testing, missing injections etc. So we came up with a plan about a month ago. We decided on an achievable goal for him. Rather than test 3 times a day for 3 days, miss the next 3 days, test one day the next day, miss the next 2 days etc etc (basically very inconsistent testing) we decided on testing 2 times , morning and night, every day. He said at the hospital that he could commit to this and he did. As his mum I decided to not focus on the hba1c number but rather to focus on getting back into good habits that will enable in time a better hba1c result. And a month or so later he has tested 2 times or more (that was his choice) every day , except 1, and his hba1c has lowered.
I think teens need to feel they are in charge of their life.
Hope this helps. It is very challenging, I know.
Good luck 
I am very sorry to hear about what your going through. I have a 15 year old with T1D for about two and a half years. Although his A1C is around 6.7 and his average reading is 129, I can tell you that it has not been easy. Not every child reacts the same and they struggle with different aspects of their new lifestyle.
However, we do have to be very clear to our children about the consequences of not taking care of themselves because in essence you only get one chance. You cannot have an A1C OF 8.5 for several years without having some kind of significant long term consequence to your health. Once the damage is done you cannot do anything else about it. So I told my son that he could mess around with other stuff but with his T1D he could not because it meant would be compromised for good. And that is not something he was willing to do.
I pray that your son would find the strength and diligence to manage his condition and bring it under control for good. Wish you all the best…
I was diagnosed in 1945, when I was 6. Now I am 75, and have been T1 for 69 years, it will be 70 years in Sept. I do not have any complications except some mild nerve damage.
I always followed my doctor’s advice very closely, avoided sugar, and took advantage of new technology whenever new devices appeared. I test 15 times per day since Medicare will not cover a CGM. I tend to have some highs and lows if I do not test frequently. I think that I might have some serious complications if I did not use very tight control. I am so glad that I never was in denial, not even in my teen years.
Was diagnosed in 1950. Still fit and well.Brain no longer reacts to low BG so can wake up in the morning with BG 2.2 (39.82) and Feel fine. (Well maybe a little hungry and bad tempered).
Spent ten years in the bush doing geophysical surveys (Walking approx 15 kms each day) and struggled with physical
exhaustion. Gave up geophysics and went into a more sedate job.
Brain has now reacted to too many low bg’s and started loosing memory, focus and concentration, Was fired from my job. Tried to explain to Boss what the problem was, however was duly informed that I was nothing but a big bullshitter and quitter.(What an ass#@*%^&$)
Doc put me onto dopamine pills and now feel much better.
Well one has to test five or six times daily, excercise and watch those calories.
Even though your son denies being depressed, his actions suggest that he may be. Based on my experience, I would say that he is depressed. Is he going to group counseling? Maybe one on one counseling might help? Good luck to both of you.