Thank you so much for your offer to speak with my son. I will tell give him your email and ask if he would like to reach out to you.
Hi @DBarber18 . I’m glad to hear your daughter is taking things like a champ and that you’ve gotten her numbers under control at least some of the time. After diagnosis some people have what’s known as a honeymoon period, during which time their body produces some insulin, but intermittently and unpredictably. That can make dosing difficult because their body may add its own insulin on top of what you have given for a meal (for example) causing a low to follow. Aside from that, even with a good treatment regimen in place, things do need to be tweaked and adjusted from time to time. You’ll learn to do that on your own but for now work closely with her doctor.
My first suggestion would be to look into getting her a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) if she’s not already using one - I personally find it much more convenient and practical than doing finger sticks. Some CGMs, such as the Dexcom I use, allow the user to share their numbers, so you can keep a watchful eye. Aside from that, my doctor’s office has access to my
readings via the Dexcom Clarity app (again, this is separate from Dexcom’s Share feature). Other CGMs may have something similar but I’m not sure. There was a time we had to review handwritten (or in my case chickenscratch😊) records, but now my doctor can simply pull up my records when she needs to, to see how things are going.
Second, keep vigilant logs of meals and exercise, as they will give her doctor - and with time and experience you and your daughter - data that can help decide on treatment. I was diagnosed in 1963 and we used pencil and paper for those as well. Now there are a variety of apps to choose from, many or most of them free. A popular one is MySugr but browse your app store and see what’s available and find the one you like best.
You might find it helpful to read the book Think Like a Pancreas. The author, Gary Scheiner, has diabetes and works in Healthcare so he has a unique and very helpful perspective. And for an educational book I found it a fun read!
Schools will be starting back soon (can you believe it!) and you’ll want/need to put a 504 plan in place. I don’t have children so am totally unqualified to speak on them in any detail, but essentially they instruct the school on what they can do to help your daughter, and what she can do on her own to manage her diabetes. That’s an overly simple description and parents on the forum may have a better explanation and suggestions on what to include in yours. The following is from the American Diabetes Association’s website - it includes samples you can use, although school districts may have their own.
https://www.diabetes.org/resources/know-your-rights/safe-at-school-state-laws/written-care-plans/section-504-plan
Thank you! I’m coming up on my one year anniversary as a type 1 warrior and am really excited to talk to other diabetics.
Thank you for the I formation it helped a lot. My daughter keeps all her diabetes stuff in a big lunch box and call it her “Brave kit”. Her needles we call her “big swords” and her Lancets are her “little swords”. This girl it taking this and just running with it and hasn’t let her stop her one bit. Now I do have a question she is 9 yrs old and LOVES minecraft but she gets so into watching/playing it she will often go 4 or 5 hours without eating and I feel like I have to remind her to eat lunch or that its time for dinner. When I ask her if she is hungry at first she will either say no or just a little hut once she is away from the game/computer for a few minutes then she realizes how hungry she really is. So I guess my question is, is anyone on a schedule to eat? Is it good to go that long without eating? Should I just let her play her game until shes hungry? I’m afraid she will get too low and not realize it until she is REALLY low and then we have to act quick to fix it. Any thoughts or suggestions would be very helpful. Again she was just diagnosed on 5/14/21. Thank you
Before starting on a pump I grew up taking NPH and Regular insulins (which you may not even have heard of🤔). Using a pump gives me much more flexibility than the shots as I had to keep to a stricter schedule to balance the peaks of my NPH even if I didn’t take Regular until I ate. The insulins available now are different and if I understand correctly some do not even have those peaks, but that depends on which one a person takes, and there are other factors as well. So before I veer off into territory I’m not qualified to speak on, I will suggest you remind your brave warrior princess that even warriors need to recharge so they’ll be ready for the next battle; that every superhero removes their “battle gear” for a while to engage in life - spend time with family and friends, read a book, dance, listen to music, get fresh air, take in nourishment - so they’ll be ready for the next battle, etc. (particularly if their opponent has been glued to their computer for his on end and hasn’t had any nourishment at all😊). At least they should. In short, time away from her computer game may well leave her better prepared for her next round of competition.
BTW, I’ve read that the constant eye movements engaged in driving can lower blood sugar, so I imagine intensive video gaming may do the same although I haven’t been able to find anything online. That may be something to consider. And remind your girl that even warriors must answer to mom and dad - that’s epic!
@Dennis I think you were the one who made reference to the eyes a while back - would you care to chime in? If you have any links I would love to check them out.
I have T1D and I was diagnosed about june 10 when the docters got the blood results back and had docter appointment. I have no family history of people in my family that have T1D, just T2D on my mothers side and some on my fathers side. So I think it is common for people to get T1D when nobody in their family has it and it came as a complete shock to me , I had to be hospitalize as an urgent case because athough my A1C was 10 I couldnt keep anything down and was vomiting for 2 days and had to stay in the hosiptal for a better half of a week. I understand what your going through. If you need someone to talk to , I am here, I hope this helps.