Hello everyone. I’m new to this T1D. My 7 y/o was diagnosed On June 9th 2017. This was the worst day of my life. She is doing great. She’s Go od, with the finger sticks and GREAT with the shots she LOVES the attention and telling ebeeyo e she sees about ir. I on the other hand am a mess. I of course don’t let her see this but as soon as I’m alone I start to ball like a baby. It has been very hard on me. Her numbers are all over the place and I can’t seem to understand it. In trying to make sure she gets all the food pyrmid things she needs but she continues with the “I’m Hungry” thing. I’m not to sure what to do and I’m sure she’s sick of cheese and eggs. Any advise for a newbie will help. Thanks in advance ladies and gentlemen!!!
Teressa M.
Well for the food part, try fresh veggies, jerky, deli meats, baked Chicken things like that.
It really does get easier as you learn more. My daughter has had T1D for 4 years now. She does her own shots and calculates for them and counts her own carbs. We still do midnight blood checks because she is in sports and drops low sometimes.
I’m here if you ever need someone to talk or vent to. Talking to someone who has been there helps.
Hi Teresa! My son is 7 and was diagnosed in February of this year with a week long stay in the hospital following DKA. I know exactly how you feel. I felt like I was under water for the first several weeks and even now, when things don’t go just right it all comes flooding back. He too, was good with the shots and the sticks from day 1, but it devastated me… my advice to you is to not worry so much about conquering everything as a whole and focus on smaller accomplishments… maybe start with eliminating sugars and just getting the carb count right first, before ensuring that she has something from every section of the pyramid. This will surely drive you crazy if you let it, but it does better and those days are not that far ahead.
Teressa -
I too know how you feel! My 7-year old son was diagnosed one week before your daughter (we took him to the ER Sunday night of Memorial Day weekend). I may have been a little more equipped to deal with the shock of the diagnosis because my son also has autism, so we’ve been working through his ‘challenges’ since he was 18 months old. But diabetes on top of autism was a kick in the you-know-what. I just added to the post about snack ideas in the Parents and Caregivers group so hopefully that will help you out. My son is really tall for his age, and he is always hungry (both before T1D and now). His doc lets him eat a good amount of carbs at lunch and dinner because it’s hard for him to eat carb-free food (he hates eggs, for example). In the beginning his body was making his own insulin so this was not a problem. But now his sugars are frequently higher than 180 so we may look at cutting back carbs (along with the increase in his insulin regimen).
You know what I am mourning the most after this diagnosis? The ability to just jump in the car with my boys (6 and 7) and go. I was sooooo happy to get rid of the diaper bag and sippy cups. Now it looks like a lifetime of remembering test kits, low blood sugar crash kits, insulin, and snacks. 
But I really hate to complain because there are a lot of folks whose kids have worse problems. So we have to keep our chins up 
Hi Teressa,
My 7 yr old son was just diagnosed the week before school started. I know how you are feeling, he is taking it all in stride and so brave and I was crying at the drop of a hat. He is a picky eater so I have been focusing on the foods he likes and trying to find a balance within that for counting his carbs. He doesn’t have each of the sections of the food pyramid covered in each meal but throughout the day I try. He doesn’t like very many fruits and won’t eat any vegetable unless it is so carefully hidden in spaghetti sauce or something like that. That part is such a struggle, but focus on what you can control and what your child does like to eat! Then branch out from there, I am finding that method easier than worrying about what he "won’t " eat. My husband has been such a great support too! He told me to take things a little at a time and was right, I was doing what you were and worried about everything at once and that was overwhelming. Read labels, get the calorie king app for iPhone or use the book ( we got one free from the endocrinologist) and this helps so much making food choices and adding carbs. Make a list of most common foods and their carbs or what I did too was use a permanant marker and write carb servings on bottles and boxes as I went and this helped my brain so much! I too am looking for tips and tricks from other parents and any recipes ideas anyone has that is lower carb or a sneaky healthy food!
Hi Teresa…my son was 6 when diagnosed…hes 13 now…it was challenging the first couple months …hang in there …i called jdrf and they got me a mentor . .she was a lifesavor early on…are u able to talk with diabetic educators at the hospital ) to adjust insulin doses as needed and dietician…i called once a week when newly diagnosed…after year of injections…hes on an insulin pump now…and happy to share dexcom g5 sensor into in future